House of Happy Endings by Leslie Garis

House of Happy Endings is Leslie Garis's shattering account of coming of age in a wildly imaginative, loving, but fatally wounded home.

In a large, romantic house in Amherst, Massachusetts, Leslie Garis, her brothers, and their parents and grandparents aimed to live an idyllic life—one that mirrored the charmed world that Howard Garis, author of the famed Uncle Wiggily books, and his wife, Lilian, created in the phenomenally popular children's series The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Judy Jordan. But inside The Dell—where Robert Frost often sat in conversation over sherry and stories appeared to spring from the very air—all was not as it seemed.

At the center of the unfolding drama was Roger Garis, Leslie's father, a writer who struggled in vain for recognition. His mysterious mental disintegration, which seemed as much a result of his dark bond with his parents as it was biologically determined, led eventually to terrifying mood swings and drug addiction and threatened to destroy everyone around him. Refracted through the all-seeing eyes of a child, House of Happy Endings is a story of the struggle between art and life, innocence and experience, as it took place in one extraordinary, unforgettable family.

—from the front flap of the dust jacket

House of Happy Endings is Leslie Garis's memoir of her childhood growing up in a family of writers. Leslie's father was Roger Garis, who wrote several books for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Roger's parents, Howard and Lilian Garis, were prolific writers for the Stratemeyer Syndicate.

House of Happy Endings tells the story of Roger Garis, his lifelong struggle with mental illness, and the devastating impact his illness had on his family. It also tells the story of the senior years of Howard and Lilian Garis.

The memoir is well-written, full of rich language, and is engaging from start to finish. It is an intriguing read for anyone who has enjoyed the writings of Howard, Lilian, Roger, and Cleo Garis. In the September/October 2007 issue of The Sleuth, Jennifer Fisher interviews Leslie Garis about her book. Leslie Garis comments, "My happy ending has come from taking hold of my one real inheritance—my family story—and turning it into a book that has touched many readers and will live on after I am gone. For me that is a tangible and satisfying happy ending." Despite all of the pain and suffering, it is indeed a House of Happy Endings.

Ruth Fielding Revisted

I began reading the Ruth Fielding books a few months ago, and then I was sidetracked by other interests. I haven't read any series books in the last couple of months. I got started on the Ruth Fielding books again today. I finished #8 and started #9. So far, I feel like it is a good series. I can't give a firm opinion on exactly what I think about it until I get a bit further.

The Ruth Fielding section is now in progress. I have summaries for up through volume 8, but I have not yet posted them to the site. I may begin posting the summaries shortly. Usually I don't post any of them until I am done reading the entire series, but I may make an exception in this case.

After I read Ruth Fielding, I plan to read the Barbara Ann series. I recently completed my set, and I am eager to read the books. It is a four volume series, and I find that I really enjoy the obscure, short series. I'm looking forward to trying them out.

How much I like the different series books

So what do I really think about the different series showcased on my site? I have attempted to separate the series into groupings based on how much I like each series. This is very difficult since my opinion varies depending on my mood and how recently I have read any volumes in a certain series. If I were to rate these same series in a year, I would certainly rate a number of them differently. 

I read Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden when I was a child, and both series have heavily influenced me. The other series that I read when I first began collecting series books, including Judy Bolton and the Dana Girls, have also heavily influenced me. I tend to like books that are set in schools, such as colleges and boarding schools, and I also tend to like books that have mysteries which are set in various haunted places and adventures which take place in country settings. 

I do not like "travelogue" books very much, especially when the books include detailed history lessons. Because I do not like the travelogue books as much, I do not like many of the Vicki Barr and Shirley Flight books quite as much as other series books. Beverly Gray is an exception, since her travels are so exciting and never feel like a history lesson. 

I mention my likes and dislikes so that there is a point of reference for my opinions presented on this page. 

I have placed the books in groups that have a rating of 0 up to 5. The ones listed under 0 and 1 are series for which I find something lacking, although the books are readable and some books are still very good. All of the series listed under 2, 3, 4, and 5 are series that I very much like and the numbers represent how great that liking is. The series listed under 5 are my very favorite series. 

With the exception of the books listed under 5, the books are listed in random order within each section. The books that are rated 5 are listed in order by how much I like them, and these books will almost certainly be in the same order in another year. 

 5 = My favorites 

Nancy Drew 

Beverly Gray 

Outdoor Girls 

Sara Gay 

Trixie Belden 

Girl Scouts Mystery Series (Fairfax) 

4 = Very, very good series 

Sally Baxter 

Peggy Lane 

Adventure Girls by Clair Blank 

Boy Scout Explorers by Palmer (Wirt) 

Brownie Scouts by Wirt 

Judy Bolton 

Connie Blair 

3 = Very good series 

Blythe Girls 

Dana Girls 

Penny Parker 

Perry Pierce 

Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls by Helen Randolph 

Ruth Darrow 

Madge Sterling 

Flash Evans 

Doris Force 

2 = Good series 

Kay Tracey 

Girls of Central High 

Moving Picture Girls 

Trailer Stories for Girls 

Dot and Dash 

1 = So-so series which do have some very good books 

Shirley Flight 

Vicki Barr 

Girl Scouts by Wirt 

Dan Carter 

Penny Nichols

0 = Below average series 

Melody Lane 

Whitman Authorized Editions

Prices for early Nancy Drew books

There have been a few very early Nancy Drew books that have sold lately on eBay:

The Secret of the Old Clock w/DJ, 1930C-3, blank endpapers edition listing 4 titles on the front flap of the dust jacket, $787.00

The Hidden Staircase w/DJ, blank endpapers edition listing 6 titles on the front flap of the dust jacket, $326.21

The Hidden Staircase w/DJ, 1930C-3, blank endpapers edition listing 4 titles on the front flap of the dust jacket, $1492.65

eBay Auction Prices - Outdoor Girls, Blythe Girls

I decided to take note of some of the recent eBay auction prices for the Outdoor Girls and Blythe Girls books. There has been some very competitive bidding recently for the Blythe Girls books.

Blythe Girls:

Helen, Margy, and Rose w/DJ, $9.99 (Buy It Now), $88.76 (auction)
Margy's Queer Inheritance w/DJ, $77.76
Rose's Great Problem w/DJ, $40.88, w/DJ $4.99
Helen's Strange Boarder w/DJ, $21.50
Three on a Vacation w/DJ $7.45, w/DJ $21.18
Margy's Secret Mission w/DJ, $90.89
Rose's Odd Discovery w/DJ $97.89
Snowbound in Camp w/DJ, $39.88
Margy's Mysterious Visitor w/DJ $39.99 (Buy It Now)
Rose's Hidden Talent w/DJ, $191.38
Helen's Wonderful Mistake w/DJ, $84.00

The prices realized for different series books range from low to high, depending upon how many people are interested at a particular time. Consequently, some of the books sell for well below value, since many sellers choose to start the books low and sometimes only one person is interested in buying a particular book. This is why a few of the Blythe Girls books sold for fairly low prices as compared to the other books. It is also not a good idea to use Buy It Now when selling a book, unless one is very certain of the value. Compare the Buy It Now price to the completed auction price for the first title in the Blythe Girls series.

Outdoor Girls:

Outdoor Girls on Pine Island w/DJ, $34.99
Outdoor Girls in Florida w/DJ, $16.07
Outdoor Girls in Army Service w/DJ, $36.55, $20.50
Outdoor Girls Around the Campfire w/DJ (Duotone), $57.99
Outdoor Girls at Foaming Falls w/DJ, $10.49
Outdoor Girls at Spring Hill Farm w/DJ, $37.50
Outdoor Girls on a Canoe Trip w/DJ, $29.88
Outdoor Girls at New Moon Ranch w/DJ, $8.99
Outdoor Girls in Desert Valley w/DJ, $325.00

I believe it has been quite a few months since a dust-jacketed copy of Desert Valley has sold, so several people very much wanted that book.

Girl Scouts Mystery Series, The Mysterious Camper w/DJ, $87.99
Girl Scouts Mystery Series, Trail of the Gypsy Eight, no DJ, $24.83
Girl Scouts Mystery Series, The Secret of Halliday House; w/DJ $93.00; no DJ $18.50

The Ruth Fielding Series

I consider Ruth Fielding and Her Double to be the hardest to find book in the Ruth Fielding series, and it is the one that I finally acquired this week. I had waited for months for a less expensive one to come up for sale. The ones that have been available online for months are far higher in price than I care to pay. Do a search at www.abebooks.com to see what I mean about the prices for this title. I finally bought one within the price range that is acceptable to me.

I am now one volume short of having a complete set of the Ruth Fielding series in dust jacket. Ruth Fielding in Talking Pictures is the last title I need. There are several copies available online, and they are much more reasonable than the ones of Ruth Fielding and Her Double. It is just a matter of deciding which to buy or whether to continue to wait for either a better condition or less expensive one to come up for sale. I may end up buying one of the available copies, simply to end my quest of Ruth Fielding books.

In around two weeks, I am finally going to have time to read again. I plan to finish reading the Susan Sand series. After Susan Sand, I will read Ruth Fielding, assuming that I have a complete set by that time. I always wait for a complete set before I begin reading any of the books in a series. I am hoping that the Ruth Fielding series will prove to be good. It is hard to judge a series without detailed information available online. I have read comments over the years that have stated that the Ruth Fielding series is good; however, I have never read specific enough of comments to give me a compelling reason to want to read the series.

I don't like all girls' series books. The Dorothy Dixon series is one example. I read the first book and part of the second, and the books bored me, so I never finished the second book. Someday I will try again. In spite of my lukewarm reaction to the Dorothy Dixon series, I do want to read Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin someday. One of the Judy Bolton books, The Secret of the Musical Tree, has the same plot as Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin.

My point is that I could read Ruth Fielding and be bored. I hope this is not the case as it has taken me more than a year to get this close to a complete set. I feel like the series must be good; it would not have stayed in print for 30 titles if it were a weak series. The 30 title duration of the series and the good, although vague, comments from various people about the series are the reasons why I chose to build a set. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

New Grosset and Dunlap Nancy Drew Collectibles

Today I visited a few bookstores and purchased some of the new collectibles that have been published in advance of the upcoming Nancy Drew Warner Brothers movie.  The best items are the ones put out by Grosset and Dunlap, and I am quite impressed with the effort that Grosset and Dunlap has put into these new items.

By far the best one is the book The Lost Files of Nancy Drew.  Grosset and Dunlap has used some of its old artwork and created a scrapbook about Nancy Drew's adventures during the original 56 Nancy Drew mysteries.   It is set up like it is Nancy Drew's very own scrapbook.  It is the best Nancy Drew item published by Grosset and Dunlap in several decades.

The book opens with this message: Whenever Nancy Drew closed the book on a mystery, she always recorded her adventure in her journal.  For many years it was believed that none of these firsthand accounts existed, but we've unearthed several from some of Nancy's most exciting mysteries.  You are free to read them, but be careful - make sure no one's looking over your shoulder.  The last thing Nancy would want is for any criminals or crooks to learn all her secrets!

The book is full of comments that read as though written by Nancy Drew herself.  The book contains Nancy Drew's mementos from her past mysteries, and many items are featured in the book as three-dimensional items that can be pulled up from the pages, such as Josiah Crowley's will, Nancy's Sleuthing Supply List, Nancy's Ski Pass from The Mystery at Ski Jump, Nancy's passport, and other neat surprises.  Grosset and Dunlap put an amazing amount of time and effort into producing this excellent scrapbook.

Grosset and Dunlap has also created an item called the Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries.  This neat item is like a pocketbook and contains the first two Nancy Drew Mystery Stories in the current Grosset and Dunlap flashlight editions.  The pocketbook has handles and the side features the original Tandy art to the first Nancy Drew mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock.  The part I love the most is the "lining" of the pocketbook.  The lining is made of heavy paper stock and is the old blue multipic endpapers that Grosset and Dunlap used in its Nancy Drew books during the 1950s and 1960s.   The Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries is a neat collectible item!  

The third item put out by Grosset and Dunlap is the new updated edition of the Nancy Drew Sleuth Book.  The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book has been out of print since the last 1970s and is quite scarce.  The cover of the new book is very similar to the old edition, but the silhouette has been changed back to a 1930s-style Nancy Drew rather than the 1970s-style silhouette that was on the 1970s edition.  Best of all, the new book has a matte finish, unlike the rest of Grosset and Dunlap's current Nancy Drew books, the ubiquitous flashlight editions we love so much.  In fact, I don't even own a set of the flashlight editions as I dislike them so much.  But this new Sleuth book is a must-have!

A Busy Time of Year

Spring is a busy time of year for me, and this year I have sufficient distractions to keep me from reading as much as I usually do. Another core interest I have is everything about the fictional hero, Zorro, and a Zorro telenovela airs five nights per week on Telemundo until the middle of summer. Currently, the shows are 90 minutes long and will probably return to 60 minutes long in a week. Needless to say, the telenovela is taking up most all of the time in which I normally read. I have started to read the Susan Sand series, but it is going very slowly due to lack of time. It seems that I read a chapter during one sitting around a couple of times per week. That's it. Unless I speed it up a lot, it will be awhile before I get through the series. I am near the end of the second book at this time. My current feeling is that the Susan Sand series is like a parody of Nancy Drew. I have acquired some nice new foreign and library editions as well as two Riddle Club dust jackets that I did not previously have and upgraded a third Riddle Club dust jacket. As time and energy allows, I will place scans on my site. Next week, I do get a week off of work, so I expect that I will get some of the scans added at that time. I may even manage to read most of the Susan Sand books.