What was your favorite read this summer, 2017?

I read a book this summer that would normally not be a book I would read. It was so amazing I still can’t stop thinking about it. Ready Player On, by Ernest Cline is such a good, no great read on so many levels. When my son finished it in two days, his first statement was “Mom, you gotta read this!” So of course I did! 

Ready Player One takes place in 2044–which actually isn’t that far away. I might actually be alive in 2044; granted I’ll be 72, but…. you never know. What I do know is that I hope the world hasn’t gone to pot like it has in this book by that time! Basically because the world is in such a disastrous state, most people live their lives online in a virtual world called Oasis. 

There are all sorts of problems in this future: space, resources, economy, global structure, and governance to name a few. Basically the reality of Earth is the very reason people escape into the Oasis. The virtual world has become much more pleasing than the actual. Enter a game to control the Oasis, and the plot thickens! Throw in a bunch of 80s trivia and the reader is set to enjoy this fast pace story.

There is one main reason why I like this book so much. I have never really understood the mind of a gamer. I know them very well: they often game in the library. I often try to steer them back toward their own individual, academic progress. Ask if their break is almost over. But after reading Ready Player One, I kind of get it, if just a little bit. I appreciate a story that helps me understand others better, and that’s exactly what Ready Player One has done for me. Heck, if I lived in the Oasis, I’d be trying to win too!!

*Please note: the movies is coming out. Steven Spielberg will be producing and directing it. While he is very good at what he does, I would venture to say that the book will be better. I saw a trailer, and thought myself, “I don’t remember that part!” There is no car chase in the book—rocket ship chase sure, but no cars. There’s no space for roads!