I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving. I hope you spent time with family and only screamed about politics a little. If you would like to take a little bit of the edge off of the current national screaming match, perhaps pick up this book and escape into a world where things are even more screwed up.
Ready Player One
Wade Watts is a poor kid in an ugly time in history. Basically everything has collapsed: the economy, the climate, civilization in general. Fortunately, most people spend all of their time in the vitural world of the OASIS, a free digital utopia where you can hang out with friends, go to school, work, game, the possibilities are endless. Of course, the most exciting part of the OASIS is searching for creator James Halliday's hidden easter egg. Whoever finds it first will inherit James Halliday's entire fortune and control of the OASIS itself.
I just finished the audiobook to this one. I actually listened to it with my husband, which is probably the nerdiest thing we have done. Do other people have the conversation, "Honey, do you want to sit around the house this Friday and listen to Ready Player One?" Or is it just us?
If you generally are into nerds solving puzzles and going on adventures, you will love this. I was originally told that it's all about 80's pop culture and video games, so I thought I wouldn't be able to follow it and it wouldn't be my cup of tea. And while it is all about 80's pop culture and video games, you can totally follow it even if you know approximately nothing about either.
BONUS: You have approximately 18 months to read it before you see the movie, which should premiere in spring 2018.
This is my favorite video to show first year teachers. It is SO FUNNY when you've hit a level of tired and stress that has you rethinking all of your life choices.
2) Got married
Because it's important to maintain your dedication to stress during those summer months.
The start to a new school year is an exciting, challenging time for everyone. I chose to do it on hard mode and close on a home and move because who would want to ACTUALLY feel less stressed during the start of their second year teaching? Clearly not me, that's who.
4) Performed in 3 plays
Gretchen in Boeing Boeing got me through the beginning of school.
Josie in Proposals helped me survive winter.
And Dodie in Wild Mushrooms helped me feel really, really smart in April.
But I'm not going to tell you about all 78 because that would be ridiculous. I'm just going to pick my 8 favorites and tell you the tiniest of bits about them.
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline science fiction
Reading this book is like playing a video game, but with more jokes. It reads a bit like a Joss Whedon movie/TV show. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Wil Wheaton, who incidentally has been elected President of the USA in the book. Delightful, best selling, award-winning science fiction. I can't believe it took me this long to read it.
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown dystopian science fiction
Everyone says this book is basically a cross between The Hunger Games and Ender's Game, and that's really what you need to know. I thought the first quarter was the most boring and depressing thing I had ever read, but eventually I pushed through it and got to the arena and then I stopped talking to the world until I finished the book. Dystopian science fiction
A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas fantasy, romance
This is the second book but is so much better than the first book I wish I could tell you to just skip the first book but you need the context. So I guess we start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is basically a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but with faeries. Then A Court of Mist and Fury takes all of that world building, shakes it up, dives deeper, and gives you way more interesting characters and plot. I gobbled this book up and cannot wait for the third book.
How To Be A Woman, by Caitlin Moran nonfiction - feminism
I like to think of this book as a how-to guide to be a good person in the modern world. How to love yourself and all the women around you, and how to discuss what feminism is. It's both hilarious and poignant, and gives a rallying cry to the modern woman about why feminism is still important.
I stumbled onto this book through Emma Watson's Feminist Book Club - Our Shared Shelf. And while I have fallen off the wagon pretty hard with keeping up on these books, every single one has been excellent. The group seems to now do one book every two months, which gives me a prayer of actually finishing them in time.
Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell fantasy
First, Rainbow Rowell wrote Fangirl. In Fangirl, the main character was writing her final fan fiction of the Simon Snow series. She also starts her first year of college and falls in love and whatever, but readers loved the Simon Snow chapters so much that Rainbow Rowell decided to write that book as well. Simon Snow is basically Harry Potter, and the fanfiction created a world in which the Harry Potter character fell in love with his arch nemesis, the Draco Malfoy character. I am not selling this book well, because I thought the premise was likely going to be stupid. I love Harry Potter. Carry On felt like reading a brand new Harry Potter book, but also totally different. I....I....I..... love it more than Cursed Child, which didn't even make it on this list because I can't decide how I feel about it.
I'll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson Young Adult fiction
I read that this book was for fans of Rainbow Rowell, and as I have read all of her books, I was forced to pick this up instead. If you like Rainbow Rowell and/or John Green, you will love it. If you do not, then you will not.
Ms. Marvel: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson (author), Adrian Alphona (artist) Graphic Novel/Comic
I would need to be a lot more awake to really talk about why this comic is so great.
Heartless, by Marissa Meyer Fantasy, fairy tale retelling
Heartless is the origin story for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I am completely obsessed with Marissa Meyer. I've talked about Cinder, Cress, & Fairest on here. And while I loved Cinder and the rest of The Lunar Chronicles, Fairest is definitely the book that convinced me that Marissa Meyer is an amazing author. Heartless manages to combine all that I loved in all of her previous books, but went above and beyond to smash my heart into a million pieces.
Writing about books...
is exhausting. Sitting and reading and escaping is so much easier. I do hope I managed to persuade you that one of these is something worth reading. I would work harder on making this a more publishable piece of writing, but I have a movie to see.
Have you read any of these books? Leave a comment telling me what YOU liked about it! And don't forget to tell me about what book you're currently loving.
