We listened to this in the car and it was delightful. The funeral scene had us all rolling and my husband wants flowers to come to his funeral in a “sWe listened to this in the car and it was delightful. The funeral scene had us all rolling and my husband wants flowers to come to his funeral in a “suck it motherfucker” vase now. ...more
Gah, I feel bad that I’m not more excited about these Simon Snow books. They’re fun, Rowell is the funniest writer that I know of who is currently pubGah, I feel bad that I’m not more excited about these Simon Snow books. They’re fun, Rowell is the funniest writer that I know of who is currently publishing, so I’m going to read whatever she has published. This has an interesting society/structure. I liked the Shepard character. The narrator was great. I don’t know, it just took a long time for me to get into and then it felt like it was abruptly over and setting up for the next book... which I’ll also read and feel tepid about. Probably. I don’t know. ...more
3.5 (but it made me laugh quite a bit, so I rounded up for a change. Rainbow Rowell and her jokes, man.)
When I heard about this book, I think I was li3.5 (but it made me laugh quite a bit, so I rounded up for a change. Rainbow Rowell and her jokes, man.)
When I heard about this book, I think I was like the other 5% of the very vocal minority that was like *groaaan* I glazed over when it was fanfiction time in Fangirl. I went almost catatonic when it was excerpt time from the "real book." When I saw that Rowell's latest book would be based in that world, I zoned out. Like, that's too bad, she's one of my favorite authors right now, but it looks like I'll be skipping one of her books. Or probably at least three of her books since everything is at least a trilogy now. Maybe it was whiney jerks like me that made her go: challenge accepted, bitches.
I was honestly surprised that I liked this book enough to read past the first few chapters. Then I was surprised how much I genuinely liked it. I kept muttering "only Rainbow Rowell would..." like I know her or something. Oh, that Rainbow. I'm not a huge fan of changing perspective, so that was a challenge for me as a reader to get over. The Lucy chapters, at first, were especially jarring. Still, I liked Simon and how flawed he is. That he's aware of his flaws. That he's an accidental dick to his best friend the first time he meets her and they are still best friends-- because that's the kind of shit that really happens in life. He's the most powerful magician and he's pretty terrible at magic. Sold.
Okay, the part about the characters being British and it being set in Britain was kind of wacky- is this a British book?? If the author is from Nebraska, can that possibly be a thing?
There were so many funny parts to this book. Here are a few that I took the time to type out... I was kind of flying through it though and there were parts that made me laugh out loud but it was a whole conversation. Her dialogue is amazing, always. Even when I'm really not into her plot or characters, they still manage to suck me in with their chatter.
"Capes are optional, too; I've never worn one, they make me feel like a tit, but Penny likes them. Says she feels like Stevie Nicks." 15
"There's even an inscription about it on the crossbar-- MAGIC SEPARATES US FROM THE WORLD; LET NOTHING SEPARATE US FROM EACH OTHER. "It's a nice thought," the Mage said when he appealed to the Coven for stiffer defences, "but let's not take security orders from a six-hundred-year-old gate. I don't expect people who come to my house to obey whatever's cross-stitched on the throw pillows." 25
"...It's like watching a wild dog eat. A wild dog you'd like to slip the tongue." 299
Man, I'm terrible- I'm sure there were funny things being said in the whole middle and ending of the book. But you get the idea. Jokes. Wizard jokes guys. This book is like the best meme, amIright?
There were too many people thrown in at the beginning, which I think is a huge barrier for this book. Especially since they're mostly names and no3.5
There were too many people thrown in at the beginning, which I think is a huge barrier for this book. Especially since they're mostly names and not a lot of description. Since I read the majority of this book in two days, I didn't have a problem remembering that Rees was an Integrator, 30 pages after she's vaguely/briefly introduced for 10 seconds at a dinner party... but if I had been reading it like almost everything else I do these days (15 minutes here or there, sometimes there are days when I don't get a chance to read) I would have been like, WTF, who? What is happening? Why? Because one second she's at a dinner party as a sort of throwaway one off and the next she's shooting at FBI agents and has a grenade.
Since I like crime dramas and robots, this was right up my alley. But since I've seen a fucking metric shit ton of crime dramas, I knew the bluff at the end was a bluff. Still enjoyable, but also I'm lazy, reading is hard, and I can get that kind of bullshit mindlessly. Man, that sounds both harsh and shows what a huge asshole I am. I really did enjoy this book! I liked Shane, although felt he was kind of flat as a character. At the same time, it sort seemed like he thought he was a flat character compared to his Dad. Maybe it was intentional flatness. I could ramble about this book and I think I will at book club!...more
The first 20-25 pages of this book were a little excruciating for me. It was like being slammed in the face with references, nerdy in-jokes that over The first 20-25 pages of this book were a little excruciating for me. It was like being slammed in the face with references, nerdy in-jokes that over explained themselves in some places and then were really vague in others and then even more pop culture references. Lots of references. Much joke.
But I stuck with it. Probably because I'm being brainwashed by this X-files reboot and the first part of the book is all about alien and government conspiracy theories (with a video game chaser). So I was like, sweeeet, I don't have to wait until January to get my CSM fix when I have it here in book form. I thought, you know what, Ernie Cline is just really fucking gung ho to be back in the saddle writing a book. Eventually, it started to level out and I was pretty excited to get to a page and notice that not every sentence had some (probably 70's, early 80's) movie/music/book reference in it. There were even similes at that point that were to things like how blue the sky is and not how blue the sky is in that one episode of ST:TNG. Yay!
Then I got hung up for a while on how old everyone in this book was supposed to be. How it's supposed to take place in the near future- I mean, I had some of these misgivings in Ready Player One, but that premise had it somewhat explained: everyone wanted to win that Willy Wonka treasure and the only way to do that was to immerse themselves with 70/80's pop culture. Sure. But in this one, the main character is obsessed with his dead Dad so he watches all of his old VHS tapes and even games to one mix tape on constant repeat. While having friends in the current time who make fun of him for it, so I was like, I'm kind of on board? But then Cline brings in the manic pixie nerd girl and I'm like, WTF NO.
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His description of Lex made me think of that Hunger Game of Thrones actress, except she has Tank Girl and Alien tattoos. Totally doesn't make sense with this book taking place three years from now and them being young-ish characters- but that's why he LURVES her, at first glance. Only his one true love could also be into stuff from the 80's, because current junk is for losers. Just like Art3mis in Ready Player One, the girl in this book is super smart and clever and they're instant soul mates. She also probably should have just been named deus ex machina instead of Lex because how much of this plot was engineered around her being a tech genius? (The reasoning part of me is like, hey, at least the lady gets this credit and the main character wasn't just a guy who is good at everything, including reverse engineering anything he touches. While that does bring some solace to my ugly troll heart... I'm also like, this is bullshit. Because again it makes the dude look like an idiot (his friends are like, bro, you can't even apps, how did you...? To which he replies, my smoking hot and genius maybe girlfriend) and it makes me question (YET AGAIN, CLINE) why the girl isn't the protagonist of this book.)
Same old ranty shit aside, it was an easy read and super fast. Great summer book, it kept my attention and I enjoyed parts of it! Other parts just sort of fell apart for me when I thought about them, you know?...more
I was glad that this was picked for our book club because I wouldn't have read it or stuck with it otherwise. It's nice to branch out. I kind of stoppI was glad that this was picked for our book club because I wouldn't have read it or stuck with it otherwise. It's nice to branch out. I kind of stopped caring whether or not he would make it out... but that's because I'm cold and heartless. Like space: cold, heartless and nobody can hear you scream?...more
Loved it! I laughed and had emotions. My only gripe was the journal format. I think I would have rated this so much higher if it hadn't be in that stupLoved it! I laughed and had emotions. My only gripe was the journal format. I think I would have rated this so much higher if it hadn't be in that stupid "dear diary, here are a lot of details that nobody would ever write in a journal entry" trope.
Oh yeah and the "ending". I'm still burned by that....more
You know, I shouldn't hate on this so hard since I've barely read anything this year and Rainbow Rowell has managed to trick me into reading two booksYou know, I shouldn't hate on this so hard since I've barely read anything this year and Rainbow Rowell has managed to trick me into reading two books in a month. (On my phone, no less, which is LIKE, GOD, AMAZING.) (See what I did there? I made fun of the 80's bs slang that was occasionally sprinkled in but not consistently enough that I wasn't like da fuq every time it happened. Also, back to back parentheses YEAH!)
It wasn't as funny as Fangirl. It had more plot, I guess. I wish the plot hadn't been a rejected Law & Order: SVU episode but I won't be so choosy/bitchy. Let's be real, there's something about Rowell that makes me not want to tear her a new asshole. I can't put my finger on what it is though. There's so much ammunition just sitting there for me and you can go back through my goodreads and see- I'm ruthless. What is it about this chick? Am I lost to bitchiness forever? Bitchiness was my first love, so I knew it couldn't last but maybe I could hope for one thing to go right in my life just this once??!!!...more
August 2015 Just listened to this audiobook, since both me and John read Armada and I was like, I wonder how Ready Player One holds up. Plus everyone iAugust 2015 Just listened to this audiobook, since both me and John read Armada and I was like, I wonder how Ready Player One holds up. Plus everyone is a super fan of Wil Wheaton. I didn't love or hate Wheaton as a narrator- sometimes his voice felt really slow. Then I was like, was his voice slow or were the exposition overloads really hard to listen to? I don't have an answer.
So, I don't know what the second book in this series is going to be about. I'm guessing the third book will be about the big red button that deletes everything. This made me want to read more Scalzi... mostly because I just want a scifi book that's one book and that's it. After hearing Cline talk at the Book Loft about how he's going to do a trilogy for this and Armada I was kind of like, peace out dude. But I'll probably still read them all. At least the player ones, probably not the Armada ones.
----- August 2011
Honestly, I was sucked into this book from the first chapter. There was just something about the description on the book flap that left a dark cloud hovering over me the whole time while reading that made me restrain myself from shouting out to everyone that they should read it. Because what if I got to the end and it ended up being a total suck fest?
It was pretty sweet though. A super fun read, just right for summer. My summer ADD for movies and books flared up this year something awful. I was looking for some fun fluff to read and Jamil suggested this. While I definitely agree with him in that a lot of the references were sometimes too forced and the dialog is pretty bad in places, something about this book was just too addictive to me to really care- although I did still notice it sometimes...
One thing that I noticed was how at one point he was saying that he needed to be in school every day or he would get kicked out because he'd racked up a ton of unexcused absences. But then later, to serve the plot, he already had enough credits to graduate so it wasn't a big deal what he did. At the beginning he said that there had been a ton of books/movies/comics made about him but that they got it all wrong. Then half way through when book deals started pouring in he was like, I'll do them but only if I get the egg. So I thought, oh, did that just tell me the end of the book or is it another continuity issue, you know?
While I did a lot of eye rolling at the super forced boy-meets-girl-they-fall-in-love-but-there-are-complications part, I did like the girl. It was nice to get a girls perspective on this boys game. Usually in science fiction they leave it out entirely. I still like (okay, love) science fiction but that is one of my problems with it. Especially when it's like, oh hey but my main character is a woman! I mean, she's a woman who thinks and acts like a man but look- breasts on the front cover! This girl was a cool laid back geeky chick who was realistic but also idealistic in some ways.
Mostly this book enabled me to think back on my own obsessions. I'm not into the 80's nearly as much as the author and that's okay. That's what made me want to get all of my friends/acquaintances/family reading this book- so maybe they could explain some of the stuff to me. I read one of the riddles to John and he went on some wild Dire Straits tangent that sent my head reeling. Mostly I was confused that he knew anything about Dire Straits, let alone enough to go on a full on tangent. (It wasn't relevant in the end but it was seriously entertaining.)
But yeah, I thought a lot about growing up here in the Midwest and getting super obsessed with things. At some parts it felt like the book knew me. It’s like it was there watching me when I was a creepily focused adolescent on x-files websites (uh, not reading x-file fan fic because that isn’t cool- or is it?!??!). Or while I was in a huge AIM chat room talking with people and picking apart the new Alias episode while it was on, trying to be the first to unriddle Rambaldi’s secret. Or while I was on twitter, tweeting to friends about what was happening during Lost and what did it all mean?? Maybe what this book was really missing were all the question marks to express the anxiety I was constantly feeling about these questions.
The last book I got this hyped over was probably The Hunger Games. Which, if you think about it, THG is a great book/alright series but there were also a lot of "oh hey, here's a thing that saved us in the nick of time, shhhh don't pay attention to all of these serendipitous events really" moments. Most of these books have that. It's an action movie but dressed up in literatures' big time business suit.
In a weird way, thinking about some of the stuff in the book, I probably shouldn't have been so enthralled by it all. A lot of the stuff that the author/character really liked (Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Rush) I have experienced and can appreciate but don't get the hyped mythology behind it. Still, it's funny to me because that didn't matter. Even if I didn't feel that way about those particular things, I have felt that way before about other things that most people don't get. (Barenaked Ladies, collecting all the stars in Mario64, David Duchovny circa 1996, etc.)
Let's be honest, the real reason I loved this book so much is that I'm secretly hoping some Howard Hughes/Willy Wonka/Sam Westing batshit insane bajillionaire is out there making up a treasure-hunt-pop-culture-contest surrounding 90's Nickelodeon shows/teen girl dramas/all the shit I've loved and have invested serious time and brain real estate in. If you happen to be that person, I can send you my contact information so we can get this wild goose chase party started. This is how we do it, it's Friday night and I feel alright...
---- August 2015 Just listened to this audiobook, since both me and John read Armada and I was like, I wonder how Ready Player One holds up. Plus everyone is a super fan of Wil Wheaton. I didn't love or hate Wheaton as a narrator- sometimes his voice felt really slow. Then I was like, was his voice slow or were the exposition overloads really hard to listen to? I don't have an answer.
So, I don't know what the second book in this series is going to be about. I'm guessing the third book will be about the big red button that deletes everything. This made me want to read more Scalzi... mostly because I just want a scifi book that's one book and that's it. After hearing Cline talk at the Book Loft about how he's going to do a trilogy for this and Armada I was kind of like, peace out dude. But I'll probably still read them all. At least the player ones, probably not the Armada ones. ...more
Loved re-reading this book. The second time around I didn't cry when (view spoiler)[Dumbledore died (hide spoiler)], but I did get really emotional whLoved re-reading this book. The second time around I didn't cry when (view spoiler)[Dumbledore died (hide spoiler)], but I did get really emotional when Mrs. Weasley was talking about Bill and how young men who are healthy don't always stay that way. Serious heart string tugging was going on. I liked that Voldemort is a total sociopath and collects trophies, like in TV shows about serial killers. It made me imagine him having a map with lines going everywhere and pictures of Harry Potter all over his bedroom. I didn't find Slughorn as annoying as I originally found him this second read through. Still obnoxious but also really smart and calculating.
Can't wait to read the last book but I don't want HP book club to end!...more
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