Yeah, and I don’t mind that he’s supposed to be a crummy person, but he never really acknowledges how he violated Artemis’s privacy and how it was self-seeking of him to do so, etc.

I loved Ready Player One, but I also found Wade Watts inherently problematic. Where he snoops Artemis’s file and then sends it to her (in fairness because she is in imminent danger) and tacks on “you’re even more beautiful in real life” is peak cringe and violation of boundaries.

I liked it for the adventure aspect. But I also don’t think he’s a great person.

If someone said their favorite book was Ready Player One, I’d ask them about Wade’s character and their answer would be very very telling for me.

Intro to philosophical fiction is a good way to put it. Like, yes, it’s nice, and the message is pretty obvious. But it’s not necessarily supposed to be anything else but itself.

I hated it when I first read it (8th grade, Catholic school haha, so it fits), I found it probably one of the most healing things I’d ever read, but I read it a few years later after I’d experienced some shit, and I appreciated it more.

You kind of have to want a slower, more philosophical book, because otherwise it IS really boring. Most philosophy would be boring to someone looking for an action adventure or a passionate romance.

Is it my favorite novel? No. But I don’t hate it anymore. Someone’s favorite novel might give me pause, as I’d think they were too enlightened for me haha, whether in truth or just in their head!