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Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Pop culture (2 more)
Nostalgia drips from the page
Future true story
Modern retro
Coming to this book from the movie was a mistake but not a bigger one than reading this then watching the movie.

In a strangely possible future that sees the real world being second to virtual world of the Oasis, Wade Watts finds himself orphaned and obsessed with the 80s and all levels of geek and pop trivia. This obsession grows as he along with millions of others are undertaking a quest to control the virtual world and basically be the king of both worlds. Many movies, computer games, songs and even breakfast cereals are dissected in great detail and this attention to detail makes the book for me and is where it had me hooked. If you love nostalgia then this book will be a dream of not then it could be too much.

The story is packed with twists and turns with the obligatory love interest make this book fun, interesting and gripping in equal measure.

Book then movie, I need to learn to remember that one of these days
  
Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1)
Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1)
Ashley Poston | 2017 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
7.8 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
A fun, geek-tactic modern retelling. (0 more)
Fairytale meets fandom.
The blurb: ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ONCE UPON A CON. When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield she has to enter.

First prize is an invitation to the Excelsicon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot.

Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmothers back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all. Not to mention a fan girls dream come true.

Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s Excelsicon. He used to live for conventions, but know they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets.

Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the die-hard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob.

As Excelsicon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake – until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, GEEKERELLA is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. ~~



Fairytale meets fandom in this modern day retelling of Cinderella.

I am always here for a new take on a well loved story, and Ashley Poston has delivered a faithful to the original story that also makes for a good tale on its own right.

I have to start by saying look at that cover! When I saw it on the shelf in Waterstones *other bookshops are available* I knew I had to buy it.

I love the modern versions of the well known characters, Elle is a Starfield nerd. Her love of the classic tv show comes from her parents, who originally founded the Starfield convention.

Catherine, the stepmother, and the stepsisters, Chloe and Cal are perfectly spiteful as overwork and under appreciate Elle.

The prince in this version is Darien, a young Hollywood golden boy with insured abs, while the fairy godmother role is filled by Sage, the punk wannabe-fashion-designer. I love Sage!

There’s also a canine sidekick, Franco, a.k.a Frank the tank, any story that includes a very good boy has the makings of a winner for me.

Ashley Poston gives a nod to the coach from the original story with The magic pumpkin, Sage’s vegan food van and the ending is perfect with the ball and even the glass shoe.

Obviously we all know how Cinderella goes but Ashley Poston gets us to the end via a geek-tastic tale of fandoms, fan blogs, cosplay conventions and the movie making world.

The way that Elle and Darien begin to get to know each other via text makes for a sweet romance, each not knowing who the other is – Darien, who Elle doesn’t believe will make a good Carmindor, and Elle, being rebelgunner the blogger who slated Darien – I’ve seen some reviews saying it’s not realistic that they fall for each other via text, and so quickly, but it does happen, and anyway, come on! This is Cinderella, and in the original her and the prince fall in love after just a dance.

Geekerella is such a heartwarming story, it’s not often I read a book again, but this is one I’ll definitely turn to when I need cheering up.

I’m giving Geekerella 5/5 stars and I can’t wait to read more of Ashley Poston’s work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  
The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love
The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love is a fandom-lovers dream, minus the unrequited love. The story takes place predominantly at New York Comic Con, the second largest convention of pop culture fanatics (myself included) in the United States. You can tell that the author is either very familiar with the area from personal experience, or questioned a con-goer to get every detail. She mentions things like the cell service being spotty in the Artist’s Alley (it is) and the atmosphere you experience on the way to the Con. It’s so fascinating to be walking the streets for a while when suddenly you notice a Spider-Man strolling out of a bakery, not too long after a group of wizards turn the corner and before you know it you’re surrounded by a horde of enthusiastic, frequently costumed, nerds, geeks and fans of all ages outside the Javitt’s Center, where NYCC is held.

The atmosphere was authentic and made me feel like I was attending the Con as well, although that may be in part because I’ve attended NYCC before I do believe that any reader will feel just as immersed. The world was the most enjoyable part of the book, as the characters were not as developed as they could have been. There were moments of clarity where you saw more into their motivations, but overall they weren’t memorable characters. That’s not to say there was anything wrong with them, they just didn’t affect me as a reader.

It was an easy, enjoyable contemporary read that I think is perfect for young adult/teen readers who are fans of something and enjoy books that they can relate to on that level. You don’t have to be a comic book or superhero fan to enjoy Comic Con, it is a refuge and a consolidation of all fandoms. If you love something, you will find something you can relate to at Comic Con and in this book.
  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Add this book to the short list of must-reads for every True Geek, right alongside [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320544000s/830.jpg|493634]. It's a gleeful homage to geekdom and pop culture.

Wade explains to the reader that he was born after humanity wore the world out and escaped to OASIS, a massive simulation that has replaced the internet and all other forms of entertainment. Nobody seems to spend time in reality any more, because it sucks. There are multiple wars going on over the few energy sources that are left. Poverty, hunger, and homelessness are rampant everywhere.

Most people who are fortunate enough to live indoors at all are like Wade, who lives with his aunt and her latest boyfriend in a three-bedroom doublewide trailer shared with 17 people. The trailer is at least near the top of a stack, which is just what it sounds like: a stack of trailers 10 or so high, so many across and wide, so that 500 or more trailers are held together with rusted scaffolding, chains, and whatever other reinforcements people have added over the years. Stack collapses are common.

Wade spends most of his time in his hideout, the back of an old van that's parked in a junkyard and crammed in a stack of vehicles. That's where he keeps his computer and other equipment, so he can attend school (in OASIS, of course) and spend time research The Contest, which is the center of his life.

The creater of OASIS, James Halliday, created The Contest in his will. Whoever wins it will inherit Halliday's vast fortune and control of OASIS. At the opening of the novel, it has been five years since Halliday died and contestants are ridiculed in everyday society as obsessive losers.

Wade's quest through The Contest and his fight to simply survive is far more interesting than I thought it would be. I'll also admit to being entertained by the 80s trivia that pops up throughout the book (integral to The Contest). I'm biased, as I was a teen during those years.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's one of the very few that I'll be saving to re-read in the future.
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Kyle chandler Vera farmiga Millie bobbie brown Ken watanabe The action scenes The score The creature designs Godzilla (0 more)
Not as suspense filled and grounded in reality as the first film (0 more)
"We opened Pandora's box. And there's no closing it now."
With Godzilla (2014) Legendary Pictures was the first American studio to get it right. No idiotic US edits of the latest Japanese films. No remakes that went out of it's way to be anything but Godzilla. It was GODZILLA! Now from what I understand from an interview with Shinji Higuchi is that Legendary only has the rights to Godzilla until 2020. So what do you do in that case? Well since you only have time to make one more Godzilla film before Godzilla vs. Kong, you do the obvious; You remake Destroy All Monsters!

There is some Michael Bay level stupidity going on in some moments of this film, but I don't care. I loved it. Some of the great Toho Godzilla films have goofy science combined with forgettable human characters. This one isn't even close to being the greatest offender of this in the franchise. Besides, when it comes to Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler I'm going to care about their characters at least a little no matter how they're written.

The film makers really went out of their way with tons of references from Godzilla's history. They even find a way to do a subtle nod to the Shobijin which I didn't think they'd ever touch with a 10 foot pole. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's just things that are used in the film that aren't part of American pop culture like the character itself of Godzilla. There's a lot of shit that only people who have seen the original films will pick up on.

The score is great, but even greater is that they actually used Gozilla's theme which is god damn iconic and shockingly even Mothra's theme. How can you not love that? I dunno. Maybe I'm just a geek, but seeing Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla in a big budget Hollywood movie just blows my mind. I loved it. It's basically the American remake of Destroy All Monsters. Don't bother telling me how dumb the movie is either. I fully realize how dumb it is.