Get Your Picky Neopet Reading Now!

Alas, fear no more Neopians. Your trusty reporter has come to the rescue.

I recently met with Nolan, the Nimmo who runs the bookshop in Neopia Central. I asked the knowledgeable Nimmo for his take on the most interesting books in all of Neopia for these picky hard-to-please readers.

I walked into the bookshop a little late, desperately trying to get my baby Ixi's gaga grub out of my hair when I saw Nolan already sitting at the front desk waiting for our interview. He had promised to meet me for a quick informal meeting in the few minutes he had before completing his restocking. He swore to show me five of the most crowd-pleasing books any Neopet would love. We exchanged greetings before he got right to the point. He slammed a pile of books as tall as a Chomby onto the desk.

1. Usuki Style

Nolan took a long sigh. "I'll start with this one" he muttered.

"I almost had a Jetsam try to fight me for not haggling the price of this book. She desperately wanted it for her daughter." He shivers as he remembers the memories. "The young folks love this book. All they talk about when they come in is about who has the best Usuki this and my Usuki is prettier that. They buy this book so they can get ideas about how to dress up their Usukis so they can beg their parents to buy them more dolls and spend more money!" Nolan tossed the book to the side as I stayed in silence at Nolan's obvious opposition to the Usuki craze.

2. Space Faerie Vs. Dr. Sloth

"THIS one" he began, growing more excitedly and enthusiastic now that the Usuki book was out of his sight. "This one is full of galaxy saving action, selfless heroism, mind control robots, and blue-haired faeries." My eyes grew large as I became very interested in this book myself.

He leaned in and motioned me to come closer to hear the next part in a barely audible whisper.

"It also contains several of the oldest most profound secrets of the entire universe..." he nodded his head to reaffirm his statement before sitting back in his chair and adding "Oh and you can get it from a scratchcard."

Apparently Nolan doesn't sell the secret-revealing book in his shop.

3. Illusen's Journey

"Now this one is a bit pricey, but well worth it. Illusen is such an interesting faerie. So many Neopets look up to her and go to complete her quests. Unless your Neopet is a staunch Jhudora supporter, I think they will take like a Jetsam to water with this one." He handed me the book that was surprisingly lightweight for its appearance. "Illusen wrote about all of her journeys in search of ingredients in this book. She traveled high into the mountains to collect Snowager drool, she swam deep into the fishing vortex to gather giant squid tears!" His arms reached high and dove down to really sell the adventure going on in my mind with hand gestures.

"OH! There was this one part where she mentions how she had to make the grumpy old king laugh by saying this exact phrase she said--"

"No spoilers please!" I interjected.

"Oh very well then. Either way, this book has gotten a lot of attention recently. There's been some debate about copyright infringement and potion trademark feuds between her and Jhudora but I don't like to get into politics" he shakes his hand dismissively. "I just sell books ya know?" He laughs.

4. One Scary Night

"Now I don't recommend this one if you have a baby Neopet or just an easily scared one." He handed the book to me with some apprehension. "I'm guessing from the gaga grub you still got in your hair, that you have a spoiled baby Neopet running wild back at your Neohome." I admitted the fact embarrassingly.

"They say this is based on a true story. Of some Neopets getting lost in the haunted woods and getting mixed up trying to play the games in those game graveyards. They were playing DJ Neo and Kau Korral.." he grimaced before finishing his sentence "with all of those horrible graphics!" I gasped and so did he.

"Those poor Neopets. They never knew what hit them." He hung his head before lifting it back on to carry on to the end of the story. "Finally, it all ends more horrible than you can imagine."

"What happens?!" I pressed on.

"They didn't even get any Neopoints!" We both sat back in our chairs in disbelief.

5. Techo In Love

"Oh, of course!" He fumbled to get the last book in his grasp. "I couldn't end my picks without suggesting a love story!"

"Everyone loves a good romantic story. This is the story of Teddy, who decides to search after his true love after receiving a mysterious Neogreeting on Valentine's Day from a secret admirer. He shows us that true love IS possible if we truly believe. He gets help from a few kind faeries and his friendly Neopian community in tracking down this mysterious sender. Any Neopet will stay transfixed in the pages, flipping frantically to figure out Teddy's ultimate destiny." He hugs the book tight, obviously the favorite choice of a lonely bookshop Nimmo.

I stack the books and carry them to the register just as the swarm of restockers and Neopets alike made their way inside the store creating Neopia's largest stampede for knowledge (or good resells).

"Thank you so much Nolan, I know this will help those of us with picky Neopets. I'll buy them all!"

He grinned, liking a good sale as much as the next salesman.