Guys, I found the best book tag ever over on Kristin Kraves Books – the 90s book tag!  Why is it the best?  Because the 90s were the best, duh.  I might be biased though, since I was born in 1991 and pretty much my entire childhood was 90s culture (though I am a big fan of 80s music… thanks mom).  Trust me when I say that life was definitely awesome growing up, and as much as I enjoy some of the perks social media gives us, I think we were better off without it.

Most of the time, anyway.

And now for the most nostalgic tag and 90s kid has ever done!

The Rules

1. Please, please, please steal this tag and spread it around! I only ask that you link it back to The Literary Phoenix so that I can see everyone’s answers!
2. Freeze tag was all the rage in the 90s. Tag someone (or many) you think would have fun with this!
3. Have fun!

POKEMON

A GBA GAME AND TRADING CARD GAME WHERE YOU BATTLED POCKET MONSTERS AND STRIVED TO CATCH THEM ALL. BACK IN THE DAY, THERE WERE ONLY 150 POKEMON.

THE AUTHOR YOU NEED EVERY BOOK FROM.

I’d have to say it’s a tie with Kasie West and Jennifer E. Smith.  Though I haven’t read every book by either author (yet), the ones I have read I really enjoyed and I really think I’ll enjoy their other books as well.

AIM

AOL INSTANT MESSAGING – HOW 90S KIDS COMMUNICATED WITH THEIR FRIENDS AFTER SCHOOL BEFORE EVERYONE HAD A CELL PHONE.

BOOK THAT CONNECTED YOU WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.

Hmm, I can’t say that a book connected me to my best friend, but we have always shared books with each other over the years.  I think the one that we both really enjoyed was a non-fiction book, The Christian Atheist, because it was so relatable and just opened our eyes to how we should be acting as Christians and not blending into the world’s standards.

FURBY

CREEPY NEEDY ROBOTS YOU COULD TEACH TO TALK AND WERE PROBABLY DEMON POSSESSED. SOMEHOW THESE MADE A COMEBACK?

BOOK THAT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA BUT WAS ACTUALLY A MONSTER.

The Circle by Dave Eggers.  The concept of the book was awesome, but the execution was just… ugh, terrible.  There was so much in the book that did not need to be in the story because it wasn’t even relevant.  The movie was only slightly better, but still… ugh.

N’SYNC

90S QUINTESSENTIAL BOY BAND. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE?

A BOOK YOU HATED TO SAY BYE, BYE, BYE TO.

Unlike the couple answers I’ve seen for this tag so far, I do actually like *NSYNC a bit more than Backstreet Boys, but that is due to my never-ending crush on Justin Timberlake (and I went to one of their final concerts in 2002 for my 11th birthday!)

Anyway, a book I hated to say ‘bye bye bye’ to was All the Bright Places.  I really enjoyed that book and it still comes to the front of my mind sometimes and tugs at my heart.  On that note, so does the last book of The Mortality Doctrine trilogy, The Game of Lives.  I should probably reread those books soon.

SLIMED!

GETTING GREEN SLIME THROWN ON YOU, COURTESY OF THE SHOW FIGURE IT OUT. ALSO APPARENTLY STILL A THING AT THE KID’S CHOICE AWARDS?

A BOOK EVERYONE LOVED BUT YOU HATED.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  I just didn’t connect to it man, and I’m still wishing I had DNF’d the book instead of pushing through to finish it.

OREGON TRAIL

90S COMPUTER GAME YOU COULD USUALLY PLAY AT SCHOOL, WHICH WAS GREAT. IT TAUGHT US PEOPLE USED TO DIE A LOT OF GRUESOME, MESSY DEATHS.

A BOOK THAT MADE YOU WISH YOU DIED OF DYSENTERY.

A bit dramatic… huh?  I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that made me feel that way, and I hope I never do.

MIXTAPE/CD

BACK BEFORE EVERYONE HAD MUSIC ON THEIR PHONES (REMEMBER, WE DIDN’T HAVE CELL PHONES!) FOLKS WOULD RIP THEIR CDS AND MAKE MIXES FOR EACH OTHER.

3 BOOKS YOU RECOMMEND TO ANYONE, ANYWHERE, NO MATTER WHAT.

1. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (actually, just read the entire series)
2. The Chance by Karen Kingsbury
3. Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau (seriously, read it when it comes out on March 13th!)

DIAL-UP INTERNET

YOU KNOW HOW IT’S ANNOYING WHEN YOU AREN’T ON LTE? IMAGINe WAITING 10 MINUTES FOR the INTERNET TO START AND ANOTHER 20 MINUTES FOR GOOGLE TO LOAD!

A BOOK THAT TOOK FOR FREAKING EVER TO READ.

I’m going to go with The Circle again here because it took me over a week to read, and it usually only takes me a few days to read a book.

KENAN THOMPSON

HE’S THAT GUY WHO’S BEEN ON SNL FOREVER. ALSO MIGHTY DUCKS. GOOD BURGER. KEENAN AND KEL. ALL THAT. EVERYTHING.

THAT BOOK YOU SEE REFERENCED EVERYWHERE AND IS IN EVERYTHING, BUT THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME.

Harry Potter, duh.

THUMBS UP, SEVEN UP

A GAME WHERE MOST THE CLASS CLOSED THEIR EYES AND SEVEN PEOPLE TAPPED SOMEONE’S THUMB AND YOU HAD TO GUESS WHO DID IT WITHOUT PEEKING.

BOOK WHERE YOU PEEKED JUST REAL QUICK AT THE ENDING BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE GUESSING GAMES.

I can’t say I’ve actively done this, but I have accidentally read spoilers online.  One of the books I accidentally read a spoiler for was for The Eye of Minds where I found out some information about the main character that wasn’t revealed until the end of the book.

DUNKAROOS

THESE WERE BASICALLY JUST TEDDY GRAHAMS DIPPED IN FROSTING, WHICH IS STILL A WONDERFUL SNACK IDEA.

YOUR IDEAL BOOKISH SNACK

I don’t usually eat a snack while reading… and I can’t really think of a good one that isn’t messy.

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

COLLECTIONS OF SHORT STORIES THAT WOULD SCARE ANY SENSIBLE KID! PLUS, THERE WERE ILLUSTRATIONS…

A BOOK THAT KEPT YOU UP ALL NIGHT.

Not because it was creepy, but Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince kept me up all night the day it was released.  I needed answers!  (Plus I was crying like a baby when Dumbledore died)

BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY

BASICALLY THE COOLEST THING YOU GOT TO DO IN SCIENCE CLASS WAS WATCH BILL NYE. HE HAS A NETFLIX SHOW AGAIN!

A BOOK THAT TAUGHT YOU SOMETHING NEW.

Aside from the obvious non-fiction books that have taught me something, I’d say that Rules of Rain and What to Say Next are two books that helped me to understand a little bit about autism in teenagers.  That’s not to say that those books taught me all about it for every person out there who’s autistic, but I definitely know a little more than I did before.

If you grew up in the 90s, I tag you!!