I’ll go with the low-hanging fruit: Mein Kampf. I’ve read it, cover to cover. As a piece of propaganda, it’s good. As an example of good writing? Absolutely not (though I will admit I have only read it in translation). Oh, and the whole fascist, racist, and generally shitty worldview of the author that he infuses into the text. And the fact that the author is literally Hitler. You 5-star that book? You’re a Nazi. Period. And as a Jewish person, I don’t look too kindly on them.
I read it and enjoyed it because I love VR and it’s basically nerd wish-fulfillment.
That said I see the issues with it, and why a certain subset of people might gravitate towards it. However in and of itself it’s not a problematic book imo - it’s a easy romp of a read. The concept of a global treasure hunt driven by nerdery and the you-can-be-anything in virtual reality gives it its popularity. I have several female co-workers I respect who also read it and enjoyed it. It’s nowhere near well-written with great prose or anything close though.
Someone else mentioned Rick and Morty, and I think they both fall into a similar category. The media itself isn’t so much the problem, it’s the near obsessive fandom that tends to indicate some negative personality traits.
Rick and Morty is plausibly a deconstruction or critique of the kinds of media it itself represents. It’s weird, but Rick and Morty could be simultaneously seen as both a creation and product of a certain kind of nerdy masculinity, as well as a satirical deconstruction of that same kind of cultural product.
Unfortunately, Ready Player One doesn’t quite work on those levels. It’s basically just older male nerd fantasy and wish fulfillment. Which, to a poststructuralist like myself, means it’s even more ripe for analysis and critique than a “winking” piece of media like Rick and Morty.
I should note that I’m not trying to credit Rick and Morty with being subversive, only self-consciously postmodern, and I’m not trying to malign Ready Player One for being shallow, only pointing out that it seems sincere, like, this is really clearly fantasy wish-fulfillment.
Not sure I would call it an easy romp, some parts of it are in clear need of an editor.
I listened to the book after seeing the movie and there is one chapter where he just lists things from the 80s.
He doesn’t comment on them, he doesn’t put them into some sort of context to each other, he just rattles on and on about the stuff🤦♂️
Haha i don’t disagree - it’s in bad need of an editor and he loves info-dumpy segues for sure. By easy romp i meant the story was fun for me to read, not that it was a paragon of literary readability.
I will say though that as someone who loves knowledge for its own sake and will spend hours going down Wikipedia rabbit-holes that his random forays and commentaries on movies and games did not bother me at all the way it would bother a reader who favors a more focused narrative and story-telling.