Well, here at Cozy Chicks this has been a week of discussing new beginnings -- of trying things we've never tried before or finally making time to do some of those things we've always wanted. We've been talking about...adventure.
When I made the decision to try writing full time I did enter into the greatest of all adventures. It was a huge risk -- and it continues to be, I suppose -- but it was the dream of a lifetime, it was my first ambition from childhood on, it was the thing I wished for on every set of birthday candles.
But I still have a few little ambitions left, and one of those -- believe it or not -- is to read all of the Three Investigators books.
I read most of Nancy Drew, most of the Hardy Boys, a lot of Trixie Belden, and a few Judy Boltons, but as much as I enjoyed the Three Investigators I only read three or four of the early ones.
I was researching something on the web the other day and I ran across a great site called Green Gate One. It's all about the Three Investigators -- loads of background and information -- and I suddenly remembered I'd never read all the books, and that it might be fun to go back and check them out.
So...who were your favorite childhood sleuths? And did you read all of them? What book(s) or series have you always intended or wanted to read but never got around to?
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For my part of the Cozy Chicks launch, I'm giving away a character in the next Mantra for Murder mystery. To be eligible for the drawing next Saturday, just comment on this Saturday's post!
45 comments:
Oh...Nancy Drew all the way! It totally want to be her. I remember my neighbor had all the Nancy Drew books in hardback in order on her shelf. I just liked to look at them (confessions of a total book nerd). I would borrow them and read them several times before giving them back! It is so fun to remember books from childhood, isn't it? Good luck with your Three Investigators goal! :)
Bobbsey Twins! I never quite got into Nancy Drew, but loved the Bobbsey. I don't think I read all of them, but I sure tried to :)
Diana, I love the photo in your post!
I got into Nancy Drew when I was growing up. I re-read the first 5 in the series last year, and still enjoyed them!
As far as books and series I've wanted to read and have never gotten around to - well, let's just say the list is VERRRRRY long, and getting longer every day!
I love that picture of you, too!
I read a ton as a kid, but don't remember any particular books or detectives. I watched the Hardy Boys religiously on TV (Shawn Cassidy--sigh), but it wasn't until Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple came along when I was a teenager that I really recall falling for the mystery genre.
Good luck with your goal!
I read the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew and some Trixie Belden. Some I borrowed from a friend and others I got at the library. As an adult, there are still lots of series I want to read!
Carol M
mittens0831 At aol.com
Good to "see" you Diana!
I was definitely a Nancy Drew girl. One of my friends and I would each get a book from the school library and try to read it all by the next day. My friend was a very fast reader, really smart girl, so i imagine she most likely did read the entire book. I tried, but usually would have to go back another time and re-read it again to really enjoy it. But I do remember those nights when I was supposed to be sleeping, but instead I had a little reading light and was practically reading my Nancy Drew book in the dark. Good memories.
Wow, when I read the title of your blog post, my mind immediately went to the Three Investigators series, even though it's been years since I read them. I also read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twins, and anything else I could get my hands on (frequently at the expense of less "essential" pursuits such as homework!).
More recently I've read all of Sue Grafton's alphabet series, the China Bayles mysteries, Hannah Swenson's series, Goldy the caterer mysteries, and (still!) anything I can get my hands on (often at the expense of such "unnecessary" activities such as housework and laundry). Hmm,see a trend here?
Anyway, reading "Green Gate One" brought back a plethora of fond memories for me. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I liked Nancy Dew, but I loved Cherry Ames! Maybe I had a flair for the dramatic, but I wanted to wear a cape much more than I wanted a roadster - and Ned always seemed so blah...
teabird 17 @ yahoo dot com
A few I remember are The Brownie Scouts, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew.
Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Happy Hollisters, Trixie Beldon and finally when I was 10, the librarian started me on Agatha Christies-after my dad signed the sheet saying it was okay.
While I was working in an elemtary school library I read all of the Einstein Andersons.
Caryn
I loved Trixie Beldon---those were the books which really gave me a love for reading, so...I bought a bunch to read to my girls and I was like, "Huh?" After Harry Potter, Marigold, Stargirl, etc., Trixie Beldon didn't seem quite as exciting...of course, I'll always hold her in my heart.
My girls do like Nancy Drew, but they think she's too prissy, too perfect, so...when I'm reading the books aloud, I occasionally throw things in to make her less prissy. For example, if the book reads, "Nancy was long recognized as the best sleuth in the area." I'll throw in, "So the townspeople overlooked her frequent nose picking." My daughters love it.
I have set a goal to read through some great mystery series this year and every book in that series. Right now I'm just finishing Roberta Isleib's Advice Column mysteries, and I'm going to back and catch up on Deb Baker's series this month too. There are lot of good series I'm finding out about by reading your blogs on here and I can't wait to get to some of those, too!! Series can be a great comfort to return to each evening after a long day of work.
Thanks for keeping up such an interesting blog.
The Bobbsey Twins was the first series that I read as a child but it was Hardy Boys that I really liked.
As for the series that I have wanted to read but have not gotten to yet it is the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I think that I need to make that a goal for 2009.
Nancy Drew, then Judy Bolton, then Sherlock Holmes and the rest is history.
For sure Nancy Drew! I also read all of the Black Stallion books and they typically involved a little mystery. There was this series I used to read as a kid and it was a mystery series that involved horses. I can't remember the series, but i loved the books.
A series I want to read? Can't think of one right now, but just take me to a book store and I doubt I'll have a problem coming up with something. Hmmm--maybe Diana Gabaldon. I'd like to read her series.
I LOVED Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden growing up. I read them all. I also enjoyed watching The Hardy Boys on television. A few years ago, I saw that the series had been released on DVD and my parents got them for me for Christmas! My husband has suffered through watching the two seasons of DVDs.
Oh, my first mystery author I remember (when I was 9 or 10) was Agatha Christie. My first book was a Miss Marple and I've stuck with her and Hercule Poirot ever since! Unfortunately, I still have not read all of the books, but I'm slowly getting there (I want them to last for as long as possible!).
And to be honest, I want to read all the mystery series that are out there. But for now, I think it would be best if I sticked to finishing up the over 50 series I'm reading right now.
I started reading my moms OLD Nancy Drews (with the old, original paper covers!) when I was very young. I found them on the shelf and was intrigued, even though it was a stretch for me to read them at the time. I liked them, but thought 'ol Nancy had it a little easy, being able to drive her own car, having a lawyer dad, etc. Then I tried Trixie Belden and loved them...she really had to work hard to solve cases with only her bike for transportation! I, too, got into Agatha Christie's, and later Mary Higgins Clarks in college. I used to scare myself silly with those because I'd read 'til the wee hours of the night, and every house creek I heard would make me paranoid! Great blog topic!
Definitely all the Nancy Drew mysteries, and like Michele---all the horse stories I could find. Then I discovered Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason with some Agathas thrown in for spice.
I was obsessed with Nancy Drew as a kid. I bought all I could find at a local flea market, and the rest I got out of the school library. Absolutely devoured them. Then my mystery reading slacked off until I discovered cozy mysteries.
Now I want to read every Agatha Christie story. I don't even have the complete collection yet.
Hey Andrea, those Nancy Drew book covers were gorgeous! Sometimes they were better than the books. Shhhhh. :-D
Katie, I only read a couple of the Bobbsey Twins -- such a large cast! It's like the War and Peace of juvenile sleuths! :-D
Thanks, Kay!
I know what you mean, my TBR pile is...scary. Very.
Heheheheheh. HEATHER. I so loved the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series on TV.
Carol, they're really relaxing, aren't they? These youthful stories of crime and adventure -- nice way to relax.
Hey, Linda! Nice to be back with the Cozy Chicks! I so identify with the supposed-to-be-sleeping-but-actually-frantically-turning-pages-by-flashlight. :-D
Hey, Peggy, I had the same thought when I discovered the website -- it was like a door opening into the past. Such fond memories.
Oh, teabird! I read A LOT of Cherry Ames. Yes! I was very young too, so I was always feeling homesick on her behalf as she was sent hither and yon. Looking back now...she really did an awful lot of special nursing crossover. :-p
Karen, I've never heard of the Brownie Scouts?!
Hi Caryn, that's just about the age I was when my mother handed over the Agatha Christie. I think I made her nervous when I started flipping through the Barbara Cartlands. ;-D
Anita, that was part of what I liked about Trixie -- she wasn't perfect by any means. And her adventures seemed to overlap more whereas Nancy (much as I adored her) really seemed to lack continuity. Of course imagine how exhausting it would have been to write dialog that had to reference the first twenty cases. ;-D
Love the creative interpretation of Nancy for the viewing audience.
Trixie Belden hands down. I have every one of those books! I loved them so much~!
Thanks, Dave! We do our best.
You're right about series providing comfort -- it's very relaxing to know what the evening is going to hold, even if murder is scheduled. ;-D
Helen, those are on my list as well. In fact, I have the first book sitting...well...somewhere in the spill of paperbacks that used to be my library.
Hey there, BousMama! I think Trixie introduced me to the mysterious word "dungarees." ;-)
Pattie, it's interesting to me that Judi Bolton has been almost forgotten now. The books are great. They remind me of Deanna Durbin movies.
Oh my gosh, Michele! I read nearly every Black Stallion book there was, and went on to the Flame books. LOVED them. I can still, still flashback to some of those scenes...more real than real.
Rebecca, when the series came out on DVD I bought them for both my nieces -- and then I made them sit down and watch them with me. Those poor kids. How they humor me. :-D
Kathrin,
I'm a nut for old mysteries, but I know what you mean. There's so much to read, old and new, they could stop publishing now.
Uh...not that I am suggesting they do that!
Vicki, I think Nancy is more about the fantasy, and Trixie was more of an attempt to capture a "real" girl. There is something enormously relaxing about Nancy's life, I have to admit. :-D
I started reading Mary Stewart early on -- I don't know if I've ever read Mary Higgins Clark! Now that's embarrassing.
Hey, Maggie, remember when Perry Mason seemed hardboiled!? ;-D
Melissa, I think you'll really enjoy the Christies. There's a reason they continue to be so hugely successful (and it's not the promotion she does online). ;-D
I loved Nancy Drew and still do! My goal for 2009 is to start reading some Agatha's. Currently, I'm into the Sookie Stackhouse series (True Blood). Sometimes you just need something a little spooky. :-)
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