The Readers discussion

I can’t think of any questions for Ernest. I have to say I LOVED this book, which really surprised me. It was so much fun to read. I have read a few reviews on goodreads which complained that the plotting and world building were weak and the characters were flat (complaints that I myself have made about other books. I might add); this may all be valid criticism, but none of it got in the way of my enjoyment of it.
I would like to know if any of the other readers found the book “addictive”, like the way video games are addictive? I am not a big gamer, but I did play arcade and video games in my teens and I found myself actually craving to read more of Ready Player One in the same manner as I used to crave playing PacMan or whatever.
I would also like to know if any of the readers found the 80’s references alienating. I was a teenager in the 80’s, so many of the references (but not all) were familiar to me. I wonder if the book would have the same effect for someone born in the 80’s or 90’s or someone who just isn’t that interested in pop culture.

I enjoyed the book but I didn't find it addicting. I was a teen in the 80s too and had fun with the references.

This was one of my more memorable reads in the last several months. I'm 39 and not a real sci fi or dystopic fan, but this was addictive, just like a video game. The last time I really played video games was on my Atari machine in the '80s. . .

I wonder if the author thought of using the '80s stuff as a way to hook in older readers?
The concept of stacked up trailers is so interesting and terrifying, how did he come up with that, or do they really exist?

I thought the idea of people escaping into the video game has many references to all parts of life and how people escape from reality. I thought the message was very universal. The most haunting image was when he's being driven by the police and sees the people on the street in their gloves and visors just drifting about. Like street drug addicts.

I want to buy this book for my 43 yr old brother, my 18 yr old niece. . . it's just such a terrific book! Thank you Ernest Cline! I'd also like to hear about what he's working on next. . . and I'd like to hear from Gav if I liked this book, what other sci/fi books I might want to try. . .

This book was what made me decide I was going to do the reader's summer book club. . . I'd read it b/c Michael of BOTNS had recommended it, and I thought that if you put this book on the list, the others wd probably be good. . . and they have been!

I really enjoyed "Ready Player One" - more than I thought I would actually, given that a lot of the 80s pop trivia stuff went over my head a little. (Which I didn't find alienating, to answer Ruthiella's question - although sometimes the sheer volume of trivia was a bit overwhelming). I'd be interested to know if that aspect of the book is based on Ernest Cline's own interests, or if he did a lot of research and game playing etc in order to flesh out those aspects.

It took me a little while to get into it, as initially I found the beginning to be over explaining things - I prefer to be dumped into a futuristic world - but it didn't take long for me to become really engaged with the story. I really enjoyed the audio version I listened to which was narrated by Wil Wheaton - I thought he had the perfect "voice" for this sort of book.

I was a bit disappointed by (view spoiler)[the happy ending with Art3mis - well, the mostly happy ending. I thought she had a point with the things she continually brought up earlier on about them not really knowing each other, and about only showing a certain side of themselves in the Oasis. So I thought that perhaps their ending could have been a bit more complex than a declaration of love. I was a bit disappointed at how uncertain Art3mis was too, and her uncertain "really?" when told she's beautiful - I wanted her to have her confident kick arse persona in real life. But I guess that was saying something about the division between real life and the Oasis as well. (hide spoiler)]

I thought there was a real lack of women characters, and I wondered if this was a reflection of Ernest's perception of gaming culture. (view spoiler)[I know the revelation about H technically adds another woman into the story, but given that the narrator thinks of the character as a man, and that H presents as a man for the majority of the book, I don't think it really counts. ETA - I just realised after reading another review that H is actually spelled Aech - that's the problem with audio! (hide spoiler)]

However, despite those things it was a really enjoyable book and I got really into the quest - I did find it quite an addictive read.

This was one of the books I was most looking forward to, and I wasn't disappointed. Most of the 80s trivia went over my head but that didn't matter at all, I enjoyed this book immensely.

It really was an addictive book. I found myself completely immersed in the story. Perhaps the characters were a bit flat, but OASIS isn't exactly a place where you would want to display all the sides of your personality, so I forgave that. I liked the world building of OASIS but I agree with Celia that the beginning of the book was a bit over explanatory.

An alarm clock that plays Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is a wonderful idea. It's such an annoying song that I'd probably start getting up straight away instead of hitting the snooze button over and over again like I do now.