"Ready Player One" By Ernest Cline

1. I liked it. 1.1. As a science fiction novel. 1.1.1. The concept was good. 1.1.1.1. The immersive virtual reality hook was interesting enough to hold my attention. 1.1.1.1.1 Even if the idea of an immersive virtual reality isn't new. [a] 1.1.2. The setting was believable. 1.1.2.1. It was desolate without being desperate. 1.1.2.1.1 Hope is very important in sci-fi. 1.1.2.1.1.1 Why else would you want to go there? 1.1.3. The technology was believable. 1.1.3.1 It's given parameters which seem possible but also advanced. 1.1.3.2. If the parameters were unbelievable, why not just make them magic? 1.2. As a mystery novel. 1.2.1. The most basic version of the story is "Wade is a detective looking for a lost object." 1.3. As bildungsroman. 1.3.1. The characters are dynamic and have changed by the end of the book. 1.3.1.1. They have experienced psychological growth. 1.3.1.1.1. Wade in particular has grown from being an loner with low confidence to someone who leads. 1.3.1.2. They have experienced moral growth. 1.3.1.2.1. By the end Wade's plan of what to do with the money is very different from his plan in the beginning. 1.3.2. Cline included a Wise Old Man character. 1.3.2.1. As you know the archetype is often presented as a wizard. 1.3.2.1.1. Especially to knights seeking the Holy Grail. 1.3.2.2. As you know the archetype is often presented as a hermit. 2. I felt like it could've done better. 2.1. By ditching the 1980s theme. 2.1.1. There was nothing essential about the theme to the telling of the story. 2.1.1.1. The thing Halliday was obsessed with/nostalgic for could've been anything. 2.1.1.1.1. If it's completely interchangeable, there's no gravity to its inclusion. 2.1.1.2. [b] It was "inflicting your research on the reader". 2.1.1.2.1. Cline is showing off how much he knows instead of bringing the reader in. 2.2. By spreading the narration around. 2.2.1. Recognize there is more than one interesting character in the book. 2.2.2. Emphasize the massiveness of this MMORPG. 2.2.2.1. Showing us only one character's story is like showing the Grand Canyon thru only one family's vacation there. 2.2.3. Introduce characters who come back later in small cameos. [c] 2.2.3.1. The main character may not recognize them but the audience will. 2.2.3.1.1. Punching thru the fourth wall reminds the reader they themselves are experiencing a virtual reality. 2.2.3.1.1. (Albeit via a 560 year old technology.) 3. It should've been more ambitious. 3.1. Be more literary. 3.1.1. The writing itself was too sophomoric. 3.1.2. Talk about how the characters feel. 3.1.2.1. Not merely their motivations for doing things. 3.1.2.2. Empathy creates a strong connection between the character and the reader. 3.2. Be more like a videogame. 3.2.1. Videogames are interactive by their nature. 3.2.1.1. The first thing they ask you to do is explore. 3.2.1.1.1. Exploring is immersive. 3.2.1.2. They leave you clues and ask you to make the connections. 3.2.1.2.1. Even if they explicitly spell them out later to move the plot forward. 3.3. Be open-ended. 3.3.1. The problems this world is experiencing aren't going away overnite. [d] 3.3.2. Suggest the next bad guy. 3.3.2.1. Show how the stakes have now raised. [e] 3.3.2.2. Every all-powerful hero needs a villain who could defeat him. 3.3.2.2.1. Turn the hero's powers against the good guys. 3.3.2.2.1.1 Especially turn it against the hero himself. 3.3.3. Tidy endings are boring. 3.3.3.1. Putting a bow on the story shows how limited it is. 3.3.3.1.2. It implies the author has exhausted their idea completely 3.3.3.1.1. It doesn't encourage the reader to carry the book on with them after they've set it down. 3.3.3.2. The coolest feeling in the world is setting a book down and anticipating the next one coming out. [a] The Matrix for an example. [b] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oYa5PizPFs [c] Like the "puking Oreos" guy on page 274. [d] Blowing up The Death Star didn't overthrow The Empire. [e] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc_rYMYiDxA

The Visible Man

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
Going to read @CKlosterman's new book #Visible Man today in a day. Waiting for @magersandquinn to open at 10. Will live tweet w/ pg. #s.

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
And, yes, I will spoiler alert everything. I know you're all waiting to read it yourselves.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
Leaving the house to pick up coffee (prepared), coffee (unprepared) and #VisibleMan.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 1 I'm starting the novel with no previous notions of what it is about other than it's a @CKlosterman book.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 2 Fiction v. Non-fiction. Veracity. Truth?
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 5 Unreliable narrator?
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 9 Has anyone tried e-mailing thevickster@gmail.com? Trying. Didn't immed. bounce back.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 13 George Harrison "Be Here Now" youtube.com/watch?v=He2yrz…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 20 "his pseudologia fantastica [footnote: This is more commonly referred to a pathological lying.]"
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 21 Book misuses Heisenberg Uncertainty in the usual way. Can't know bc of a mechanical reason, not theoretical.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 22 Guilt vs sensation of guilt. Objective vs. subjective.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert This book so far prompted me to look up and listen to The Jayhawks' "Blue" online.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 31 "Tall people are naturally confident. History has proven this- Alexander, Wilt Chamberlain, Gisele."
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 46 Not trusting that the type of people who read his books would also be able to hang w/ theoretical ideas?
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 57 Ha! Ha, ha, ha. Small admission; I'd totally do that.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 59 Another small admission; I do that too.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 62 I've actually watched that Yao Ming documentary and have a hilarious & heart-touching story about it.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 83 "He wasn't there, and then he wasn't there."
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 87 Now the book can start for real. Everything before this has been pretext, scene-setting. Now comes the book.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 88 The narrative seems H.G. Wells until I thought about it. Its actually Henry James "Turn Of The Screw"-esque.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 92 I find the word "she-wolf" funny.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 100 Had an experience like this recently w/ my GF. Well, all the details are different. But it's close feeling.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 101 Daniel Johnston - The Beatles youtube.com/watch?v=YbBXkF…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 103 "agency"
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 105 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Deck…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 105 Also, Mary Decker iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/davidb…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 114 I wonder what McLuhan would think of "The process was always the problem."
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 121 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 146 Only kind of aware of what's going on. But this feels like the peak of the book coming up.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 131 "It's like trying to using math to figure out history." I wonder what Bill James would think of that.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 147 A little "There Will Be Blood" love has me turning on the soundtrack.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 134 Made me think of edped.tumblr.com/post/753554181…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#NowPlaying There Will Be Blood – Prospectors Arrive open.spotify.com/track/5gHu56UX…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 160 "agency"
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 161 Jooky MaGoo is a real band. myspace.com/pistolwhipoffi…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 167 Oh, hell no.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 169 Reading this book thinking of WIM's book "Faking It". Chuck and I must read the same books. #humblebrag
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 179 This is like the personal propaganda from "I heart Huckabees".
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 191 I could've thought this up vs. I did think this new
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 203 Recondite is the perfect word there. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rec…
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 224 The temptation must've been to leave things vague. To never resolve it. But this is fiction.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 230 Finished. I liked it a lot. Looking at the book as a whole, it feels like a book about US involvement in...
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 230 ...torture and rendition. Reading too much into it? Yes, probably. But it feels like it.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
#VisibleMan #spoileralert pg 230 Also, 1st thing I learned on 1st day of college in Shakespeare class: Appearances can be deceiving.
4 Oct

MichaelRHerman Michael R Herman
An excellent book. Feel like I'll be thinking of it for a while. #VisibleMan
4 Oct

CKlosterman Chuck Klosterman
@MichaelRHerman Thanks, man. Really glad you liked the book & did this experiment. It was extremely, extremely flattering.
4 Oct

Game Over (Welcome To The Future)

I was talking with some co-workers today about the AL Central and one of my friends was adamant that the Cleveland Indians weren't going to win the division. I think that's nuts.

Going back to 2006, an outlier season where three teams in the Central finished with 90 wins or better, this is how many wins the 2nd place team in the AL Central had at the end of the season:

2010 - 88 wins by the Chicago White Sox
2009 - 86 wins by the Detroit Tigers (Minnesota Twins won a 1 game playoff)
2008 - 88 wins by the Minnesota Twins (Chicago White Sox won a 1 game playoff)
2007 - 88 wins by the Detroit Tigers

The winner of the AL Central has needed to win an average of 88.5 games to take home the pennant. Let's call 89 wins the magic number to win the AL Central. The first team past the 89-win post is going to win the AL Central except by fluke.

After 40 games the Indians have banked 26 wins and to get to 89 wins they need 63 wins over their last 122 games. That's only two games above .500 and the Indians are currently playing at a pace 12! games above .500 for the season. They could lose their next ten games and go one for two the rest of the way and still hit 89 wins.

I think the AL Central is over. The Indians would need to collapse in epic fashion and someone else would have to raise their game incredibly to catch them. And that's a problem going forward because this team is built to win for the next handful of years.