Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

This will be my book for Week 1. I got it in a LootCrate and still haven't started it so hopefully it's a quick read.

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape."

I'm in the right target, both for the 80's and the genre, but it didn't work at all with me. I skipped many pages (I've an allergy to lists in books and painful descriptions about what a video game is) and never connected with the characters :(

I know I'm in the minority, so have fun with it :)

This is a great read. My kids and I devoured it, and we plan on forcing my husband to listen to it over the Christmas holidays.
The audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton making it perfect for the geek in us. :)
Enjoy.

Anastasia: I'm going to read it aloud with my boyfriend - we're both gamers so we're very intrigued and I'm surprised he hasn't seen the movie! Did you? Did it live up?

I loved this book!

I loved this book too! It was such an awesome story and had a lot of unconventional elements that I liked as well. It's a great adventure in a unique setting with intriguing characters. I'm looking forward to the Steven Spielberg film adaptation!

Peter wrote: "I loved this book too! It was such an awesome story and had a lot of unconventional elements that I liked as well. It's a great adventure in a unique setting with intriguing characters. I'm looking..."

I thought the movie was already out - 2017 release date, though!!

I had heard that there was going to be a movie. It is definitely on my list of to go see when it comes out.
We are not gamers here, but my hubby and I lived through the 80's. Parts of it are very funny.

Ha, went to add it and saw that I already had done so. It looks intriguing.

This book is my second option for week 48 (dystopia), but I really want to get around to it. Thanks Anastasia for the audiobook tip, I may listen to it if I don't have time to read it.

Sophie wrote: "This book is my second option for week 48 (dystopia), but I really want to get around to it. Thanks Anastasia for the audiobook tip, I may listen to it if I don't have time to read it."

I also would recommend the audiobook. Wil Wheaton does a great job. But he always does. He is one of my favorite male narrators!

I haven't listened to anything narrated by him yet, so it's decided, I'm going to listen to this one!

Really great book, but a bit of an overload of 80's facts/trivia. Really enjoyed the author's writing style!

This was one of my favorite reads in 2015. I am a gamer, a baby of the 80's, and a fan of science fiction. It was the perfect storm for me. I'm following it up by reading Ernest Cline's Armada this year. The characters really resonated with me in Ready Player One and I was gobbling up all the references.

My friend also got in a LootCrate and gave it to me since she already had it. I devoured it! My favourite read of 2015! I hope you enjoy it!

I'm starting this one on audiobook tomorrow. Nice way to go back to work in my car ;) I'm happy to finally discover this book I've heard so much about.

I didn't plan to read it that early in the year, but I have to wait for my audiobook credit on Scribd to listen to 1984. And I seriously have to listen to an audiobook while stuck in traffic, it's the only way of staying sane.

Oh and I'm reading it for week 48 dystopia ;)

< insert fangirling here >
Oh. My. Stars. The audiobook. The. Audiobook. Soooo good!

Sophie, I hope you enjoy it! Wil Wheaton does a superb job. :D

I abandoned this one during this 2015 challenge but Emm's fangirling is making me tempted to start the audiobook. Hmm...

Laura, YESSSSSSSSSS!! Wil Wheaton is one of my favorite narrators. You have to give the audiobook a try!

I'm starting this one tonight! I also got it in a Loot Crate and have been waiting forever to read it ... It's like I meant to read it in 2015 ;)

This will be the second book I read for the week one topic. My friend just informed me that the movie is coming out in November this year, so we've got that to look forward to :D

Emm wrote: "
Oh. My. Stars. The audiobook. The. Audiobook. Soooo good!

Sophie, I hope you enjoy it! Wil Wheaton does a superb job. :D"

I started it this morning and I have to agree, the guy knows how to make the story vivid!

Yes! I'm ecstatic about the movie coming out, Manda. They optioned Armada also which I'll be reading sometime in the next week or so.

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Sophie. I'd hate to think I steered anyone wrong! :D I'm a Wheaton fangirl.

Get it Laura! It's goof stuff! Promise!

I just put it on hold at the library so I'll be starting it soon. Hopefully it will be a good motivation to actually go on my daily walk in this Boston winter :)

I arrived home just when he was explaining how Oasis works, I'm can wait to be tomorrow morning to discover the rest! (can't believe I just said that I can't wait for tomorrow morning haha)

Haha! I know what you mean. I'm about 45 pages in so far and I had so many problems (is it a problem?) putting it down last night. I'm really curious about the audiobook. It sounds wonderful, I just don't have the attention span for audio, but I feel like I'm missing something great.

Maybe audiobooks are not for everyone, but I spend almost 2 hours a day in my car, so they are definitely for me! hihi

I like them for when I have other things going on and I can't read. I clean my house to audiobooks. I work on my sewing projects to audiobooks. Play video games. Cook dinner. Walk my dogs. Sometimes I even work out to audiobooks.

But I find I'm picky about them. I find more that I don't like than I find I do. If I don't feel like the narrator's voice matches the character, I'm not into it. This happens a lot with YA when someone with huskier tones is cast to play a teenager. Could that really happen? Yes. But it doesn't fit for me.

I really am a Wheaton fangirl (for his various geek projects) but I do truly believe his casting is flawless in this. He really brings the Wade Watts character to life. All of you reading it makes me want to re-read it, haha! Particularly Sophie's enthusiasm! I've never been so envious of someone's 2 hour drive to work. ;) Wil Wheaton is also the narrator for Cline's second book Armada. I'll be enjoy that one in audio format also!

I fell in love with Wil's narrating when I first heard him on the audiobook of Redshirts. I've also listened to Armada. And though the narration was excellent I liked Redshirts better story wise.

OMG! I just finished this early this morning. I stayed up way too late to get to the end, but it was so worth it. This book ... well ... I don't really have the words for how great it is. I love it.

There were so many things I loved about this. I was a bit confused by all the D&D stuff, but not too bad because Cline explains it well enough that you catch on, but not overly so, where I would imagine that it would drive D&D fans crazy. So, for the deeper thoughts Spoilers Ahead
Seriously. MAJOR spoilers - Do not click on that unless you have read the end or you want it spoiled for you :)

(view spoiler)[I loved the anxiety causing race to find everything. When Wade unwraps the jade key and says unicorn, The image I had as I imagined the foil twisted itself into different shapes is indescribable. The hunt for the second key drove me a little crazy. There was so much that happened, but at the same time, nothing happened. I did love the challenges that Halliday created, like having to act in his favorite movies as the main character. That was really awesome, and I could see myself in Wade's shoes acting out Monty Python (my heart did a happy dance when this challenge came up).

I loved all of the characters, especially Aech and Og. Og wasn't a primary character, but the way Cline wrote him made me feel like I had known him for years. I loved what Cline did with Aech, how "H" was this tough, secretive guy in Oasis, but in reality "H" was a sassy young woman. I really adored the friendship between Aech and Wade; they were a great team.

Art3mis I just don't know about. I liked her in the beginning of the book and felt a lot of respect for her tough, no-nonsense attitude, but as the book went on and as we saw more of her I started to dislike her for just being a snotty, distrustful, brat. I totally get why she distanced herself from Wade, and I don't fault the character for that, but what got me was how spiteful she seemed to be towards Wade when they finally started talking again, and Wade warned her about IOI plans. She acted like Wade was the one he betrayed and created the riff between them. I can understand why she was upset that Wade saw her picture when she didn't want him too, but it's not like he was looking for that specific thing. All this aside, by the very end of the book I liked her again, and I was even happy that she and Wade ended up together. I thought it was a nice, no-frills (well, except for that thing where they're all now super rich and Wade is in control of Oasis) ending. (hide spoiler)]

I love Wil Wheaton, ever since I saw him in Eureka, I was infatuated. I think I'm going to try to listen to the audio book while I'm at work, just to listen to him geek out to this. I did love the WW reference in the book ... That just makes his reading this all the more perfect. My commute to work is a 2 minute walk, so I don't really get the commute time to listen. It makes me super envious of Sophie's commute. We'll see how well listening to books at work goes. I figure if I'm able to do it with podcasts, I can probably do it with books :)

I started the audiobook yesterday and I am liking it more than the the regular book. I'm about 2 hours in so it'll take me a little while to finish it.

We are listening to the audiobook as a family. It is hilarious.

So many people are talking about this book that I've added it to my TBR. Not my usual read, but I'm sure interested now.

I really like this book. I'm not a gamer, but I find the game/quest setting so much fun! Most of the 80s references are obscure to me, so I'm feeling kind of happy and proud when I recognize one ;)
It was so funny to hear Wil Wheaton mentioning his own name. I feel like the audiobook format enhances the story for me, I would recommend listening to it to everyone!

Just finished it this morning, and LOVED it! I'm sure if I read it the experience would have been different than listening to it. Wil Wheaton did a fantastic job, I definitely want to listen to more audiobooks narrated by him.

I started Armada (will probably finish it up on Wednesday) in audiobook and his narration is spot on there too. There is a line in the beginning of Armada where the main character states his response to his first glimpse of alien craft (not really a spoiler, but profanity will follow) -- (view spoiler)["Holy fucking shit!" (hide spoiler)] -- I grinned from ear to ear when he said it. I feel like his speech style is similar to mine - where and how he emphasizes certain words. He's definitely a great narrator for Ernest Cline's books.

I am glad you enjoyed Ready Player One, Sophie. It is very heavy handed with the pop culture references so I think it could be a bit annoying for those who do not share a gunter-like enthusiasm for all of that. Since I got most of the references (as a gamer and an 80's born kid), I felt like I was sharing a big inside joke with the author and it made me feel connected to the material. But, whether you get the references or not, it's still a fun quest/adventure story, a David vs. Goliath tale, and that is something I think everyone can relate to.

I definitely didn't get all the references, but I do have a gunter-like enthusiasm for all geeky things and I love quests. I was so proud of myself when I knew one reference haha

Armada sounds great to, hop in the TBR ;)

I used this book for week 26, A book everyone is talking about. I'd been hearing about this book for YEARS, and I knew that they were now making a film of it, so it had been hanging around on my TBR list, and I kept making a note to move it up. Suddenly it came in for me at the library and I decided, FUCK IT, I'M READING IT NOW.

I'm glad I'm reading it now, as opposed to having read it earlier. My boyfriend has been educating me on all things '80s lately, so all the references are fresh in my mind. This book perfectly complements all the movies we've been watching these past few months. We literally just finished watching The Last Starfighter when I started reading this! I read it much faster than I thought I would. I could not put it down.

This book was incredible! I just finished reading it. It really helped that I'm a big video game nerd/fan of 80's pop culture, but I feel that even if that's not your jam you could enjoy this book.

So I just finished the audiobook. It was even better than the actual book! That's probably because of Wil Wheaton though. The downside is that because I only listen when I've got down time at work and when I can't sleep at night it took me a bit over 2 weeks to get through it. I've decided to try a second audio for a book I DNF'd during last year's challenge. I'm giving Pandora's Star a second chance and hoping that the I can make it through with the audio. Oddly enough this is for my discard challenge, to give a book a second chance.

I listened to this last year for one of the popsugar challenges. Loved it. I listen to audiobooks when I clean and commute and work out. It adds up.

I've read really mixed reviews of Armada, though.

I finally finished this one yesterday. It was very long to me and some of the storyline became repetitive, especially towards the middle when it felt too much like a video game summary. But then I'm not a gamer so my dislike there isn't really surprising.

I think my dislike of it was mostly caused by how long it took me to get through so the world building and character development deserve 4 stars even if I wasn't totally blown away.

Laura wrote: "I finally finished this one yesterday. It was very long to me and some of the storyline became repetitive, especially towards the middle when it felt too much like a video game summary. But then I'..."

I'm going to echo what many people said, listen to the audiobook. I really enjoyed the book (gamer alert), but I found a lot more joy out of the audio (listened to it the day after finishing the book). It seemed to make the tedious details, especially in the middle, less tedious.

I read this book as my Week 48 dystopian novel but had a difficult time working my way into it. Dread of a techno rendering of one of my all-time favorite stories/movies, Charlie (Willy Wonka) and the Chocolate Factory, really hindered my initial progress.

Eventually, I realized that my fear was unfounded and allowed myself to enjoy the quest. The '80s culture integration, VR applications, and societal construction played major factors in my late-night race to finish it.

Will the movie do the book justice, or will it be Tron 2.0? With Spielberg at the helm, I cannot wait to find out!

PS: I am not much of an audiobook fan, but everyone's opinion about Wil Wheaton's narration has inspired me to look for a copy. As I was envisioning Wheaton referencing himself and chuckling over it, I could not help but to further imagine how cool a cameo appearance of the Big Bang Theory cast in the movie would be!! :)

Andrea, admittedly that was part of my reasoning for listening to the audio as soon as finishing the book. MF Wil Wheaton, and the way he plays into his own fandom. It's quite hilarious.

I just finished it and I am seriously fangirling. I was a game developer in the late 90ies so I got a lot of the more obscure references, too - although I did not grow up with arcades, so that part was lost on me. I did grow up in the 80ies so I was getting a lot of the references - although personally I prefer the 90ies popculture... it was a total riot and the action and world building were superb, even if you are not an ubernerd like the characters in the book (and the author, obviously).

Are we ready to declare this a group favourite yet?

I would say so! I really need to read this one.

We should totally find a way to do a poll voting for the books most read this year!

I'm an avid reader and folks at work know this. I often get people asking for recommends. (I work at a college, so I have to watch who I'm speaking to!) I have 3 favorites from this year that I share with anyone that asks...this is #1.

While I was never a big game player, I did live right smack in the 80s. I recall watching folks play games on the machines in the grocery store, etc. I had friends that spoke of little else. But for me, it was the movies and other trivia.

I also appreciated the different dystopian view as well as a male character. Not to mess with a good deal...but it was a nice difference.

Armada, by the same author, is another gamer centric book. But it had a twist that was well worth it. Basically, I really like this author.