Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

I have to admit, reading Ready Player One, was a new experience for me. A very niche subject matter - 80’s pop culture, mostly video games - with a post-apocalyptic flavor and a twist of expected teen romance; it was predictable enough to keep from tearing through it at light speed for plot alone, but interesting enough to keep me reading through some severely slow moving and self pitying stretches. Not sure I liked it enough to keep it up, but too intrigued to put it away for good, it played out a lot like an over eager date - there’s nothing overtly wrong with the dude, but do you really wanna go on date number 3? In either case, nosy neighbor that I am the answer is yes. Unlike going on that 3rd date, I think the payoff here was worth it. (Much less guilt plays out in the end).

The first date is great - not spectacular mind you, but conversation keeps up and despite it all you find yourself excited about it. Even walking away from it, you know definitely nailed it, and he thinks you’re great. Despite it all, something is nagging at you. You have enough in common but you can’t shake the uncertainty . It’s exciting to bust out of a rut, to be free of sad whiny teenagers who won’t talk about their feelings. Right away Cline’s set up feels just like this. A slow build that pulls you in out of curiosity for what's to come, rather than having hooked you already. You even stay a half an hour later than planned - the dishes can wait another day. While not the first thing on your mind, the idea of a second date hangs in the back of your mind, giving you reason to smile throughout your work day.

Getting into the puzzle that the book presents is date two. Pleasantries and “oh what did you major in?” are out of the way, so you can get down to what is really important things - as in did he just catch that Clueless reference? Or “oh you don’t like 30 Rock? hmmm.” You can’t really put your finger on anything wrong, in fact stepping back everything looks great in perspective. The book introduces elements of romance, a really good bad guy, a quest, suspense, and obviously all the 80’s trivia a girl could hope for. I could not shake the feeling while reading that I was missing something though, beyond just the video game references.
Despite that feeling you keep going until you taper off at a point where the going gets slow. The electricity you though might be there is less the humming of a bug zapper and more the sad sparks of a dying, slightly damp firework. Cline has a lot of these moments (Just like date two. More of a fizzle than a bang. Actually.) where the going feels like quicksand. The action is well written enough that it certainly wasn't enough to stop me from reading, but my enjoyment of the book felt somehow retrained.

Date three is the big one. The point where things pick back up, or you find yourself alone sharing a low fat yogurt with your cat for dinner on a Saturday. (Boots says: One one paw I want the whole yogurt to myself, on the other I don’t want to share my hooman. LIFE IS SO HARD. I think I’ll just settle for chewing on someones toes). Gearing up for the end of Cline’s book was enjoyable enough - most of the loose ends are knotted up neatly (no thanks to you, Boots). Friendships re-bonded, battles won, grail quest wrapped up, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Up through dates 1 and 2 things feel slightly unpredictable. Nothing was going terribly awry, yet nothing was going spectacularly well. Back on the date, everything finds itself on an even keel, which compared to the chaos of the rest of your life, is pretty enjoyable. Until you realize you are stuck and always will be stuck at an even keel. Cline’s book plateaus in the last third - becoming easily predictable, as if coasting on an even track, whereas the first 2/3rd really keep you slightly more on your toes. Thank god books end, and you don’t have to consider a 4th dates because lord knows I would be the whore of Babylon were that the case. I’m real book slut, I can barely stick to one I really love, let alone when it’s only getting a lukewarm reception.

It ends much as you would expect, as you've been suspecting, since the peak of the action. This book definitely left something to be desired - just like dates 4, 5, 6, etc. will if you end up on them, until you check out enough that he breaks it off with you. It is only after you google the book reviews over a glass of wine - or tell your girlfriends over brunch that its over, that you realize you were right all along. Until someone tells you that nagging instinct that something could be a lot better, it’s easy to settle into an even keel. That being said, this is a finite novel and not some guy you met on the internet. It was a nice change of pace from what I have been reading, with witty writing, and some pretty strong female characters.

Boots says: As much as I like to sink my teeth into a good book, I'm glad the human read this on a kindle. It means more room for me to smother mom, and a free hand to scratch my ears. It also means my fleshy servant eats and reads at the same time, which means less careful guarding to the dairy products.