The 100 Neopoint Neopian Readers Program

Hiya! My name is flushiee. I am a grey Aisha and luxury_tux’s first pet – don’t let my grey appearance get you down; I am actually a very happy neopet in many ways. The reason I get a little down is because I tend to think about things far too much and confuse myself a little! And sometimes when I think too much and talk too much, I go off on tangents and I forget what I was meant to be saying or I start talking about things that I never really intended to talk about... oops.

But my tendency to get distracted is not what I am here to talk about. Some of you might remember my owner wrote an article a little while ago about some of the great budget items you can get in Neopia. Well, let me be the first to say (she won’t admit it herself) that luxury_tux is a bit stingy (unless it comes to her gallery – then it is no holds barred! But her obsessiveness when it comes to cakes is something else we are not here to talk about; besides it would take up a whole other article, or maybe three – have you seen the size of that gallery! But I digress, again).

I am here to introduce to you the 100 NP Neopian Reader Program – what’s that you say? What is this mysterious program? Well, it is not that mysterious at all, really! As I mentioned above, I like reading, so I was thrilled when I noticed so many budget books are now available in Neopia. I am a little sad to say that some of luxury_tux’s stinginess has worn off on me – I love reading but I don’t want to pay too much for the privilege! I am also mindful that there are lots of Neopets out there who just cannot afford to buy expensive books (oh and thanks to everyone who sent us lovely neomails about our last article; we do like getting value for our money and we are glad you do too!).

But I have digressed again. Because I am a little bit stingy and out of curiosity (because I am a very curious Aisha by nature), I thought I would see how many different books I could read – all for under 100 NP! That’s not 100 NP each; that is 100 NP all up!

As it is, I was astounded at how many different books were available for such a low price! I was so excited I felt the need to share with everyone how much fun, and how affordable, it is to read! Here is a breakdown of what literary delights I managed to get my intellectual little paws on... all for under 100 NP total, yes TOTAL!!

1. Kiko Pop-Up Book – 2 NP

To find that I could get a book for 2 NP was exciting! The different stories and different pop-up Kikos on each page were spectacularly exciting! Even though I only paid 2 NP for this book, any price between 5 to 10 NP would also be a great bargain for the stingy intellect. I was quite upset when this book vanished into a puff of yellow smoke, but I quickly recovered from my disappointment and ran to find another cheap book.

Total Spent = 2 NP

2. Waterlogged Book – FREE!

Even though I love reading, even I was a little disappointed by this book – all the ink had run out of it and it was soggy, which made it a bit yucky to read – especially because I like to read cuddled up in a big fluffy bed and there is nothing like inky and icky wet sheets (unless you are a Maraquan Acara, I guess – but once again I have digressed) and plus because all the ink had run I could not read it properly and I am still not sure what it really said... I guess the only good thing about this book is that you can fish it up for free – and even if you don’t like fishing, you can buy it for just 1 neopoint!

Total Spent so far = 2 NP

3. More Than Carrot Cake – 1 NP

Being the little bargain hunter I am, I managed to pick up this beauty for 1 NP as well (although the average shopper who is not possessed with the same shopping sixth sense as I can expect to pay up to 15 NP for this book). What was great about this recipe book was that it taught me lots of new things to do with carrots (apart from make cake). While I liked this, luxury_tux was not so happy – I did tell you she is a bit obsessive about her cakes, didn’t I?

Total Spent so far = 3 NP

4. Yurble Tales – 5 NP

My first three books had only cost me 3 neopoints – alas, my average of 1 NP per book streak could not continue, but the 5 NP I paid for this book still made it a bargain! Yurble Tales was great value because it contained 5 different tales with five different moods – meaning it kind of was like 1 NP per story at the very least!

Total Spent so far = 8 NP

5. Ogrin Survivor – 5 NP

My fifth literary conquest was yet another 5 NP book. Ogrin Survivor was a thought-provoking, drama infused epic novel about a group of Ogrins and a boating accident – quiet frankly it has made me determined to avoid anything remotely resembling a boat – including toy boats – even if they are not close to water – there is simply too much that can go wrong! My paranoia aside, the fact that Ogrin Survivor sports a fetching bookmark in the shape of an Ogrin tail is a nice touch to this Ogrin tale – hee hee.

Total Spent so far = 13 NP

6. Mystery Of The Kougra Paw 30 NP

There seems to be a fascination with using Neopet tails as bookmarks in the tales about those Neopets... but that’s not why I read this book, of course. While this book set me back 30 NP, it was a thrilling mystery about a hidden gem – it all started on a dark and stormy night, and the butler did it, but you don’t find that out until the end, of course... oops....

Total Spent so far = 43 NP

7. Neopian Times Issue 3 – 1 NP

This little gem is given out from the Tombola Man as a booby prize – but as any stingy literary fanatic will know, this is indeed a treasure! While admittedly this copy of the Times is a number of years out of date and some of the stories are a little dated (i.e. the introduction of the new game, Deckswabber), there are also some excellent stories such as ‘Guide to Lupes’ and Part Two of ‘In a Really Strange Land’. The Tombola Man did not give me my copy; I bought it for 1 NP, although the price seems to range between 1 NP and 20 NP.

Total Spent so far = 44 NP

8. Day in the Life of King Roo – 7 NP

This fun looking book is also informative – it tells us all about King Roo (and Dice-A-Roo) and is presented in a visually pleasing manner. The fact that it only cost me 7 NP was also nice as I felt like I got a bargain too! The interesting shape of this book is not great if you like to present your books in a shelf – but it is great for stenciling...

Total Spent so far = 51 NP

9. Fishing for Zafaras – 30 NP

Fishing for Zafaras seems to range between 35 NP and 50 NP – I shopped around and managed to get mine for 30 NP. As you might remember, I got a little spooked about boats after reading Ogrin Survivor, but I figured that maybe if I just read the bits about fishing from land I would be okay – as it was, the book was so interesting I ended up reading all of it – even the boat bits, so clearly I was not emotionally scarred from Ogrin Survivor, something I am sure LawyerBot is relieved about!

Total Spent so far = 81 NP

10. Maraqua Colouring Book - 5 NP

Okay, okay, so it is technically not a novel, but quite frankly, after all of the other books I had read, my brain needed a bit of rest. Colouring in the pictures of Maraqua was fun, and get this – I actually felt smarter afterwards anyway! Since this book only cost me 5 NP, I consider that money well spent!

Total Spent so far = 85 NP

11. The Secret of Treasure Island – 3 NP

I now faced the challenge of finding a book for just 15 NP... But I found better – The Secret of Treasure Island only cost me 3 NP! This was an exciting story about a Tuskaninny who set out on what started as a classic adventure – that soon turned into something different (and I won’t give the ending away but it involves Mallow Grundos and spaceships).

TOTAL SPENT 88 NP

With 12 NP left in the budget and 11 books under my belt, I decided to call it a day – I bought myself a Dark Chocolate Covered Toffee (it counts as a gourmet food, you know – always think of value for money when seeking out your comfort food) and went to sleep in the sun where I dreamt of Carrots, Islands, and Treasure.

NB: These prices are obviously subject to change – but they were great value for money when I bought them and even if they have inflated a bit, you can either find new bargain books or spend a few extra Neopoints without feeling too guilty! After all, 100 NP is ridiculously cheap!