Awards/Tags is the tagline for fun meme-related posts.

Awards/Tags
90s Kid Book Tag

I stumbled across The 90s Kid Book Tag on Book Allure the other day…and as much as it’s telling of my old age, being punched in the face with nostalgia was great.

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Pokemon: the author you need every book from

Ha, haha, hahaha. My collection has since grown but, yes, Patrick Ness.

Without fail, my go-to first-time Patrick Ness recommendation is: A Monster Calls.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting – he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

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AOL/MSN: the book that connected you with your best friend

(The original prompt only had AOL, but my childhood mainly had MSN or ICQ as the “main” online char service.)

I connect with a variety of people on different levels and with different books; some of which is because I chug that hater koolaid and it’s interesting to be on the opposing side of a book’s enjoyment. An example is Marie Lu’s Warcross, a novel that I found to be poorly executed. I have shared these thoughts in my review and have also vented my frustrations out to everyone I pass…

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

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Furby: a book that seemed like a good idea but was actually a monster

My favourite book was last year was Scott Hawkin’s The Library at Mount Char. And it is weird and metaphysically mind-bending. But also great? Part mystery, part horror, part fantasy and science fiction. It’s odd and compelling.

Carolyn’s not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts.  After all, she was a normal American herself once.

That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

In the years since then, Carolyn hasn’t had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father’s ancient customs. They’ve studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they’ve wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.

Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation. 

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NSYNC: a book you hated to say ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ to

First and foremost: I am more of a BSB fan than an NSYNC fan. I will have to go with any science-fiction fantasy that leaves you on the worst damn cliffhanger. Recent picks include: Thunderhead (Neal Shusterman), Children of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi), and Nyxia (Scott Reintgen), the latter of which I think deserves more hype and readers.

Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.?

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Oregon Trail: a slow or convoluted journey/book not with the time

The actual prompt was “A book that made you wish you died of dysentery“, but I’m rephrasing it so look at books with extremely slow plots where you’d be better off not reading it.

I’m going to go with Victoria Aveyard’s Glass Sword, which I have reviewed here, which was by all intents and purposes, a remake of X-Men: First Class, where 97% of the plot is them traveling around recruiting people and oh my god so much Second Book Syndrome here.

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

[Full blurb not included due to spoilers.]

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Mixtape/CD: 3 books you would recommend to anyone no matter what

If this is asking me the “Joey Starter Pack” of books to read, then my knee-jerk picks as of right now are:

1- More Than This (Patrick Ness), which obviously makes me a hypocrite per my earlier comment for A Monster Calls; and,

2- Scythe (Neal Shusterman); and,

3- Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo).

  

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Dial-up Internet: book that took forever to read

I’m technically still not done Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor but I had to include it onto this list. It’s certainly not a bad book at all. I’m even at an exciting part of the story with pending action scenes, but I guess I just had other reading commitments to tend to.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

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Kenan Thompson: a book seen everywhere or is in everything

First of all, I only have a slight recollection of this person being in “everything” because this actor just wasn’t part of my 90s life. I’ll have to go with Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games for the sole reason that a lot of books still use this as a comp title (much to my dismay that that never consider using Battle Royale, the original Hunger Games competition imo) without there even having a youngins-kill-each-other-in-arena competition.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

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Thumbs Up, Seven Up: book you peeked real quick at the ending because you don’t like guessing games

Yeah, no. I don’t do this. I’ll go as far as to read acknowledgments first but never the actual ending. This seems pretty blasphemous to me. And besides, the last few pages don’t really tell you the journey–that’s the important part for me.

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Dunkaroos: favourite bookish snack

I’ll eat anything, really. But I also never have any food around to eat while I read, so it’s usually just my bottle of water (which isn’t really a snack…but hydration is fun).

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Goosebumps/Are You Afraid of the Dark: A book that kept you up all night

I’m all for #TeamSleep so I don’t stay up all night to finish a book. The last book I can recall that I stayed up late to continuing reading is The Last Star by Rick Yancey. It was more because I wanted answers to the terrible (terrible) second book (The Infinite Sea, which I thought did nothing for the series). Alas, The Last Star was…not great, and sleep would have been much preferred.

The enemy is Other. The enemy is us.

They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us.

But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves.

In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves…or saving what makes us human.

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Bill Nye The Science Guy: a book that taught you something new

This is more of a reminder for me, but Dear Martin by Nic Stone felt like a masterclass that showcased the importance and power behind crafting strong dialogue for your characters, and how much the simple act of talking or debating can influence a story.

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it’s Justyce who is under attack.

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Get Tagged:

Normally, I would tag a bunch of you to participate in this tag. And because this is 90s themed, I would totally like to tag those who grew up then to do it…but I also don’t want to guess people’s age and be wrong…SO HERE WE ARE.

…but hey, if you want to do it–consider yourself tagged!

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Afterthoughts:

I am old.

Cheers,
Joey

connect: 
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anotherafterthought // goodreads
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