Five Reasons You Should Read Ready Player One
My friends in book club and people who know in general, you all knew this was coming. So, in case you haven’t met me: Hi, I’m Chad, and I’m obsessed with the 80s thanks to a book called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Now, many of you are thinking, “Wow, I should totally read this book!” If you are already thinking that, this article is a null point. But if not, welcome to my five reasons you should read Ready Player One. Right now. Just go get it from your local library. Doesn’t even have to be local.
Reason One: It’s a very well written book. Not much more I can say on this. The writing is very good. I mean, that’s a reason to read any book really, but especially this one. I don’t really think I can add to this one.
Reason Two: The 80s references. Have you ever heard of the game Zork? How about the Carl Sagan mini-series Cosmos? Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Geddy Lee or Alex Lifeson? Those are just a few of hundreds of extremely nerdy and extremely 80s references in the book. I can go on. A lot. The 80s was a long span of ten years. A lot of pop culture happened in those ten years. If you were every sitting down thinking, “I really wished there was a sci-fi book written by a man who owns a DeLorean that encompases a ton of references to 80s popular culture”, well, I’ve got your book. Yes, Ernest Cline has a DeLorean. Please say I don’t need to explain that one.
Reason Three: It is a good love story. Most YA books, however much I love them, don’t have good romance. There are exceptions: Percabeth (pronounced per-ka-beth not per-sa-beth (I don’t care what the fandom says. It’s grammar)) in House of Hades, and Parizal/Wade and his love interest (not spoiling) in this book. Need proof? I openly admit that this is the only book that has ever made me cry, and the crying was over romance. It was even worse the second time (the crying, not the book).
Reason Four: It’s got a very cool and original plot that is relevant. Think Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory meets Ghost in the Shell meets Mirror’s Edge with a healthy dose of 80s pop culture. There’s large corporations, virtual reality, 80s, prizes, a man named Og, and, most importantly, the robot from the Japanese live action Spiderman TV show in the 70s. Yes, all you die-hard Leopardon fans now have in a book. Side note: That Spiderman TV show inspired Super Sentai which inspired Power Rangers which was adapted into Saban’s Power Rangers in 2017 which I thought was really fun and a great character driven Power Rangers movie but nobody saw so now its not getting a sequel which is so disappointing. In other words, buy the Blu-Ray. (Not sponsored by Blu-Ray or Power Rangers, but would totally be up for it).
Reason Five: Spielberg is adapting it next year. I know this is kind of cheating, but we all know that you HAVE to read the book BEFORE the movie. Plus, Spielberg. Enough said.
So, are you reading Ready Player One after you read some of my reasons and finished the book after you rented it from your possibly local library and are now crying over it because the ending and looked up and realized you never finished this article? Awesome! But seriously, do you guys plan on reading it? Love 80s culture like me? Need a reference guide (because summer is coming up and I have WAY too much time on my hands)? Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoyed. And until next time, may the force be with you.
I just have to tell this story. So I got to meet Ernest Cline, and it was amazing and they showed Back to the Future (shoutout to Pokèmom who I saw there) and it was generally great. But, they had a Q&A with a microphone and everything. So, I got to ask the last question. I, of course, asked the ultimate question: Marvel or DC? The crowd exploded. People were cheering me on and freaking out. He then answered Marvel (in my opinion the correct choice), and when I was walking to my seat (which was close to the front), he stuck out his hand and shook mine. It was one of (if not) the greatest moments of my life.