A Note about Listings, Reading, and Reviews

I have been very unmotivated to write reviews of the books I have read.  I lost my interest in reviews in August.  I finally ran out of reviews this week.

I lost interest in reading two weeks ago, putting my goal to read 365 books this year in serious jeopardy.

I also hadn't used many of my allotted 250 free listings on eBay.  The deadline of September 30 for the eBay listings was the most pressing, since that was a concrete deadline.  I took care of the listings gradually during the last week, finally finishing up today.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

I haven't listed on Etsy in some time, and I'll get around to that eventually.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

By Thursday, I knew that I had to figure out how to get started reading again.  Two weeks ago, I was ahead of the required pace to read 365 books by around 12 to 14 books.  Since I had read very little in two weeks, I knew that I needed to get back on track fast.

I want to read Augusta Huiell Seaman's books, but I'm saving them for a few months from now.  I really want to reach 365 books, but Seaman's books are long and will likely take a couple days per book.

I could think of three possibilities, none of which appealed to me.  I won't tell you the other two possible choices since I am not going with those, but the one I decided to try was Sweet Valley High.  I really wasn't interested, but I made myself start the first book.  I have never particularly cared for the first book, probably because I didn't read it as a teen.  So I read it, not really caring.

I have always liked the second and third books, but they have lost their charm for me.  Too much was too stupid.  I tried the fourth book, and yes, this is all since Thursday.  When I get started reading short, modern books, I do read very fast.  Finally, I liked the fourth book as much as before.

As a result, I will probably be reading Sweet Valley High for the rest of the year, which will guarantee that I will make it past 365 books.  For the record, I have read 276 books so far this year.  I need to read 89 more to reach my goal, and there are 92 days left in the year.  I'm on track, and I'm amazed considering the length of some books that I have read and how few books I have read in the last two weeks.

I have struggled to finish reviews since August.  I made myself finish some that were published in the last week, then I had none left.  I managed to finish out my Mary C. Jane reviews today, but I have no drive or interest.  I usually set the reviews where they will publish in the order that the books were originally published.  This won't be the case with the remaining Mary C. Jane reviews, since I didn't get them grouped right.  I don't feel like changing them around.

I also am not very pleased with my Mary C. Jane reviews, but it's better to publish something than nothing.  I like to have some written record of how I felt about a book, even if vague.

I'm now starting on Doris Fein reviews and will try to get caught up.  I'm trying, and I have more hope that I can get back on track than I had a few days ago.

By the way, I have had two requests for lower prices since my post of three days ago.  Oh people, you are being ignored.  I have other concerns.

A Purchase Not as Described

I usually do not purchase books when I see signs of water damage, but in a moment of weakness, I chose to take a risk on a lot of Hardy Boys books. I saw visible water stains on the dust jackets. This was the only photo provided by the seller.

I have seen many books in good condition with similar water stains to the jackets. Since the seller's description stated that the pages were in very good condition, I figured that the books were fine. That was my mistake.

The books arrived. I discovered that the entire stack of books was stuck together except for one place where the stack had come apart. The books smelled strongly of mold and mildew and had that grimy, seemingly moist texture to the outside that books with severe water damage always have. The next photo shows the damage from where the stack had separated.

I often keep books when not exactly as described, but this case was too significantly not as described for me to consider keeping the books.  I was quite disgusted and annoyed.  How can a seller think it okay to sell a stack of books that is stuck together and not mention that rather significant problem? 

I immediately asked to return the books, despite the fact that the seller's terms indicated no returns.  I happen to know that eBay sellers who don't offer returns actually do offer returns.  They just don't know it.  By this I mean that eBay will make the seller accept a return when an item is significantly not as described.

I was pleasantly surprised when the seller immediately accepted the return.  I had to get the books packed again, and the seller's packaging was too skimpy for me to be able to use it after having cut it open.  I found a box.  I kept the seller's packaging around the books and placed it all inside the box.  I got it sealed and ready to send.

I then got to thinking about how I was pretty sure I had just packed seven books.  However, the seller's picture showed eight books.  Hmm.  I pulled the books back out of the package and checked the situation.  There were seven books.  I looked around, making sure I hadn't somehow laid one book on a table or in an odd location.  I couldn't find an eighth book.  This concerned me, since there were supposed to be eight books.  If I had received eight books, then I had to make certain that all eight books were returned to the seller.

I investigated the packaging.  The seller's packaging consisted of a large white plastic envelope that had been wrapped tightly around the books with lots of tape on it.  At first I thought that an eighth book would have fit inside and that I needed to look around some more.

I weighed the package, finding that it weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces.  I looked at the seller's address label.  The seller paid for postage for 3 pounds.  So the seller defrauded the post office.  I guess that makes sense, considering that the books were not as described.

I then checked the package again.  I had to pull tight to get the shipping label to come together where I had cut open the package, so I concluded that an eighth book could not have fit inside the package.

I packed the seven books up again and sent them back to the seller.  I have now received my refund.

I find it interesting that the seller did not disclose the severe water damage, did not send all eight books, and even defrauded the post office.  I consider myself fortunate that I got out of this one without taking a loss, aside from the time lost while messing with the return.

Conversations with Prospective Buyers and Sellers

I frequently have people contact me wanting me to buy their books.  I almost always decline, since I am constantly in a position where I have too many extra books.  I can't take everyone's extra books.  It's not like my home is a huge warehouse.

Depending upon how busy I am, I may or may not respond to requests to purchase books.  Sometimes I am exhausted or very busy, and those are times that I read and then ignore the message.  Other times, I try to take the time to decline politely.

In the cases where I don't respond to the messages, some people get pushy, demanding a response.  And of course, the only proper response to those people is apparently "yes."

I took screen caps of a few conversations with identifying information removed.  This first one came from someone in the Philippines.  The only way I would purchase books from the Philippines would be to get neat international editions.  The postage cost is high.  I didn't respond to the first message, so the person tried again.  After I declined, he tried yet again.

I have also had several people try to manipulate me into purchasing books by telling me that the books will be destroyed if I don't purchase them.  Here is one example. Note that I did not respond, so they then became obnoxious.

I don't understand why, if someone purchased a book to make into a journal, they would contact me asking me if I want the book.

There are also the people who have desperate requests.

It's funny to be asked for the ending of a book that is actually available for free on Gutenberg.  All he needed to do was view the file on Gutenberg and read the ending.  I felt like he was writing a book report and needed someone to feed him the information really fast.

I also have prospective buyers try to negotiate prices with me on eBay and Etsy.  I don't have "best offer" activated for my listings.  That's a big sign that I don't want to negotiate prices.  However, an increasing number of buyers try to get me to lower my prices to fit their needs.  Sometimes I respond and politely decline.  Other times, I do not bother to respond.  I sometimes get harassed, since some people do not understand that a lack of response means "no."

Several people have annoyed me with the tone of the request.  In one case, my mind was closed as soon as I read the first message, yet that person continued to try to beat me down, sending multiple messages even when I did not respond. 

There are rare cases when I might respond favorably, but the books have to be more expensive books for which I am aware that I will almost certainly have to gradually lower the prices.  I will not do a drastic price reduction.  Some people want me to take 50% or more off when they inquire, and I ignore those people.

Other people have no chance of success because they offer the information in a difficult fashion for me to process.  A list of item numbers is obnoxious and means nothing to me.  I will not take the time to paste each one into eBay's search.  A list of titles is almost as obnoxious.  If you want me to consider a price reduction, then place the links to the items in the message.  eBay allows links to its own site in its message system.  Make it easy, or I'll ignore you.

Even if you do make it easy, there is a high chance that I'll still ignore you.

Mystery on Echo Ridge and Mystery Back of the Mountain by Mary C. Jane

In Mystery on Echo Ridge, David, his sister, Barby, and his friend, Jonny, live near Echo Ridge, upon which stands the old Lampier house.  Mrs. Lampier moved away because of a scandal involving her late husband, who may have stolen a large sum of money.

Now Mrs. Lampier is back, and Jonny fears that his family will be forced to move away.  Some people believed Jonny's father was responsible for the theft, and Mrs. Lampier's presence may cause those feelings to resurface.  The children begin a search for the missing money in hope of clearing Jonny's father of suspicion.

This book has great atmosphere and is interesting from the very first page.  This is an excellent story.

In Mystery Back of the Mountain,  Anne and Steve's family inherits a farm.  Anne and Steve hope to live there, but their parents plan to sell the property.  The children's Uncle James was hated by many because he kept land that belonged to others, and the family soon realizes that they are unwelcome.  Strange events occur on the back of the mountain, and the children hope that they can solve the mystery and find a way to get on better terms with the neighbors.

This is a very good book.

Virginia's Venture

In Virginia's Venture, Virginia's Aunt Martha may lose their family home.  Aunt Martha's deceased husband owed a large sum of money to Mr. Rand, who has come to collect on the debt.  He gives Aunt Martha a short amount of time to raise the money.

The family home is on a highway, and Virginia decides to open a tea room.  Virginia gets her friends and Aunt Martha as well as Aunt Martha's cook and handyman to help her, and soon the tea room is opened.  Profits are not great, and Mr. Rand continues to harass Aunt Martha.

This book is pretty good, but it is not as compelling as most of the other books in the series.

I overall greatly enjoyed the May Hollis Barton Books for Girls.  Unfortunately, the books are scarce and hard to find at decent prices and in decent condition.  I was fortunate that I was able to build the set in a short amount of time from online listings, but I had to settle for some poor condition books and had to purchase some expensive copies.

Mystery in Old Quebec and Ghost Rock Mystery by Mary C. Jane

Mary C. Jane wrote a number of children's books from 1955 through 1970.  While some of Jane's books are common, others are difficult to find.  Wildside Press has begun reprinting Mary C. Jane's books, but not all books are available.  The books tend to run around 120 pages.  All stories involve at least two children solving a mystery together.

Mystery in Old Quebec, 1955
The Ghost Rock Mystery, 1956
Mystery at Pemaquid Point, 957
Mystery at Shadow Pond, 1958
Mystery on Echo Ridge, 1959
Mystery Back of the Mountain, 1960
Mystery at Dead End Farm, 1961
Mystery Behind Dark Windows, 1962
Mystery by Moonlight, 1963
Mystery in Longfellow Square, 1964
Indian Island Mystery, 1965
The Dark Tower Mystery, 1966
Mystery on Nine-Mile Marsh, 1967
Mystery of the Red Carnations, 1968
Mystery in Hidden Hollow, 1970

In Mystery in Old Quebec, Kerry, Mark, and their father spend their vacation in Quebec. The family stays in an old boarding house. During the first night, Kerry hears someone crying in the room next door.  Meanwhile, Kerry's jacket disappears and reappears the next day.  Kerry discovers a paper in one of the pockets.  The paper has a series of drawings that tell a story.  Kerry and Mark figure out that a boy is being held captive in the house and follow a series of clues in order to help him.

The story starts out quickly and has no boring expository information.  I like it when a book is interesting from the very first page.

This is an excellent, fast-paced book.

In The Ghost Rock Mystery, Janice and Tommy visit Aunt Annabelle's guest house in Maine.  The guest house is in a deserted location.  The children become fearful when they learn about a ghost story involving the house.

When a man stays at the guest house, the children discover him sneaking around upstairs in the middle of the night.  Even stranger, the children hear hoofbeats coming from a rock in the middle of an empty field. What can it all mean?

This is a very good book.

In Mystery at Pemaquid Point, Elisabeth's father has taken a job remodeling the Sea Winds Hotel at Pemaquid Point, Maine. Elisabeth is very lonely, and the only child who lives nearby is Henry Freeman.  Henry is from a very poor family, and many people think that Henry and his brothers are thieves.

Elisabeth has the chance to become acquainted with Henry, and she feels confident that Henry and his brothers are innocent.  Unfortunately, additional thefts occur, keeping the Freemans under suspicion.  Elisabeth helps Henry find the real culprit.

This is also a very good book.

Sallie's Test of Skill and Charlotte Cross and Aunt Deb

In Sallie's Test of Skill, Sallie, Frederica, and their friends are at summer camp.  One girl, Peg, goes out of her way to be mean and nasty to everyone else.  A new girl named Laura joins the camp, and a boy who Peg likes immediately becomes interested in Laura.  Peg plays lots of nasty tricks on Laura.  Meanwhile, a mysterious wealthy lady, Mrs. Grimshaw, lives in a home near the lake.  Mrs. Grimshaw is reclusive, but she seems drawn to Laura.

This book is lacking.  The title refers to a boat race, but I never cared about that.  It also is unclear who the main character of the story is.  It seems that the entire group is of equal importance, but that makes the story less compelling.  Laura should have been the main character, but we get very little of her viewpoint.  Laura was the only character that I really liked, but I didn't get enough of her.

This book is just okay.

In Charlotte Cross and Aunt Deb, Charlotte is invited to go on a trip to Italy with Aunt Deb to look for the family treasure.  Soon after Charlotte's arrival at Aunt Deb's home, Aunt Deb is knocked unconscious when her head hits an attic rafter.  Aunt Deb wakes up paranoid, convinced that everyone knows about the treasure and is trying to take it away from them.  During the trip, Aunt Deb behaves outrageously and rudely, embarrassing Charlotte greatly.

Charlotte meets a nice young man during the trip, but Aunt Deb orders her to stay away from him, since she is certain that the man is after the treasure.  Charlotte feels like her life has been taken over by her aunt, and she wishes she could just leave and go home.

The beginning of the book is quite boring. The book opens with Charlotte and her roommate, and their entire conversation is uninteresting and pointless.

The story gets slightly better when Charlotte arrives at Aunt Deb's house, but the story does not become truly interesting until the two depart on the trip to Italy.  Once the trip begins, the book is excellent.

The story is wrapped up too easily, as I expected.  Aunt Deb goes crazy when she gets hit on the head shortly after the book begins.  I was not surprised that Aunt Deb gets hit on the head again near the end, and of course this cures her.

Diana Winthrop #5 Legacy of Lucian Van Zandt and #6 Threat of the Pirate Ship

In Diana Winthrop #5, The Legacy of Lucian Van Zandt, Megan has a splendid idea for Founder's Day at Van Zandt High School.  She wants Diana to research Lucian Van Zandt and the mystery of his heirs, then Leslie will write a play based on Lucian's life.

Diana and Leslie demur at first, but then they get into the spirit of the project.  Both girls will receive credit in their English course for their efforts. Meanwhile, protesters appear in front of the school.  Word has gotten out that the school might be sold, and the residents who live in the buildings owned by the school will lose their rent-controlled apartments.  The principal and the board of trustees have received threats.  Something sinister is afoot, and Diana's research becomes the key to solving the mystery.

On page 36, Diana snaps pictures of a live television broadcast to get pictures of the protesters.  It's amazing that Diana has time to get her camera passed to her and somehow manages to shoot the pictures before the story is over.

Nothing is mentioned about a VCR, which would have made the situation easier on Diana, because she could have snapped pictures later of the recording.  This is in 1984, and my family already had a VCR.  Perhaps they weren't yet common, but the Winthrop family is extremely wealthy.  They would have had a VCR, even if many people did not yet have them.

This is an excellent book and is my favorite title in the series.

In Diana Winthrop #6, The Threat of the Pirate Ship, Gran Culhaine is in Tampa, Florida, and has broken her leg.  Gran sends an urgent message to Diana, requesting her presence in Florida.  When Diana arrives, Gran can hardly speak, but she manages to convey that Diana must take possession of her belongings and inspect them. Gran also tells Diana that the accident occurred during the night at CHS, the company for which Gran is on the board of directors.  Even more important, somebody pushed Gran, causing the accident.  Diana also learns from others that someone is threatening the Gasparilla Day events. Diana shrewdly concludes that the threats and Gran's accident are connected.

This book has a few too many characters, but I was mostly able to keep them straight. Fortunately, they were not introduced all at once, which helped.

This is a very good book.

Overall the Diana Winthrop series is a very strong mystery series.  The plots are fairly complex, so the stories are for older children or young adults.  These books are more sophisticated than the average series book aimed at children.

Girl in the Top Flat and Search for Peggy Ann

In The Girl in the Top Flat, Allie's father is an artist.  Allie and Mr. Dunham rely on the sale of his paintings to make ends meet, but the paintings are not selling.  The Dunhams would have enough money if Mr. Dunham had not made an unwise investment in a shady oil company.  Mr. Dunham has an old friend in Boston who might help him get into magazines, so he and Allie get themselves settled in Boston.

Mr. Dunham still isn't making any money, so Allie takes a position working for a magazine. Allie's prospects look good until the assistant editor, Mr. Ronaldson, asks Allie on a date. Allie does not like him and declines. Ronaldson continues his advances, finally threatening Allie with losing her job if she doesn't change her mind.

This story is quite compelling, especially with Allie facing harassment at her workplace.  This is an excellent story.

In The Search for Peggy Ann, Jean goes to the store while the river rises, and when she returns, her grandmother's cottage is flooding! Jean's younger sister, Peggy Ann, has disappeared, and Granny refuses to leave the cottage.  Jean goes to look for Peggy Ann but cannot find her.  Jean gets caught in the flood and is rescued later.  When Jean returns home, she learns that Granny drowned, and Peggy Ann is still missing.  Jean begins a search for Peggy Ann that will ultimately last for six years.

Jean is just 10 years old at the beginning of the story, and she is depicted as very young and naive.  I did not enjoy the first few chapters very much because of how young Jean is.  As time begins to pass, Jean gradually matures, and I began to enjoy the book greatly.

The story reads like a saga with much happening to Jean.  This is an excellent story.

Diana Winthrop #3 Dog-Lover's Legacy and #4 Beacon Hill

In Diana Winthrop #3, The Case of the Dog-Lover's Legacy, Diana spots a dog swimming in the river.  She jumps in and rescues it.  Diana and the animal shelter try to locate the owner with no luck.  One week later, Diana adopts the dog and gives it to her cousin Jacintha, as it becomes apparent that the dog, now named Duchess, adores Jacintha and has obviously been trained as a guide dog.

The adoption of Duchess creates quite a stir with prowlers showing up near the Winthrop home at all hours of the day.  Soon, Diana learns that Duchess is the key to an inheritance and that the relatives will do anything to assure that they receive the fortune.

In this book we meet Diana's best friends, Megan and Leslie.  Also, Diana is now a senior in high school.

On page 25 Diana thinks it is odd that "a dog should suddenly just—show up in the East River, apparently with no one knowing whose he is or how he got there."  I guess Diana isn't aware of how many people, sadly, abandon their animals for no reason other than that they are tired of them.  Why would it be odd for a dog to show up in a river with no one eager to claim him?  Of course in this particular situation, the dog's appearance in the river is the key to a strange mystery.

This is an excellent book, one of the two best books in the series.

In Diana Winthrop #4, The Secrets on Beacon Hill, Diana is spending the Christmas holidays with her Grandmother Winthrop.  The festivities begin with a birthday party for Diana's cousin Amanda.  As Amanda is presented with a valuable strand of pearls, the lights go out and Amanda claims that somebody pulled at the strand, which breaks with the pearls rolling across the floor.  The pearls are retrieved and taken to the jeweler, who informs Grandmother Winthrop that the pearls are fake. Somehow the real pearls were switched with the fake ones, and Diana must find the culprit.

This book opens with way too many characters at the beginning.  It is necessary, to an extent, to have a large number of characters due to the nature of the story.  The characters are introduced too fast, and as I read the book, I kept having to flip back to remember who was who.  This reduced my enjoyment of the story.

This is an excellent story which could have been outstanding if I could have kept the characters straight.

Girls of Lighthouse Island and Kate Martin's Problem

In The Girls of Lighthouse Island,  Tess and Carol plan to stay on Lighthouse Island in a boarding house.  Their plans are threatened when they arrive to find the house closed. Too late, they learn that the owner had to go into the city to nurse her sick sister.  Fortunately, Tess and Carol meet Mary, a very poor girl who lives with her crippled sister, Alice.  The girls strike an agreement for Tess and Carol to pay for their board during their stay on the island.

Mary and Alice are in danger of losing their land.  Mean Ira Champour constantly threatens them, determined to get their property.  The girls learn that Ira mistreats his ward, Nora.  Tess and Carol decide to do everything they can to help Mary, Alice, and Nora.

Tess and Carol live in Bayport, the hometown of the Hardy Boys, and Lighthouse Island is a nearby island.  Of course the Hardy Boys are never mentioned, but I kept imagining them nearby solving a mystery while these girls have their adventure.

This is an excellent book.

In Kate Martin's Problem, Kate's parents are killed in an automobile accident.  Kate lives with her neighbors for a time, but finally, Kate is invited to live with her Uncle Jasper and Aunt Agnes.  Kate's aunt and uncle are very wealthy, but Kate is bitterly unhappy with them.  Uncle Jasper is mean and controlling. Finally, Kate cannot stand it any longer, so she strikes out on her own, looking for work.

On page 94, Kate sees that a woman is reading a book called The Haunted Book Room.  Sounds interesting!

This is also an excellent book.

Diana Winthrop #1 Singing Strings and #2 Old Fort

The Diana Winthrop series consists of six books written under the pseudonym of Kate Chambers.

1.  The Secret of the Singing Strings, 1983
2.  Danger in the Old Fort, 1983
3.  The Case of the Dog-Lover's Legacy, 1983
4.  The Secrets on Beacon Hill, 1984
5.  The Legacy of Lucian Van Zandt, 1984
6.  The Threat of the Pirate Ship, 1984

Diana and her father, Diana's blind cousin Jacintha, and Diana's maternal grandmother, Gran Culhaine, live on different levels of Gran Culhaine's house in New York City.

In Diana Winthrop #1, The Secret of the Singing Strings, Diana receives an urgent call from her cousin, Jacintha.  Jacintha works at the Mannerheim Museum of Music.  The museum has just received a miniature violin made by Stradivarius.  Jacintha's call is about the violin, but she gives no details.  Diana agrees to meet Jacintha immediately.  The meeting never occurs, because Jacintha is hospitalized, nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Diana later deduces that Jacintha had the violin with her, and that it has been stolen!  Jacintha is the prime suspect, but the museum curator refuses to tell the police.  Diana is certain that someone connected with the museum is responsible for the theft.

This is an excellent story.

In Diana Winthrop #2, Danger in the Old Fort, Diana's father is working on location in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on a miniseries.  The production is being sabotaged, and Mr. Winthrop requests that Diana and her friend, Brad Ferriers, take jobs in the production so that they can work undercover. The accidents continue to occur, and Diana quickly realizes that her life may be in danger.

I really enjoyed the early part of the book, but I became partially bored as I continued to read the story.  I have developed a strong aversion to "sabotage on a movie set" plots due to some very bad titles in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.  I can no longer enjoy "sabotage on a movie set" books.

Admittedly, this book is above average for this kind of plot, but it still has a few too many characters.  I kept confusing two couples, a brother and sister and a boyfriend and girlfriend.  Removing one of those couples would have made the book more enjoyable.

This book introduces Lydian Sinclair, an investigative reporter who helps Diana on some of her future cases.  By the end of the final book, it is apparent that Lydian is a love interest for Diana's father.

While I greatly enjoyed some parts of the book, I consider it just good overall.

Nancy Drew Collecting, Buying, and Selling Information

In the Facebook series book groups, quite a few members have mentioned their confusion while trying to collect vintage Nancy Drew books.  Others tell them to purchase Farah's Guide to the Nancy Drew series.  While Farah's Guide is a great resource, the best approach for beginning collectors is to utilize websites that have been created by Nancy Drew collectors.  An incredible amount of information is readily available online.  Later, Farah's Guide can be still purchased if one decides to be obsessive about collecting Nancy Drew.

Years ago, I created a website upon which I spent hundreds of hours designing pages to help those who do not own Farah's Guide and are confused about collecting.  Below you will find direct links to the most pertinent Nancy Drew pages on the site.  Each page was designed to put the information all in front of you at the same time so that you could easily absorb it.  I am a high school teacher, and I used the same approach I use in the classroom when creating these pages.  Information needs to be easy to find and understand.

Nancy Drew - This is the main page to my Nancy Drew section.  It contains links to my various Nancy Drew information pages.

Nancy Drew Formats - This page shows you what all Nancy Drew books published by Grosset and Dunlap look like from 1930 to the present.  You can take any Nancy Drew book and quickly glance down through the page to get a good idea of how old the book is.  The outside of the book, the interior lists if present, and the endpapers will reveal the age of the book.  You can identify nearly all Nancy Drew books to within just a few years of the exact age by using this method, even when the dust jacket is not present.

Nancy Drew Original and Revised Text Books - This page explains how you can often quickly determine whether a Nancy Drew book contains the original or revised text from just the outside appearance of the book.  That knowledge makes searching online for original text books much easier, since you do not have to click on every single listing to make that determination.

Nancy Drew Values and Collecting Tips - This page gives information on how to determine the value of your Nancy Drew books.  It also has some good information for collectors who are just getting started.

Nancy Drew Picture Cover Editions - This page is one of my very favorite creations, and I fear that most people are unaware of its usefulness.  At first glance, the page appears to be a cover art gallery of Nancy Drew #1-56 in the picture cover editions. However, it is much more.  The page identifies whether every cover art contains the original text or the revised text.  That information is stated under each photo.  Most cover art variants contain only the original text or only the revised text.  By knowing which ones contain which version, you can quickly scroll online listings and know the text contained within each book without having to click on the listing or ask a seller a question.

I also have a blog, and you are reading a post in that blog right now.  I have a series of posts called "Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew" in which I mention common buyer questions about Nancy Drew listings.  The following links will take you to pages containing those posts.

Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #1-2
Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #3-22
Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #23-40

The posts are listed in reverse order on the resulting pages from the above links, which is just how blogs are always displayed.  Scroll to the bottom of each page to read the posts in order from bottom to top.  These posts contain actual photos from online listings and show how you can determine age and value often by simply viewing the photos in the listings.

This blog also contains reviews of all Nancy Drew books from #1-175 plus reviews of many other vintage series books.  Scroll down the screen while viewing the right sidebar to see tags that will link to all of those posts.

In case you are not aware, my name is Jennifer White.  All of the above links are my sites.  Another Nancy Drew collector, Jennifer Fisher, is quite often confused with me. We each have Nancy Drew sites, but we are two completely different people.  

Jennifer Fisher also has a wealth of information available about Nancy Drew on her site.

Nancy Drew Sleuth - This link goes to the main page of Jennifer Fisher's Nancy Drew site.

Nancy Drew Formats - This link goes to Jennifer Fisher's formats page.

Around the World with Nancy Drew - If you are interested in collecting international editions of Nancy Drew books, Lea Fox's site will tell you everything you need to know.

Another frequent question that comes up on Facebook is how to find old Nancy Drew books.  Some collectors seem to be reluctant to purchase from sites such as eBay. Instead, they would rather purchase from local bookstores or from other collectors.

We do have two series book selling groups on Facebook.  Most of the members of these groups are people who have collections of vintage series books such as Nancy Drew.  If you want to purchase directly from other collectors, joining these groups is an excellent idea.

Sleuthing for Vintage Children's Series Books 
Series Book Swap & Sell

I find that the main people who have joined the above groups are the advanced collectors.  I offered some inexpensive original text picture cover editions in the first group linked above, and no one was interested.  Yet, in that same time period, members of a Nancy Drew group were commenting about their troubles with finding the original text books.  Why not join the selling groups so that you have access to those books when offered by members?

Hazel Hood's Strange Discovery and Two Girls and a Mystery

In Hazel Hood's Strange Discovery, the Hood family has fallen on desperate times since Hazel's father died.  Hazel's father was killed in an accident at the mill company, and the family should have received compensation. The Hoods never received any money, and Mrs. Hood no longer gets orders to make dresses.  All the women now go to the new dress shop in town.  Hazel must try to find work.

This is a pretty good book.

In Two Girls and a Mystery, Barbara lives with her grandparents.  She overhears a conversation where they discuss money. Barbara is shocked to learn that the family may have to give up its home.

Unexpectedly, Barbara receives a letter from a lawyer.  She has inherited a house and $500.  The will has a codicil which mentions a hidden treasure in the house.  Barbara's heart leaps, and she hopes fervently that she can find the treasure and that the treasure will be worth enough to provide for her grandparents.

Barbara has several friends, Gerry, Gordon, and Charlie.  Gordon and Charlie have a reckless automobile race at the beginning of the story.  The scene is atypical of what one expects in the Barton Books for Girls.  It's more like a scene out of a boys' book.  I was bored.

Barbara and her friends go to stay at the house that Barbara has inherited.  I found the friends distracting and annoying.  They served no purpose.  The story would have been better if Barbara had gone alone or perhaps had gone only with Gerry.

This is my least favorite book in the set.  I did overall enjoy the story, but it is lacking as compared to the rest of the books in the set.  It could have been written much better.

Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch

Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch was written by Mildred Wirt Benson under the pseudonym of Joan Clark.

In Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch, Connie has recently graduated from an Eastern finishing school.  She returns to Rainbow Ranch to make her home.  When Connie arrives, she finds that the ranch has changed.  The foreman, Forest Blakeman, is surly and secretive.  Connie learns that her money is gone and that the ranch must be sold.  Connie is determined to find a way to save the ranch, but Blakeman thwarts her at every turn.

Connie wins $750 in a rodeo.  She is warned to put the money in the bank before she returns home. Connie refuses, planning to take it home with her.  Predictably, Connie is robbed and has no idea who took the money.  I hate this kind of stupidity.  All Connie had to do was get the money in the bank.  Ugh!

This book is a bit simplistic.  The descriptions are sparse, and the text is not detailed.  I would have liked for the book to have been fleshed out more.  That said, the book is still an enjoyable book by Mildred Wirt Benson.