Get Ready for Ernest!

"I have never liked reading in my life.  I would read books [in school] because I had to, but never just to enjoy reading.  The other day in class my teacher started to talk about a book named "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline.  That was the only book I read in my entire life that I loved from cover to cover.  I'd read the book about a year ago by myself.  I was bored and I decided to read it.  When I read the book it didn't hit me like it was college material.  I thought it was a kid's book, until my teacher told me that it was the common text for first years.  That opened my eyes and made me think that if that was the book I loved reading, what other literature is out there that will excite me like this one did?"
                                                                                                                     Dennis, NCC student

Talk about a book having an impact!  Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One," NCC's common text for 2014-2015, touches something in people--even those who don't consider themselves big readers. 

Maybe it's the book's futuristic setting (the novel takes place in 2044), quirky characters, great pop cultural references (cool read if you love the 80s), or portrait of a virtual utopia that offers adventure and relief from the dreary reality of planet Earth. 

Maybe it's the main character's quest to solve the puzzles hidden within the OASIS or his duels with corporate villains who have no qualms about stepping on people to get their way (sound familiar?).

Maybe it's the novel's conclusion (won't spoil it by giving too much away), which in its own way winds up pretty life-afffirming, something good books often try to be.

Whatever its individual appeal, "Ready Player One" speaks to a range of readers, including some for whom reading is not on their Top Ten List of Fun Activities.  Even if you're not big into reading, pick this book up anyway.  Maybe, like Dennis, you'll be inspired to read more.

And this Wednesday, November 5,  stop by the College Center's Multipurpose Room, where Ernest Cline, the author, will be talking about his book and the cyberworld that has become so much a part of ours.  He'll speak three times--9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the College Center.  He'll also be on hand to sign books, chat with students, pose for some selfies, and talk your ear off about the 80s.

Come on over to the CCB this Wednesday and hear all about "Ready Player One"--directly from the man who imagined it all and who has given us a novel for our time.