Book Review: Ready Player One

     I just finished the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  I bought it awhile ago and kept putting off reading it because even though I found it on several book lists, the description on the back of the book didn't catch my attention all that much.  I kept having other books come up that sounded more interesting.  So I finally got to reading it several months after I bought it and thank goodness I did.  This book is so much fun!  The characters are relatable and interesting, even the side characters.  And the world in which the book takes place (the real world, for this moment), is a scary picture of what society could become.  But the book doesn't focus on this in a way that makes it overbearing or preachy.  It just sets up the world and then creates the virtual world inside it, which is where the majority of the book takes place.
     I was nervous that the setting of the virtual world would make me feel left out (I know or care very little about computer games, programming, etc.) or make the characters feel distant or removed, but Cline managed to bring the characters to life in both worlds and really make the world feel real.  The danger he puts the characters in had me turning to the last page, real or virtual.
     The best part of this book, hands down, however, were the references.  Eighties culture galore!  It was fun to read about music and movies that I have enjoyed, and learn about new music and movies and facts that I want to check into more.
     I will admit it took me a minute to get into, and there were some parts that made me impatient to get to the main story again, but I would gladly read this book again.

Movies

I just went to the movie 'Trumbo', and I have to say, it was an awesome movie.  It's been interesting to me lately that I have been interested in some "slower-paced" biographical movies.  I did not know I was a fan, but I saw Tom Hanks in 'Bridge of Spies' and then 'Suffragette' and now 'Trumbo'.

First, the story is solid.  It is an interesting story that has comedy, drama, a lot of heart, and definite intensity.  At one point, I was so into the movie, that I said, out loud, "GOOD!" when a character was told off.  This story is about stories, and people's right to tell them, and people's rights, in general.

The acting alone would have sold this movie to me.  Bryan Cranston is amazing, and plays the varied aspect of the character well.  I'm always a fan of Elle Fanning, and it was a fun surprise to see her in this movie.  She always seems so quiet and shy in her movies.  Helen Mirren is flawless (obviously) and makes you hate her, which is perfect and necessary.  Diane Lane plays the kind of woman I would want to be.  She is strong and brave and kind, and she is played with all of the emotions that she should have.  Alan Tudyk plays a smaller role, but one I enjoyed seeing him in (even though his accent was strange to me).  And John Goodman...always a pleasure.  He was one of the comic relief elements that this movie needed, and he played the role so incredibly well.  His portrayal of Frank King made it possibly for the seriousness of the rest of the film to really play out.

I definitely think this movie is a must if you like movies, or history for that matter.

A Little Inspiration

I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile now.  A place to ramble on about thoughts and books and poetry and life.  All the important things, you know?  But it seemed as though it never happened.  I always put it off, I always got too busy or distracted (which you will see, is just my perma-state-of-being).  But as I was grocery shopping today (hungry, which is always a mistake), I passed a statue of a cat meditating.  People had placed quarters and other such small 'prayer' offerings on it (or maybe they did it as a joke).  But it struck me as strangely beautiful and somehow triggered this feeling that has been coming on for awhile.  I have been holding myself back.  From a lot of things, really, but my blog was one of them.  The name popped into my head and here I am.  At the beginning of my journey of getting out of my own way and maybe even joining my own forces (is this becoming too weird?)

   It boils down to this: I have been holding back for a long time.  Holding back on really trying in life, really pushing myself, and on really putting myself out there because, lets face it, I was afraid that somehow I would be found lacking.  Whereas, if I never tried because I was 'too busy', I could blame the craziness of life.  But how boring is that??  So here begins my journey of really putting myself out there in life, and really making the most of the one that I call mine.  I hope it's interesting.  I hope it is fun and exciting and exhausting and exhilarating and all those other 'ex' words.  Hopefully this is not my last post!  (Haha! I think!)   Tah for now, chums!