The book that pulled me back into reading over a year ago, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, is being adapted for film. The first trailer just appeared on the internet and at first glance it did a great job capturing the world as it’s described in the book.

Without giving away any spoilers, the story is about a teenager in a futuristic setting where everyone is connected to a virtual reality called “Oasis”. This alternate world is where the population’s daily activities take place until one day a treasure hunt of epic proportions changes everything.

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this movie since it was announced that Steven Spielberg would be directing it and I can’t wait to watch it later this year. In the meantime, check out the book if you haven’t already.

Ready Player One is due to come out on 30 March 2018 in the UK, US and Australia.

June was interesting in terms of reading–I didn’t do a lot of it. Looking back it seems I was often distracted or simply not interested in reading as much during my routine. For example during my commute I would prefer doing something that required no mental effort whatsoever, such as browsing reddit on my phone or taking a nap. I still managed to finish a few though, which is surprising.

When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air is one of my favourite books this year. The author Paul Kalanithi writes about his life and how much it changed when he was diagnosed with cancer. It’s refreshingly honest, candid and really heartbreaking. If there’s one book you should read this year it’s this one.

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Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

A friend recently had me take a personality test and it turns out I’m 54% extrovert and 46% introvert. Since I was a kid, I would’ve told you I’m introverted but I guess things can change over time. I wanted to dig a little deeper into that topic with this book by Susan Cain and it was truly eye-opening. Being an introvert is cool and often almost better. I would especially recommend this to parents who are trying to “fix” their kids just because they like to be by themselves often.

Get Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking on Amazon

The Elements of Style

The Elements of Style is supposed to be a classic when it comes to writing properly in every sense of the word. Even though it’s a small book, you’ll find lots and lots of advice on which bad writing habits to break and how to correct the most common mistakes. These concepts are usually explained along with examples and better alternatives are offered.
It’s quite an old book and I had the impression that some things were out of date. Since English isn’t my native language I learned many new things which allowed me to reflect on my own writing. It can get a little dry at times but it’s worth to read this book at least once.

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In an attempt to make cooking less intimidating for the masses, IKEA Canada teamed up with ad agency Leo Burnett for their latest campaign. Taking cues from their super simple self-assembly guides for furniture, they now extend their reach into your kitchen.

With recipes printed on cooking paper (using food-safe ink), people just have to fill in the ingredients blanks, roll the whole thing up and put it straight into the oven. It doesn’t get much easier than that and it seems the hardest part is waiting for your delicious meal to cook.
Really like how it looks so simple and yet is more interactive than traditional cookbooks or even apps.

Earlier this week at the E3 Microsoft revealed their next generation console: the Xbox One X. I stopped caring about Microsoft hardware since I switched back to PlayStation but a new console release usually means exciting new (unfortunately often platform exclusive) launch titles.

One of them is BioWare’s new game called Anthem. It’s a multiplayer sci-fi action shooter. I watched the trailer and kept thinking “Wow that looks like so much fun.” In fact it reminds me of the Destiny universe except it already seems like it has a true open world experience. As you might have already found out I love games with that kind of atmosphere. I know it’s only a trailer and actual gameplay might be slightly different but I’m very excited for this game regardless. It wasn’t clear initially but EA confirmed that Anthem coming to Xbox, PlayStation and PC which means no one is missing out, yay! It’s due to launch sometime in Fall 2018.

Last month I finally finished or rather forced myself to finish Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which probably took me 4 weeks while mixing it up with other books. I just couldn’t handle reading only a single book for several weeks straight. That’s why I took a few breaks with shorter ones to read in parallel.

Catch-22

This was one of the longer fiction books I’ve read lately with 466 pages. It was recommended to me because of its humour and unique take on the war. I struggled to get into this classic and it only really started to become enjoyable after around 200 pages. Once you learn to appreciate that things are weird, crazy and don’t always need to make sense you realise that it’s a decent book with many hidden gems throughout.

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Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose

Ever since I attended Kate Kiefer Lee’s talk at Webstock a few years back I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this book. There is lots of good advice on how to write for a business, although at times it felt too corporate. However I did learn a few things that I could apply directly to my work (like reading out loud or writing the way you speak) but many of the activities seemed aimed at entire teams of copywriters or marketers.

Get Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose on Amazon

Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

This one probably took me a day or two to finish. Easy to read and full of small motivational tips to get you to put your work out there in front of people. I’m not going to lie, I’m a fan of Austin Kleon and enjoyed this book. Nice change of pace from the other ones on this list.

Get Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered on Amazon

You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One)

Stumbled upon this one while browsing Amazon on my Kindle. It was cheap and had many good reviews so I thought “Why not?”.
Jeff Goins writes about his change of career and the steps it took to become a full-time writer. Turns out writing is only part of the story. Good read if you want to follow his footsteps.

Get You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) on Amazon

Ego is the Enemy

I was pleasantly surprised by Ego is the Enemy as I didn’t have any expectations when I picked it up. This book drew me in and it kept getting better after every page. I especially enjoyed all the anecdotes of famous people who were able to suppress their ego and what impact it had on history in hindsight. The snippets about Ryan Holiday’s own professional and personal experiences were also interesting.

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