If you're talking about any sort of science fiction, I (and I'm sure countless others) would recommend Dune by Frank Herbert -- the best-selling sci-fi novel of all time, and for good reason. It's not as light-hearted as Ready Player One, though.
I misread your question as sci-fi novellas, but I still think you'll enjoy these (Three Worlds and Prime Intellect are both quite long, anyway).<p>Three Worlds Collide<p><a href="http://robinhanson.typepad.com/files/three-worlds-collide.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://robinhanson.typepad.com/files/three-worlds-collide.pd...</a><p>The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect<p><a href="http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiall.html" rel="nofollow">http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiall.html</a><p>The next few are short stories:<p>The Last Question<p><a href="http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-question/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-question/</a><p>The Last Answer<p><a href="http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/</a><p>Let's Help Germinate This Seed<p><a href="http://www.thrivenotes.com/lets-help-germinate-this-seed/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thrivenotes.com/lets-help-germinate-this-seed/</a><p>The Egg<p><a href="http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html</a>
My two favorites are <i>Permutation City</i> by Greg Egan and <i>The Golden Age</i> by John C. Wright (actually that one's a trilogy).<p>I hear good things about Iain M. Banks' <i>Culture</i> novels. I've only read one (<i>The Player of Games</i>) and while it was enjoyable it was still sort of meh, if that makes sense... (I've got <i>Excession</i> in my queue and I suspect I'll enjoy it more.)<p>While it's more in the realm of science-fantasy, you might enjoy this alternate universe imagining of the Harry Potter story: <a href="http://hpmor.com/" rel="nofollow">http://hpmor.com/</a>
I have found the Hugo Award winners to be a great way to find books and authors that I didn't know I would like based on what I already knew I liked.<p><a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel" rel="nofollow">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel</a>
What did you like about it? I'd suggest Tad Williams' Otherland, Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age & Snow Crash, and Gibson's Pattern Recognition purely based on subject matter (gamey-cyberpunk-ARG-AI), but none is quite as lighthearted in terms of nodding towards videogame culture.
I too just finished Ready Player One. Such a great read. I tend to lean on Good Reads lately for recommendations. But picked up Atopia Chronicles (<a href="http://amzn.com/B00DUK1RKY" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.com/B00DUK1RKY</a>) after browsing popular sci-fi on amazon's best-sellers list. It has great similarities to Ready Player One - virtual presences, future VR challenges, etc. but a very different kind of book (split into multiple story lines, not one continuous story). But that said, if you've not read Snow Crash then drop everything and read that next!
Are you looking for something similar?<p>It's not easy to recommend something based on a single book but have a look at Vicious by V. E. Schwab, This Perfect Day by Ira Levin or Wool by Hugh Howey.
Lexicon - Max Barry.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman.
Channel Skin - Jeff Noon.
The Long Earth - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter.
The Difference Engine - William Gibson.
These days I seem to prefer extended series of books that develop a detailed alternate universe. Three truly excellent series (Author-Series-1st Book):<p>Eric Flint - 1632 - "1632"<p>David Weber - Honor Harrington - "On Basilisk Station"<p>Stephen Brust - Vlad Taltos - "Taltos"
Of course, "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" if you like it down and dirty, a tale of a "Computerman" working for the man but secretly using his machine to subvert the powers that be up until the final showdown.
Neurovont was a nice surprise: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/NeuroVont-Incorporated-Gil-A-Waters/dp/0982280920" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/NeuroVont-Incorporated-Gil-A-Waters/dp...</a>
I'm ancient and have been reading Sci-Fi my entire life. I just finished "The Darwin Elevator" (1st of 3 in a trilogy) and it was the most refreshing SF I've read in a least 10 years.
Stranger In A Strange Land.<p>Edgier than Star Trek but has that same feel of charming naivite; think 400 pages of Lt. Commander Data on a love potion.