Station Eleven
by Emily St. John Mandel
Published June 2, 2015
Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Originally published by Alfred Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Read February 2016
333 Pages
Station Eleven came highly recommended from a trusted reading advisor. Two years later, it is still a book that makes me think and causes me to question what the future of humanity might look like. I don’t want to provide too much description because that is the beauty of this book. It unfolds in ways you don’t expect.
This is one of those books that I think EVERYONE should read. Perfect for middle school through adult and certainly one I plan on re-reading. A debut novel, St. John Mandel knocks it out of the park.
One of the things I love about this book is that it is dystopic without a government overthrow or violent war. It makes it seem so real, like the world event that causes a societal collapse could happen today. This is truly a book that shows just how fragile humans are and how incredibly delicate our everyday life experiences are. Showcasing the interconnectedness we take for granted, this book does a soul touching job of making you understand just how outstanding civilizations are and how quickly they can fall.
I think about this book almost daily. Twenty years from now, what foods would still be viable to eat from the abandon homes? How long would it take to re-learn basic medicine that relies on plants and natural remedies? Why does no one raid the library in “end of the world books” post-apocalypse? How long would the power grid last? What about everyone’s pets? Start down the rabbit hole and this book will give you plenty to think about and question your role in the world.
If you are stuck in a reading rut and want something to give you a kick start, Station Eleven is a book perfect for any mood and any time. You are going to want to own this one and re-read it. This book is on my top 10 favorite reads of all time. I hope you will agree.
Selected quotes: “Of all of them at the bar that night, the bartender was the one who survived the longest. He died three weeks later on the road out of the city.” Page 15
“People want what was best about the world.” Page 38
“hell is the absence of the people you long for.” Page 144
“What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you’ve lost.” Page 195
“She slipped away from them, walking alone for a hundred miles, whispering French to herself because all the horror in her life had transpired in English and she thought switching languages might save her.” Page 266
Ready Player One Published August 16, 2011
Broadway Paperbacks an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
By Ernest Cline
Started June 22, 2015
Finished June 26, 2015
Pages 372
Brief synopsis: Ready Player One is a videogamers version of a dystopian society. WADE3 and OAISIS friends Aech and Art3mis are bound together to fight the proverbial “man” in an attempt to save all that is dear to them. Ready Player One is a blast from the past of all the things we loved about the 1980s, and perhaps a few glitchy things we didn’t.
Why this book and why now: Ready Player One has been on my to-be-read list for a little over a year. As I was getting ready for our family fishing trip to Cass Lake, Minnesota, I wanted to pack plenty of fun vacation reads, especially because I wasn’t planning to fish. Quiet cabin in the middle of northern Minnesota sounded like the perfect setting to catch up on my reading. The tone and all that I had heard about this book seemed to fit the bill for this trip.
Ready Player One was strongly recommended to me by a computer programming consultant I was working with last year. She had recommended The Martian (review to come!) which is currently one of the best books I’ve read in 2015. Following her recommendation again seemed like a wise choice. I was not disappointed!
The day I chose to read this book, I had actually had what I believe was a legitimate nervous breakdown while on our vacation trip. I am very much a planner and my in-laws are much, much more a go-with-the-flow type. After five days of playing in the opposite Myers-Briggs category, I was pretty much a mess. Reading always helps me to regain my center, in the midst of joy, grief, boredom, you name it, I have yet to find that reading the right book at the right time doesn’t help me find myself again.
This book was the perfect fit for my situation right out of the gate. The whole premise of the book was being immersed in an alternative reality. Hello! Exactly what I was trying to do! From the beginning, we see Wade3 being surrounded by people, tons of them in the place he lives, in the whole neighborhood of stacks, everywhere, there are people, but he felt so alone and disconnected there. They didn’t share his interest or passion. It was only when he found a secluded place, by himself where he could focus on his passion did he come alive. That’s not to say his alternative reality in the OASIS wasn’t without its downsides. No real life human interaction, no positive human touches, everything was simulated. The further along I read, the more and more I saw how the OASIS is already being built: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Role Playing Games, Xbox. All of these things are distracting us from real human interaction. Myself included.
It has become part of our vernacular to say “my friend on facebook shared…”, but in all honesty, when is the last time you talked to most of the people you reference with that sentence? My husband and I, for a short while, set a curfew for electronic devices. We realized we were spending our limited time together glued to our devices, checking scores of games, checking status updates, pinterest, you know, very important marriage building activities. Those couple of weeks where we really focused on unplugging were markedly different. We felt more in synch, more connected, we were better partners and better parents.
As the adventure in Ready Player One progresses, WADE3 is forced to interact with people in real life to better his chances of winning the easter egg hunt. These moments of introduction were some of my favorite parts of the book. My favorite quote from the book came out of this collection of scenes: “I didn’t know how to connect with the people [in the real world]. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness.” Page 364
My two boys getting on the bus for the first day of school 2015.
I think that’s one of the reasons we cling to some of our alternative reality. We want to capture and remember every moment of true happiness. Today, my facebook newsfeed is flooded with parents capturing the first day of school send offs. It’s so very exciting to watch the kids get on the bus, but it is terrifying and painful to let them go, to entrust them to a world we cannot control or always undo. One of my real life friends said it best “I guess this is what it’s really like to have your heart walk around outside of your body.” Terrifying, but absolutely amazing at the same time.
Recommended reading for: If you’re looking for a realistic dystopian novel, this is not it. If you are looking for a fun, geeky/nerdy dystopian novel, this is the winner! Ready Player One has a heavy emphasis on 1980s pop culture. This book reminded me that I have never seen a Monty Python movie and must remedy that soon. I had a lot of fun talking about this book with my dad, remembering when we played Atari together and so many other videogames.
If you’re looking for a book to connect with when you are feeling lonely, a little adrift, or are up against something seemingly insurmountable, this book might be what you need. It’s also a great story to make you think about how you define what a true friend is and what friendship looks like to you.
This book would be appropriate for an older middle school student or above. I think anyone born before 1990 would benefit more from this book since so many of the pop culture references are very specific to the 1980s. The story line itself does not require a full understanding of this decade, but it greatly enhances the enjoyment of the book if you are able to pick up on the nuances.
The final word: Ready Player One is a well written book that I will often recommend. I look forward to sharing this one with my son in a few years.
What’s your favorite video game, movie, book or song from the 1980s? If you were to create an easter egg hunt to find your fortune, what would the theme be? Let me know in the comments section!
New words learned: If not directly defined in the book, definitions are obtained from Merriam-Webster.com Anorak (Page 119): British slang term for an obsessive geek Impecunious (Page 270): having little or no money
“It was a partnership destined to alter the course of human history.” Page 53
This quote is in reference to James Donovan Halliday and his business partner Ogden Morrow, the futuristic duo intended to emulate Steve Jobs and Wozniak.
“I watch a lot of YouTube videos of cute geeky girls playing ‘80s cover tunes on ukuleles. Technically, this wasn’t part of my research, but I had a serious cute-geeky-girls-playing-ukeleles fetish that I can neither explain nor defend.” Page 63
“OASIS had evolved into something horrible. It had become a self-imposed prison for humanity. A pleasant place for the world to hide from its problems while human civilization slowly collapses, primarily due to neglect.” Page 120
“I didn’t know how to connect with the people [in the real world]. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness.” Page 364
Other notes: Agent: Yfat Reiss Gendell
Editor: Julian Pavia
Foundry Literary and Media: Hannah Brown Gordon, Cecilia Campbell-Westline, Stephanie Abou
What was your favorite video or arcade game growing up and why? Let me know in the comments section!
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