This post contains the content from two old draft posts that were never finished. The content is presented as originally written with some current thoughts included.
Draft title: Revered Series (July 3, 2016)
Some series are revered in such a way that collectors who don't like those series feel like they have to hide that fact. The series that come to mind are Ken Holt, Judy Bolton, and Trixie Belden. I've known for a long time that Ken Holt and Trixie Belden are revered, but I recently realized that the same is true for Judy Bolton.
Someone on Facebook made the statement that Judy Bolton is treated like the Rosetta Stone. I hadn't thought about it, but I recall hearing about an intense rivalry between Judy Bolton and Nancy Drew fans that occurred during the 1980s. I didn't witness that, but Judy Bolton fans have a strong opinion about their favorite series.
December 2021 comment: Ken Holt is a series where I do not feel like I can give a true opinion. I have reviewed the books in this blog, but I probably wasn't entirely honest in some places. I don't feel that I can be, since Ken Holt is treated as another Rosetta Stone series. My introductory post gives more information about how I feel about Ken Holt.
The "group think" where it seems that everyone loves a certain book or series or that everyone hates a certain book or series keeps the rest of us from speaking up. Many people on Facebook think that everyone hates Nancy Drew #58 The Flying Saucer Mystery. No, quite a few of us do like it. We keep quiet as those who dislike the book expound on their views. We aren't always comfortable interjecting our opinions into those discussions.
Draft Title: Trying Out a New Series (August 14, 2016)
Readers of series books are always looking for new series to try. We all have different tastes, so what appeals to one reader might not appeal to another. We do know that if we can find a series that is similar to a favorite that we will probably end up liking it a lot.
Once we find a series that might be to our liking, we have to decide which title to try. Sometimes this doesn't matter. Other times, if the wrong title is selected, the reader might be turned off by a series that would otherwise be appealing. I want to give some suggestions on series that are similar and which titles to try—or which titles to avoid.
The Nancy Drew series is a favorite of many series enthusiasts. It makes no difference which book is selected, since the series does not progress. The Mary Lou books are very similar to the early original text Nancy Drew books.
Other series that are considered similar to Nancy Drew are Penny Parker and to a lesser degree the Dana Girls and Kay Tracey.
If you like the Dana Girls, you will most likely enjoy Kay Tracey.
I also think collectors lose sight of the fact that recommending their favorite books in a series as the ones that a new collector should try first is often not the best approach.
December 2021 comment: Judy Bolton is a series where fans often recommend the wrong books. I've seen The Rainbow Riddle suggested as a book to try, since it is a favorite book of many fans. The problem is that The Rainbow Riddle is a sentimental book that will only appeal to fans who have read the previous 16 books. It doesn't work as the first book read.
Instead, fans should suggest Judy Bolton books that read well as stand-alone books and that were written in a fashion more similar to other series books. The goal is to acquire new fans, so books that would appeal most to a new fan are the ones that should be suggested.
I concluded my summary post about the Judy Bolton series with this statement.
For readers wishing to try out the series, no single book will be representative of all of the books due to the variance in premise and style. My suggestions for the very best titles to try are #18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 36, and 38. These titles are the ones that would most easily be enjoyed by people who have never read a Judy Bolton book before and have no knowledge of the series.
1 comment:
The Rainbow Riddle was the very first Judy Bolton book I found at an antique store ($8, my “limit” at the time) and read. Until that time I had only read about it in a collectors guide (this was before we got internet and I discovered your site). THEN I found out my aunt had over a dozen of them!! She has since then given them all to me, as her grandkids weren’t interested. It’s probably better that I read them a little later though (mid teens) as some of them are slightly unsettling and I would have probably not liked them as well.
I’ve only read a couple Ken Holt but I have to say they’re not quite as exciting as some of the other boys series, such as Rick Brant.
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