I reread it several times, but had no immediate revelations as to its meaning...

19.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - Vacation Book! If you grew up playing video games in the 80s this the book for you. If you know what a TRS-80, an Atari 800, or Zork is then this is the book for you. If you are a geek or a nerd then this is the book for you. This is a fun fast nerdy speculative hero tale that has a little bit of something for everyone, but the cultural touchpoints may be too much for some.