Read at Midnight has come up with this really fun Book Tag game for Pokemon Go. My friend Jackie participated and it was so cute, I had to jump on board. So CHOOO CHOOOOO! All aboard the Pokemon Train(er). Yes, I just said that.

I think everyone now knows it wasn’t just one book, it was a series. And it was an exciting, harrowing, touching, and all-around amazing series. I’m talking, of course, about Nancy Drew. Nancy and her friends taught me how to do the right thing. More importantly, they taught me to love eating out at restaurants. Every time they stopped at a cute little diner, I’d close my eyes and pretend to eat pie with them.

If we’re talking about books that made me want to write, then I have to credit John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. Halfway through the novel, I was like “I want to do this! I want to make people feel like this!” The book blew me away.

Hmmmm… I’m trying to think what book this would be. Metamorphosis by Kafka was the first teenage novel I read that made me bawl. Oh man I cried when I read it. But I don’t reread it that often as it’s overwhelming for me. I think I’m gonna answer The Grapes of Wrath for this one. The Great Depression is my favorite era in history. I’ve read the novel a few times and love feeling like I’m really there. Even if “there” sucked.

So I could really use a few more Zubats in Pokemon Go. I want to replace this picture with a damn Pidgey. I hate them. But I digress.

I’m kinda the person who will end up reading a book if it gets that popular. I don’t lose interest because I don’t wanna be left out. That’s why I read the Hunger Game series. And I totally loved it. If I have to give an answer, though, I’d have to say the whole Fifty Shades of Gray series. There’s a bit of a jealousy factor at play as everyone knows the writing is just terrible. Either way, that’s a series I will likely never read. Unless I do.

This would have to be the Sue Grafton alphabet murder series (A is for Alibi, etc…). It’s a set of books I never would have read had I not found them on audiobook. The older ones were on sale and I was heading out on a long road trip. So I picked up N is for Noose – yep, I started right in the middle – and hit the pavement. The book was actually pretty bad, but the one bright spot was Judy Kaye. She reads for all the later books and she is INCREDIBLE. She single-handedly brings the books to life. Consequently, they’re the only books I refuse to buy; I will only get them on audio.

In Sue Grafton’s defense, I have to say some of the books are quite good. She builds up an entire town of fictional characters that just come to life. And some of the books are more emotional than action-packed.

OH! I had to think about this one for a second, but it just hit me. I started reading The Wheel of Time series years ago. This was back when only four books were out. Only four books, you ask? That’s a lot already! How many more could there possibly be? Well, the answer to that, dear friend, would be seven million. Yes, there are seven million books in the series. There are so many that Robert Jordan, the author, died and his son had to take over. The last I heard, eight generations of Jordans have been working on the series.

(NOTE: It may not have been his son that continued the series. But it’s more fun to write it that way.)

Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. If I pick up any of books 3-7 and start reading it, I get hooked all over again. And I’ve read them so many times! Goblet of Fire has finger indentions I’ve read it so many times. The books just cast a spell on me. See what I did there?

Did anyone else have to look up OTP? I had ZERO idea what it stood for. My mind went to that rap song “Get down with OPP”. So I was like “They want to know about other people’s property?” Apparently, that wasn’t right and OTP actually stands for One True Pairing. So it’s like the book couple that I think truly belong together. This one is actually really hard to answer. There aren’t many book couples that I think, “They just really belong together forever!” Maybe it’s because I read mostly straight fiction and men and women don’t go together. KIDDING! OK I’m going to take a suggestion and go with the couple from Big Fish. They’re totally meant to be and so cute together.

I recently read The Princess Bride. Because I’ve seen the movie a bunch of times, I figured the book would be a bit slow as I pretty much knew everything that would happen. Boy was I wrong. The book’s voice is so entertaining and fun, I was caught up from beginning to end. I especially like the back stories of Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. Those scenes weren’t in the movie, but they were so entertaining and informative. They provided a lot of insight into those characters.

Several years ago, I read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was alright. The later books turned out to be surprisingly good considering the first wasn’t amazing. Fast forward however many years and Rick Riordan has released at LEAST six hundred eighty-four thousand spin-off series. At first, I wasn’t that thrilled, thinking he was riding the money train. Then I started reading some of his newer stuff. Wow, his writing has gotten so much better! And he’s introduced LGBT characters who are big-time players (go Nico!). Now I’m kinda hooked and waiting for more.

For this one, I’m going indie. When I first moved to Phoenix, I bought a book called Impervious from a lady named Laura Kirwan. From what she said, the novel dealt with witchcraft and romance. Those aren’t my favorite genres and I wasn’t super interested. However, I’d just moved and wanted to network, so I went ahead and bought it. The novel sat on my shelf for several months until, bored one night, I picked it up. My intent was to make fun of it, read half, then throw it away. But it turned out to be really good! Her writing is really nice and she develops some great characters.

This is another toughie. I’m sure there’s probably a novel staring me right in the face that I want to read. I kinda want to read Battle Royale, which I heard was the start of the whole Hunger Games phenomenon. Then again, I haven’t finished the Divergent series and I enjoyed the first novel. So I need to list that, too.

My first thoughts here went to Harry Potter and other favorite novels. Those would be the most selfless choices. Then I thought, “Screw that!!” For this one, I’m gonna be purely selfish. According to Wikipedia, Leonardo DaVinci’s Codex Leicestor is worth almost 50 million dollars. I don’t even know what a Codex Lei-thingy is. But it’s a book. Collectors want it. So I’m counting it in this category. So if someone’s looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me (you know who you are)…. you know what to do.

For a split second, I was like “I don’t follow debut authors.” Then it hit me! The answer is the most obvious thing ever. My friend Paul Mosier is about to release his first nationally published book, Train I Ride. Harper Collins picked it up and, let me tell you, I’m SOOOO excited for him. I’ve read some of the book at group and it’s just fantastic. The fact it’s a big-name publisher makes it even more thrilling.

This is a section I thought would be easy. But there aren’t any authors I auto-buy anymore. OMG What’s wrong with me? I can’t think of a single author whose books I buy no matter what. That includes JK Rowling, John Irving, and everyone. Honestly, I go through HUGE genre phases. There are months where I read nothing but fantasy. Then I put the genre away for awhile and move on to literary fiction. Then to magic. Then to suspense. That’s probably why all the novel ideas in my head are so different. It’s probably not a good way to build a set audience. But it is what it is.

I’m bucking the trend here. You know what book I want to see released? The Gay Teen’s Guide to Defeating a Siren: Book 2!!!!! For reals, yo. Peace out.