Ready Player One

 

The Book:

            This awesome book by Ernest Cline was one of my favorites to read. It takes place in the not-too-distant future where it follows Wade Watts as he tries to find Halliday’s Easter Egg. Halliday created a virtual reality called the Oasis, which becomes wildly popular and people basically spend all day online – going to work, school, hanging out, trying a thousand different worlds and opportunities to be found there. After Halliday’s death, he announces to the world that he’s hidden three keys which lead to three gates and if you can find all the keys and gates first, you get his Easter Egg, which is control over the Oasis. This obviously starts a huge hunt but in the five years after his death, not even the first key had been found.

            What is wonderful about this book is the references to 80’s pop culture – books, movies, songs, games, people, you name it. Halliday loved the 80’s and so a deep study of his life and interests are key to finding the keys and gates. Ernest Cline does a great job littering fun references to all kinds of things throughout the book.

            This book was engaging, entertaining and full of great imagery. The plot line was solid and while character development isn’t a big focus, you still enjoy the relationships that are displayed in the book. All in all, a fun read.

 

 

 

The Movie:

            Alright, the 2018 movie of Ready Player One was one that I was massively anticipating because I enjoyed the book so much. It was….how shall I put it….very loosely based on the book. Very loosely.

            It still follows Wade Watts, albeit in a different setting, as he struggles to figure out the clues to find the first key. The commonalities between the movie and the book are: Same character names, still three keys, still a contest, Halliday and his hunt exist, same bad guys… and that’s about it. The key riddles are different, there are no gates, the circumstances of the contest are different and even what happens to key characters is different. This movie was so loosely based, it could almost be its own movie altogether.

            The one plus side of this movie was the visuals. It has so many “blink and you miss it” moments where it shows 80’s characters, subtle music cues and sound effects. It was fun to watch because you get to see how many things you can recognize, but it’s hardly based off the book that you kind of need to view it as a separate thing.

 

The Verdict:

            Book wins! While I enjoyed the movie, its plot is not as strong or engaging as the book, and the visual treats are not enough to connect the movie to the book. It has a decent Rotten Tomatoes score of 72% so its definitely not a bad movie, just not based off the book. Watch it for its entertainment value, but read the book for the great story.

Where'd You Go Bernadette?

 

The Book:

            Man, this book is funny. I can see the situations playing out in my head as the author, Maria Semple, writes them out. I really enjoyed reading about Bernadette and how she got to the point that she did. This book is written as a series of notes, emails, letters, and discussions that have been compiled to give you a picture of the events that led up to Bernadette going missing. As a mom myself, I identify with the part of you that gets lost when raising children. Here is Bernadette, an amazing architect, whose life is suddenly filled and taken over for caring for her daughter. Now I’m not saying that it’s bad to be focused on raising children, goodness no, but rather that I understand how those personal projects and interests get set aside while you are raising children. I think this is something that happens a lot and can be a struggle to bring those back to the surface and still work at being a mother.

            I also liked in this story how Bernadette relates to the other moms at her daughter’s prestigious school. Sometimes it seems like you are the odd parent out and the “gnats”, as Bernadette calls them, are merrily going along to a tune you don’t know. I have run into a few “gnats” myself who’s concerns and problems and ideas sometimes come out of nowhere and don’t make sense to me. Like who decided I needed to shape my children’s lunch into characters? I look at some of these “Pinterest moms”, as I call them, and shake my head. I mean, good for you for doing that, but I definitely don’t feel compelled to do it. I’ve been known to not only not create characters for my kid’s lunch, I’ve even phoned it in by tossing a lunchable in their backpacks!

            I think this book is really good. It’s a fast read and has a lot of humorous parts in it.

The Movie:

            Alright, I was so excited when I heard this was going to be made into a movie because I wanted to see the designs that are described in the book come to life. They do a great job of showcasing all the little side projects Bernadette does in her home. It’s definitely run-down and crazy as is described in the book, but then she’ll walk into a room and the doorway has a bunch of artfully designed pencils going around the top. It’s full of these little artistic moments where you can see she started a project and then let it slide.

            I also liked Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Bernadette. She comes off as slightly screwy but in a real understandable way. Emma Nelson, who plays her daughter Bee, is perfect. She’s fierce in her mother’s defense and so sweet at the same time. Kristen Wiig plays the crazy next-door neighbor who sadly has less of a role in the movie than the book, but still does a great job.

 

The Verdict:

            The movie wins! While I really liked this book, it does have a real annoying subplot where SPOILERS! the husband has an affair. This is completely removed from the movie, as he is just a work-acholic like in the book. This omission also has the effect of not destroying the family and creating a more stable ending for all the characters.

            Another main difference between book and movie is the book has Audrey, the next-door neighbor, offer help to Bernadette and as a way to repair their dysfunctional relationship. I did like this aspect, as the neighbor unnecessarily causes drama where there isn’t any, but in the movie, it’s a much better character arc to have Bernadette seek out help from her neighbor. This shows more personal growth and an acknowledgment of her actions towards her neighbor.

            Overall, read the book, but definitely enjoy watching the movie!