Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

August 16, 2011 by Random House

[Goodreads][Amazon][Chapters Indigo]

Synopsis:

"It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.

A quest for the ultimate prize.

Are you ready?"

Review:

I. Couldn't. Put. This. Book. Down. 

I honestly spent the bulk of a day reading this and had to force myself to sleep and when I woke up, I immediately rolled over and picked up from where I left off. This book was so good that I was sure I was addicted to it. I mean, of course I'd be addicted… Ernest Cline wrote it. I loved Fanboys so it was only obvious that of course, I'd love this piece of work that would ignite the fire that is my absolute geek.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling towards this read, however. Not in the terms of feeling turn between liking it or not; I loved this book more than I can possibly express but I wasn't sure whether I was having a lot of fun or whether or not I was terrified. The world that Ernest Cline wrote, the real world, is entirely plausible and that just blows my mind about how bad things could possibly get. Even more so, the game-world of OASIS blows my mind -- an entire existence within another reality and where education, politics and economy are of higher value than in the real world. Then you wonder whether you spend too much time in the digital world; socializing on Facebook, watching things on Netflix and YouTube, playing games, connecting with people on the other side of your planet. You order pizza online, and there are even alcohol and grocery services that deliver to your door. You honestly don't need to step outside. Except for maybe some Vitamin D stimulation. Thinking about this makes me suddenly need to go outside and breathe (so now I'm actually typing this outside on my balcony instead of inside my house…it's a start?)

This book was unbelievably exciting and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in video games, internet culture, sci-fi, fantasy and even if you aren't, I would still recommend it. It's action-packed, had really good pacing, a bit of romance and would be excellent for anyone who reads dystopian fiction as well as YA. Even if you don't catch the game or pop culture references, there's always a little something exciting if you're a younger reader and suddenly you read the words "quidditch" and of course, Doctor Who is pretty much a household name now. I'm not sure what it is about reading books and seeing things that you're familiar with in your everyday life, but it gets my heart racing and a smile draws across my face. 

If you pick this one up, I recommend that maybe you read it on a day off, or over a course of a weekend because you won't be able to pull yourself away from this read. Going to the washroom, eating food and sleeping? Not as important as this book.

Rating: 5/5 Bookworms

Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

May 22, 2007 by Riverhead Books

[Goodreads][Amazon][Chapters Indigo]

Synopsis:

"Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love."

Review:

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up anything written by Khaled Hosseini. Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns was an incredibly humbling experience; both heartbreaking and heartwarming but absolutely moving. It's not often my eyes want to water, something which I had to prevent as I didn't want to embarrassingly start bawling in the middle of a busy cafe.

It's now that I understand why this book is often praised and loved and it only makes me so excited to read Hosseini's new book; And The Mountains Echoed. A Thousand Splendid Suns is not just a heavy read, but an experience -- this is something you read to learn about being really, truly human. This is something you read and suddenly you've been given an intense life lesson about what love is. I'm not just talking about romantic love, but love for your mothers, your children, and of course, love for yourself. This book is heavy. This book is hopeful. This book is beautiful. You finish this story, close the book and you spend time in the silence of thought. By finishing this book, you're rewarded with a greater appreciation for your own life. The roof over your head, your full belly, the running water and just how precious your friends and family are.

I learned absolutely so much in this book; especially about the historical events in Afghanistan in the last few decades and about the experience of war. I learned about how much the human spirit could take, and I learned enormously about motherhood and companionship. I learned about the power of faith, too. 

I highly recommend this book to…anyone, maybe everyone. There are some definite mature subjects such as domestic violence and yes, war, but you'll take away so much from this book and won't regret ever picking it up.

Rating: 5/5 Bookworms

Review: The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

Published September 20th 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing 

[Goodreads][Amazon][Chapters Indigo]

Synopsis:

"Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.

Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart."

Review:

I'm going to say now that if you don't know anything about Greek mythology, especially about Achilles and Patroclus, well… let's just say you're missing out on a lot of cool things and there might be some very slight spoilers here.

The Song of Achilles is pretty much what you think it is; a story about Achilles. As in the Achilles... you know the one in The Iliad? The guy with the heel. The spin is, however, that this story is from the perspective of Patroclus, a character in Greek mythology known to be Achilles' most trusted friend, or as many people have argued, lovers. In this story, they are indeed lovers which I'm actually so thrilled about. Why? Well I feel like I just don't read enough books, especially prize-winners, that involve a homosexual relationship. Not that they don't exist but I feel like it's only been recently that I've begun seeing more of them. I love seeing more books talking about sexuality and different kinds of relationships -- am I the only one who's seeing them more only recently?

Despite winning a prize, I honestly thought this book was still only alright. Something I have to praise Miller on is how she wrote the development of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. I felt like their connection was so honest and natural as it developed and grew. As much as I loved how well their relationship played out I felt like it focused far too much into it. This was so frustrating for me because parts of it plateaued and dragged on and on. I wanted something to bloody happen and for Patroclus to stop admiring Achille's hot bod. It's really not often I think "somebody die already!" I needed some development, dammit!

Although Miller's language was very thoughtfully used, classical-feeling but read in a very modern state, her take on the characters weren't my favourite. Patroclus was made out to be weak and incompetent as a warrior which is absurd. Patroclus was a pretty able warrior and quite frankly, if you're comrade to Achilles, of course you're going to be weaker in comparison, but on the field? He was as competent as any other non-God warrior. Oh, and let's not mention that Achilles' character in this book is vastly different than how I would imagine him from The Iliad. I always thought he was arrogant and far too self-confident, which, okay, fine, from the perspective of a lover, I understand why that's not as apparent. I feel like the characters weren't really as well-done as their relationship was, and that was disappointing. It's hard following characters that you're not liking quite as much through a story that drags on for ages.

This book is a…decent enough retelling of The Iliad. I felt the characters were rather annoying, and that there was a lot of focus on the romance despite the fact that there was a pretty bloody war going on around the main characters. The in-book-timeframe honestly took forever despite the book only being less than 400 pages long. My only other complaint is that the edition I bought had a foil cover and it flaked on EVERYTHING. My hands were absolutely disgusting every time I picked this book up and there was gold foil bits scattered around the couch I would read on. Annoying.

Rating: 3/5 Bookworms … not horrible, but it wasn't great either.

Review: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Published March 7th 2000 by Random House (first published January 1st 2000)

[Goodreads][Amazon][Chapters Indigo]

Synopsis:

"Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children.

Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices.

The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams."

Review:

I had House of Leaves on my to-read list for a long, long time but never got around to picking it up. I either never had the funding or it wasn't available in the library but it just so happened my roommate actually had a copy and was kind enough to loan it to me. I wasn't disappointed -- I was enthralled by this book; the pages were beautiful, the format was unique, the story was absolutely bizarre. This was my kind of book!

This book is probably one of very, very few that actually made me have some really weird dreams and often enough as this book was a long read. Reading it becomes intense and disorienting and requires a lot of time but the effort is well-worth what waits within the pages. There's lots of puzzles and things to sort out in the book. For example, the cover itself a blueprint of the House. It's an extremely challenging read -- but not in terms of the language it uses. Sometimes you need to flip the book upside down, on it's side, turn back pages and so on and so forth. The journey this book takes you on is quite fun, but trust me when I say that you can only go through it for x amount of time before you need to put it down. The formatting of the book sets the emotional roller coaster for you and captures what the House is doing to the characters. Or is the House just reflecting on the characters?

I should make mention that House of Leaves isn't just telling one story, but two main stories with one story affecting the other. Both stories seem to play a lot on obsession and the entire book plays a lot with symbolism, metaphor and references to history and literature.

What I really love about this book, most of all, is witnessing how human the characters were in such a fantastical story, especially in how their relationships were with each other.

This book is a lot of terror, mystery, adventure with a splash of romance. This should be read when you have a lot of time on your hands and is definitely for a more mature audience. If you're a night reader, I don't suggest reading this after sunset. No, seriously, don't do it. If you're feeling for something vastly different from your average book and love a good puzzle, this book is absolutely right in your ballpark.

Rating: 5/5 Bookworms

Review: Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk

Published June 5th 2003 by Vintage (first published July 28th 1999)

[Goodreads][Amazon][Chapters Indigo]

Synopsis: 

"Ever heard of a culling song? It’s a lullaby sung in Africa to give a painless death to the old or infirm. The lyrics of a culling song kill, whether spoken or even just thought. You can find one on page 27 of Poems and Rhymes from Around the World, an anthology that is sitting on the shelves of libraries across the country, waiting to be picked up by unsuspecting readers.

Reporter Carl Streator discovers the song’s lethal nature while researching Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and before he knows it, he’s reciting the poem to anyone who bothers him. As the body count rises, Streator glimpses the potential catastrophe if someone truly malicious finds out about the song. The only answer is to find and destroy every copy of the book in the country. Accompanied by a shady real-estate agent, her Wiccan assistant, and the assistant’s truly annoying ecoterrorist boyfriend, Streator begins a desperate cross-country quest to put the culling song to rest."

Review:

Let me first off let you all know about how Chuck Palahniuk never, EVER fails to blow my mind. Lullaby was no exception to this rule. I would however like to say that although I did like this book, it's not the best he's ever written. Then again, it's not making itself out to be the best. This book was written as a way for Palahniuk to cope with a tragedy in his life and he wrote this solely for himself -- yes, it's published and shared among readers but in the end, so is this blog. I write solely for the joy of writing, but I also want to share my thoughts and feelings about what I'm writing as well.

So to enlighten those of you who don't know, Palahniuk wrote this book to help him cope with a big decision. In unfortunate tragedy, his father and his father's girlfriend were murdered by the girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. The murderer was caught, and was put on trial, but they gave Palahniuk the opportunity to be a part of a decision; does this murderer live, or die?

This is a large theme in the novel -- the idea of playing God. Who are we to decide who lives or dies? When that power is imparted on us, what do we use it for? There's also the old "sticks and stones" idea. How badly can words hurt? There's also a lot of mention about how much we're influenced by the media; noise from televisions, radio, movies, music and so on and so forth. This book, as strange as any of Chuck Palahniuk's books ring with a lot of things worth thinking about. It's also a story about a merry band of misfits on a road trip, which is also kinda fun.

Lullaby isn't Palahniuk's best work, in my humble opinion, but it isn't bad either. I think if you're a fan of his other stories then you would enjoy this. Although I liked reading this, Invisible Monsters still rings as my favourite from this author. I really liked the themes and ideas that this book portrayed, but I also felt that the direction was disjointed and the characters were difficult to like sometimes. Basically, it was good in places but fell apart in other areas. With that, let's move onto the bookworm rating:

Rating: 3/5 Bookworms

Review: John Dies At The End

Lo and behold, my first review!

Let's start off the synopsis, shall we?:

"STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault."

And now for the review:

This is a very strange book with strange things and strange people. I loved this book for being so strange and so absolutely vulgar. I guess in the world of a comic horror, no subject is really taboo. Considering horror is monsters and gore and comedy is...well, have you seen stand-up comedians? Anything is game.

This book is written by Cracked.com's Senior Editor, Jason Pargin who writes this under the pseudonym David Wong. David Wong is not only the writer but also the protagonist and narrator; a Jack of All Trades, he is. Dave brings us into an adventure with his friend John that's mortifying, delightful and fantastical that's made up of weird little wig-creatures and confusing questions.

If there's anything I have to say about this book it's that it's damn fun. Like watching a Michael Bay movie - not because the movie is good but because your brain wants to see things explode and because Megan Fox is pretty easy on the eyes. Fortunately books aren't like movies where you need visual effects to keep you happy. Books need be actually good for you even to have fun reading it. It may not be a creative masterpiece. There isn't metaphor or symbolism for you to decipher or a deep meaning that you need to carry with you. This book isn't going to change your life and that's the beauty of this book. It's simply fun and sometimes you just want something ridiculous to read and this is that book. It's so fun in fact that I had issues trying to put it down and over the course of two days, it took me about five hours to read. John Dies is full of unexpected things, hilarious characters, vulgarity, and goes great with a pint of beer.

I can't wait to get my hands on This Book is Full of Spiders.

Rating: 4/5 Bookworms

April: What I'm Reading Cont.

This month seems to be a very prolific reading month. Of course, seeing as I'm still in between jobs, I've really spend the bulk of it doing sending cover letters, doing yoga and of couse, reading. Because I really can't do much else when I can't spare the change to do it, obviously.

I posted a few days ago what I had read and what I'm reading this month. Well... as it turns out, I finished all those books and then I went ahead and read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, who, if you didn't know, is currently one of my favourite writers. I was introduced to Gaiman's stories, originally through graphic novels but upon a suggestion from my friend, Coles, I ended up picking up both Neverwhere and American Gods and I absolutely loved them. Anansi Boys is a great in so many ways; it's often said that this book is a sequel to American Gods but I'm going to ahead and politely disagree. Although Gaiman takes this world and continues with it, Anansi Boys is it's own story - you honestly don't need to read American Gods to understand the story. However, American Gods makes a great compliment to any questions regarding the fantastical world Gaiman has created; so although you don't have to read it, I really recommend you do because it's so very, very good.

It seems to me that I've read some really amazing books this month and the month isn't even close to being done. Of course seeing as I've read some incredible things, there has to be some books that I'm particularly not sure about.

One of these books is The Night Circus but Erin Morgenstern. I saw this book literally everywhere. I would see it recommended to me on the Kobo application, I would see it displayed in every book store I walked into, I would see it being read on the trains and the list continues. So finally, I caved, I liked the idea of the story. I enjoy a bit of mystification and a story with a circus? The quirkiness of it is quite my cup of tea. So I purchased it for my Kobo (I've been using my Kobo a lot lately since I have many unread stories to bury into and because, as a non-productive member of society at the moment, it's much more affordable for me.) I'm about 15% of the way through the book and I admit that this is a book that I can lift my head up from. A great read you can barely tear me away from and I have to remind myself that I should probably go to the washroom and use the facilities or perhaps make myself a meal. I'm in fact debating whether I should power through the story or not. As of now, all I can think of is the overuse of flowery imagery and how this might have been a better movie than a story. Am I the only one not impressed? Should I continue with it? Is it worth my time?

On top of that, upon first judgement, I flipped through the first few pages of The Magicians and already dislike pretty much all the characters. I watched a few YouTube reviews and some of the readers really enjoyed this book. Reviews seem to be mixed, it seems, as Goodreads members really don't care for The Magicians in the slightest. I have no idea what it is with remarkably intelligent characters always being so damn pretentious but it needs to stop. It's really not likeable at all and I honestly want nothing more than to punch Quentin (the protagonist) in the nose. I don't think this is my book and I think I'm going to unfortunately take the venture back to the library to return it for something more suitable to my liking. Sigh... 

If anyone happens to have any suggestions for anything that I may be interested in for the rest of the month, or even, to begin reading for the next month please leave a comment or email! I know for the next month I'm on the search for a non-fiction read (Escape from Camp 14) and pick up Lullaby by Chuck Pahalniuk as it's been sitting on my shelf being unread. The Great Gatsby is going to be read next month as well, definitely before the new movie comes out and that, I'll make it's own glorious post. Hopefully the next little while will see the death of this "meh" book slump and instead bring me some most amazing things to read.

Fare thee well, Literates!