Shelf Control #3: Ready Player One

 Shelf control is a weekly meme hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Shelf control is about the books we have on our shelves that we have not yet gotten around to reading, but want to.

My pick this week:

Title: Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline

Published: 2011

Pages: 372

Synopsis (Courtesy of Goodreads): It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

  Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

  And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune — and remarkable power — to whoever can unlock them.

  For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved — that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. 

  And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

  Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt — among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life — and love — in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

 A world at stake. 

 A quest for the ultimate prize. 

 Are you ready?

How I Got It: I received this in the "Play" Loot Crate when I was still subscribed

When I Got It: February 2015

Why I Want To Read It: I love video games and futuristic dystopias. This book became pretty popular a while back, and I remember hearing great things about it. Since it has 2 themes I am particularly fond of, I think I would really enjoy it.

  Leave me a comment about a book you own that you have not read yet, or leave me a link to your Shelf Control blog posts. Happy reading!

~Miranda Kae

Shelf Control #2: Ender's Game

 Shelf control is a new weekly meme hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Shelf control is about the books we have on our shelves that we have not yet gotten around to reading, but want to.

My pick this week:

Title: Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Published: 1985

Pages: 324

Synopsis (via Goodreads): The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Enter Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the result of decades of genetic experimentation.

  Is Ender the general Earth so desperately needs? The only way to find out is to throw him into ever-harsher training at Battle School, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when his training begins. He will grow up fast.

  But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. His two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Among the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

How I Got It: My brother gave me his copy. (I know, my big brother is amazing.)

When I Got It: August 2015

Why I Want To Read It: This book is famously good. It has won awards and even gotten a movie adaptation. Besides those obvious reasons, my brother read and enjoyed this book. My brother is NOT a reader! He rarely reads, let alone enjoys reading, books. So, for my brother to say a book is great, it really must be!

  Leave me a comment about a book you own that you have not read yet, or leave me a link to your Shelf Control blog posts. Happy reading!

~Miranda Kae

Shelf Control #1: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

  Shelf control is a new weekly meme hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Shelf control is about the books we have on our shelves that we have not yet gotten around to reading, but want to. 

My pick this week:

Title: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Author: Gregory Maguire

Published: 1999

Pages: 372

Synopsis (via Goodreads): We have all heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty ... and what curses accompanied Cinderella's looks?

  Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland,Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household -- and the treacherous truth of her former life.

How I got it: My boyfriend bought it for my from a used book store.

When I got it: July 2015

Why I want to read it: Firstly, this book is by the same author as Wicked, which already peaks my interest. Secondly, I love when authors retell classic fairy tales, especially when it is from a new point of view. It is great because it is something you already love, but with a new twist. 

  Let me know what books you have hidden away on your shelf that you have been neglecting in the comments!

~Miranda Kae