Pokemon Go! Book Tag!

Greetings Fellow Book Dragons!

I saw this book tag the other day from some Booktubers I subscribe to and since we love playing the game in my house, I wanted to give it a try!

Gotta catch ’em all!  On one of our many excursions to the park to catch Pokemon!

I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but check out the video that inspired me to participate from The Restricted Section as well as the original video from Dahlia Exitium.

Question 1:  Caterpie is a practically useless and forgotten Pokemon, so what is a book that you have read that has little or no impact on you?

I’m probably going to commit book sacrilege, but I picked The Catcher in the Rye.  I read it as a teenager and didn’t understand then what a lot of the kids I knew were getting out of it.  I don’t even think rereading it as an adult will make it any better since I tend to view my reading now through the lens of being an adult.  I know a lot of people that have been deeply impacted by Holden, but I’m not one of them.  Please don’t get me wrong…it’s a good story and I can appreciate why it’s an important part of the canon especially for young adults, but I just wasn’t as affected as others it seems.

Question 2:  Squirtle is a humble little guy that evolves into a badass, so what is a book series that you started reading and thought ‘meh’ but you kept going and it turned out to be awesome?

This one goes to none other the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.  I actually attempted to read ACOTAR last year when it came out, but I couldn’t get into it.  Then this summer, I started hearing how the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, was blowing everyone’s minds, including people who were not fans of the first book.  So I picked up the first book again and liked it a lot, especially towards the end, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it.  I call that dedication considering you’ve seen the picture above and I have two small children that I take care of all day and who don’t care if mom didn’t get any sleep the night before because she was too busy reading!  After finishing it, I had to have the second one!  I loaded up the kids and we headed to a used book store that I frequent when I can, hoping they would have it so I didn’t have to wait the two days that Amazon would take with Prime.  Would you believe that I picked up the last new copy they had!  And I devoured it in record time.  That book y’all!  OMG!  The hype is so worth it!  And it’s definitely true that if you weren’t impressed by the first book, it gets so much better.  I had a major book hangover and can’t wait for the next one, which unfortunately doesn’t come out until next year!

Question 3:  Jynx is an odd or confronting (almost embarrassing!)  Pokemon, so what is a book you wouldn’t read in public because of its cover?

I picked the edition of Anna and the French Kiss with the couple sitting together and the Eiffel Tower in the background.  I was not the biggest fan of this book.  It’s not awful nor the worst book I ever read and again with The Catcher in the Rye I get why the fandom is so high for this one, but I just didn’t like it or get it.  The later edition with the pink cover is okay, but the title alone just seems to automatically give people the wrong impression about me and the books I’m reading, which isn’t the total sum of the package that I am.  This was a stay at home read for me.

Question 4:  Meowth is an annoying Pokemon that talks waaaaay too much, so what is a book you’ve read that has way too much unnecessary dialogue?

For this one, I went with Luckiest Girl Alive.  The reader is inside Ani’s head the entire time and it just becomes so draining.  In the opening chapter while having lunch with her fiance, she becomes upset with some perceived affront by the waitress.  Ani tells the waitress that she has a big piece of spinach stuck in her teeth.  The waitress becomes incredibly embarrassed, thanks to Ani, and slinks away to take care of it.  Only it wasn’t true!  The poor girl didn’t have anything in her teeth; she simply ended up in Ani’s cross hairs and then Ani tells herself, “Never fuck with a rich white bitch and her white jeans.”  This book was hailed as the next Gone Girl, which is a huge pet peeve of mine, but in my humble opinion, Ani was just a sloppy second version of someone trying to be Amy and it was all so pointless.  Everything is about Ani and this silent and sad competition she has going on with no one but herself and yet no matter what she does, she is never happy.  She tries to be snarky, but it’s just comes off as bitter.  She really had no redeeming qualities and when I figured out the big twist, I just couldn’t care anymore.  Everything was drama and I was glad to see it end.

Question 5:  Abra is a telekinetic and spiritual Pokemon, so what is a book that changed your life?  (or had a strong impact on your life?)

I was definitely late to the party on this series, but I don’t know what my life would be like now without A Song of Ice and Fire.  I kept seeing it around and hearing about it after the show came out in 2010 and even my husband had read them, but I just wasn’t interested at the time.  Then my first son was born and breastfeeding him naturally lent itself to spending a lot of time sitting around, so I picked up the first book, Game of Thrones, in late December of 2013 and had completed all five of the published books by April of 2014.  That’s a combined page count of over 5,000 in four months!  Only after I finished the books did I watch the show and I truly subscribe to the belief that the show is the show and the books are the books.  I’m also obsessed with watching fan theories and commentary on YouTube and I have already pre-ordered the illustrated Game of Thrones edition coming out in October for my birthday.  Could we just get Winds of Winter now?!?!  GRMM is a genius and I’m so glad that I finally read the series.  Check it out if you haven’t already!

Halloween 2014 as Daenerys and Drogon

Question 6:  Nidoran is a female who is large and blue and a male who is small and pink/purple, so what is a book you’ve read that challenges character tropes?

So this was a little tricky for me, but I chose Boy Toy by Barry Lyga.  This book tells the story of an 18-year-old boy who is recounting the details of the sexual relationship he endured with a teacher when he was 12.  It was amazing in its portrayal from the male perspective and to bear witness to how this situation impacted this young boy for years to come.  The book was gripping and graphic in its presentation of sex, power dynamics and authority, and male/female relationships.  Josh, the main character, has a strong voice throughout and is a great alternative to all the young adult books that focus on girls.

Question 7:  When Bulbosaur, a dinosaur-like Pokemon, is feeling a bit lethargic, the bulb on its back releases energy into it, so what book got you out of a reading slump?

While I wasn’t in a complete reading slump before picking up The Weight of Silence, I hadn’t had the same level of interest in reading as I typically do each month.  This book tells the story of two seven year old girls who go missing and how each family has to confront secrets in order to find out what happened to them.  Told in multiple perspectives, the story is engaging and the pacing is incredible.  I could not put this one down and it was definitely the type of book needed to revamp a sluggish reading time.

Question 8:  Pikachu is a fragile cutie that packs a powerful and unexpected unch, so what is a romance book that you’ve read that has a crazy plot twist?  

The Girl in 6E without a doubt!  Deanna has basically locked herself up in an apartment to prevent the unleashing of her homicidal tendencies following some past trauma and performs as a web cam girl online to make money.  The book was billed as equal parts Dexter meets Fifty Shades of Grey, but when you finish this, you’ll be like Fifty Shades of what?

Question 9:  Charmander is an emotionally driven fire-ball, so what is a book that gave you all the feels at once?

The Martian!  OMG…this book!  I laughed, I cried, and I couldn’t rest until I knew what happened to Mark Whatley.  This was such a problem that I actually fell in love with his character!  He is my #1 fictional husband.  Forget boyfriend because being right there with him as he experienced this incredible situation has elevated our relationship to forever status.  I just loved how his personality and sense of humor anchored him in facing such insurmountable odds.  It was fantastic and I can’t wait to read what Andy Weir comes out with next!

Question 10:  Eevee can evolve and devolve whenever they wish and be ready to take on anything, so what is a book that you like that has had mixed reviews?

I was quite surprised when reviewing my five star reads on Goodreads that my ratings didn’t completely differ from the average rating among other readers; however Before I Fall was probably the most mixed.  This book tells the story of Samantha who keeps waking up to relive the last day of her life over and over in order to figure out the mystery of her death and learn to appreciate the things she stands to lose.  She  must decide whether she would ultimately do anything different knowing what she knows now.  I fell in love with Lauren Oliver’s writing and storytelling and have since gone on to enjoy many of her other books, including the Delirium trilogy.  This one though was definitely a hit or miss with many readers.

Well, that’s it!  This was such a great tag to put together!  Are you playing Pokemon Go?  What team are you on?  Team Valor here!

Feel free to answer some of these questions in the comments or drop your link below!