E-book Archives - Page 14 of 14 - Introverted Reader

Read more about the article Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Book Review

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Book Review

Wade Watts is just your average kind of guy, living in his aunt's trailer, trying to get through the last months of high school, playing video games, and trying to solve a multi-billion dollar puzzle. Yup. Billion with a b. See, it's 2044 and video game designer James Halliday has just passed away without an heir. He's left a video will for the entire world, promising his fortune to whomever can find the "Easter egg" he's hidden within the OASIS, a virtual reality video game he created that everyone is addicted to. In order to find the "egg," egg hunters, or gunters, as they come to be called, must solve riddles and challenges that Halliday designed around his favorite things, and they all center around the 80s. Wade knows he's got this. He's watched War Games something like 32 times. He can sing lyrics to obscure 80s hits. His mind is overloaded with video game history and trivia. This should be a piece of cake. But things get complicated, as they always do, when a multi-national conglomeration finds a loophole in the will and starts tempting other brilliant minds to play as a team to solve the riddles. Wade is determined that these guys will not win at any cost. What a fun book! I don't remember a lot about 80s pop culture, but I had a blast recognizing all the little tidbits Cline worked into this novel. The world of the OASIS was fully realized and I could see the appeal. My one complaint with the book is the world-building though. While I did enjoy it for the most part, I felt that Cline got a little too involved in it and that led to some unnecessary info dumps. There would be a few pages in a row of…

Read more about the article A couple of books I “Did Not Finish”

A couple of books I “Did Not Finish”

I will usually finish any book I start, but I am slowly learning that sometimes it's better to cut my losses and move on. Here are two that I've given up on recently. The Phantom of Pemberley by Regina Jeffers Synopsis from GoodReads: Newlyweds Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet knew their first year of married life at Pemberley would present challenges, but who could have guessed they would need to solve a mysterious case and nab the murderer before he got to them. Written in the language of the era and including Austen's romantic intrigue and sardonic humor, this suspense-packed sequel to Pride and Prejudice recasts Darcy and Elizabeth as a husband and wife detective team - the Nick and Nora of England's Regency era. When inexplicable encounters and deadly accidents begin occurring at Pemberley, the locals blame the strange happenings on the Shadow Man - a spirit haunting the manor. But Darcy believes the truth is much more menacing - someone is targeting them, someone who seeks revenge on the Darcy family. The author tries a little too hard to copy Austen's "voice" and it fell very flat for me. "'Must we?' Elizabeth Darcy gave her husband an expectant look. 'I so enjoy being alone with you--away from the responsibilities of Pemberly.'" Flat yet nauseatingly sappy. Not a good combination for me. The phrases from Austen's original work that were inserted actually distracted me rather than adding to the book. It was quickly turning into a game of Spot the Original Phrasing. "Darcy took in her countenance. Hers was a face he had once described as being one of the handsomest of his acquaintance, but now he considered that compliment a slight to the woman. Her auburn hair, her fine sea-green eyes, her pale skin, her delicate features, and…

Read more about the article The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: Book Review

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: Book Review

I loved this. I finished it with a huge smile on my face and that contentment that comes from a story well told. It's like enjoying a feast for the reader's soul. I had heard so many good things about this book, I went into it with very high expectations. I have to admit that I wasn't too sure what to think at first. The...

Read more about the article The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig: Book Review

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig: Book Review

Arabella Dempsey has just seen all her hopes dashed. She's been a companion to her aunt since she was a child and fully expected to inherit from her. She realizes that isn't going to happen when her aunt marries a much younger man--the very man that Arabella has been fantasizing about. Does it get any crueler? But Arabella is nothing if not determined and she determines to make her own way in the world and goes to work as a teacher in an all-girls school. Her first day there she literally bumps into everyone's favorite bumbling idiot, Reginald Fitzhugh. You might know him as Turnip. Turnip because he has the brains of one. But Turnip has a big heart and a younger sister and a secret message in a Christmas pudding, and it all adds up to one very fun book. I confess that I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to Turnip in the other books, but I did love the big doof in this book. He's handsome, and not the brightest crayon, but he has a gigantic heart. He's wrapped around his younger sister's finger, he's rich but doesn't even think about class as a general rule. Everything he's thinking moves across his face, and he's not afraid to defend a lady's honor. Heck, he's willing to play an even bigger idiot and thus put his life on the line for his country! A gentleman indeed! The action in this book takes place in between The Seduction of the Crimson Rose and The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. Well, it actually overlaps with Night Jasmine. It was interesting to see some of those events from a different perspective. Oh, and another thing. Jane Austen as a character. Need I say more? I always read Lauren Willig's books…

Read more about the article Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: Book Review

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: Book Review

Everyone who knows pleasant Dr. Jekyll is surprised that he has taken the brutish Mr. Hyde under his wing. Hyde is a horrible person, and everyone who meets him claims to be immediately repulsed by him. It's obvious that there's more to the relationship than meets the eye, but no one guesses exactly how twisted this relationship is. Okay, you probably know the basic story. I think that takes a lot away from the book. I can imagine that this novella was shocking and horrifying when it was first published, but I just felt a little "meh" about it. I understand that there's a message about pride and ambition and man's dual nature and all that, but I'm usually looking for a good story. I'm not saying that this is a bad story, or that it shouldn't be a classic or anything like that, I just found it a little disappointing. If you're interested, pick it up. If you somehow don't know what's going on with these two men, go ahead and give it a try too. It's a pretty easy read for a classic, it's short, and it would be creepy if you didn't know what was going on. I read this as part of Dueling Monsters, hosted by Jill at Fizzy Thoughts and Heather at Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books. They pitted The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson against each other. I read Dorian Gray a couple of years ago (my review), and I have to say that he wins out as the worse monster in this match-up. It might help that I didn't know much of his story before I read the book, but he primarily wins for me because he…

The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell: Book Review

4 Stars. It's been several years since I read this, so I can't say much about it except that I liked it. And I saved this quote from the book: "There are two kinds of women: those who marry princes and those who marry frogs. The frogs never become princes, but it is an acknowledged fact that a prince may very well, in the [...]