Rearranging and Removing Books from My Collection

I decided to post these pictures here even though I strongly dislike the new Blogger interface.  Blame Blogger for my lack of posts, because it's their fault for switching us to a new interface that is highly defective.

My goal is to remove 500 to 750 books from my series book collection so that I will have more room to display my other collections.  I have neat items that have been stashed in boxes in closets or in cabinets that I have not seen in years.  I must reduce the items in my several collections so that I can once again enjoy what I have.  Otherwise, there is no point.

This time in history is very difficult.  We've had every kind of societal upheaval imaginable in the last year, and we continue to do our best to avoid getting Covid-19.  I cannot control when I will be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine and when this horror will end, but I can gain better control of my collections.  I do have multiple collections, even though I typically only mention the series book collection in this blog. 

My collections have taken over my home.  I want to keep everything that is important to me, which is most of it.  But I can cull out many items to bring the collections under control.

I have been roving around my home for close to two weeks now, pulling books out from here and there, deciding to sell them someday when I open my online stores again (four to six weeks after I am finally vaccinated or late May, whichever comes first).  These pictures were ones that I shared on Facebook near the beginning of the process. 

 

The pictures are of books that I will sell when I open my stores again.  In the time since I photographed the above books, I have pulled a large number of additional books out of my collection.  I'm not sure how many altogether.  When I last counted, I was at 350 books.  I feel like I'm up to around 500 books right now.  

Today I worked on my Nancy Drew Files.  I have been building a set of hardcover library editions of the Nancy Drew Files.  Even though I am working on the set of hardcover books, the Nancy Drew Files books are at the low end of my Nancy Drew collection as far as how important they are to me.  The original 56, the Digest books, and the Girl Detective books are all more important to me.  I'm not sure about the Diaries books.  The Diaries books are probably more important to me than the Files, and I don't even like them that much.  

I decided that I don't need a complete set of Files #1-124 in the softcover edition when I am working on a hardcover set.  I combined the two sets earlier today, removing the softcover books for any title where I own a hardcover copy.  This will also make it easier for me to see what I need in the hardcover version.  Select a picture to see a larger version.

That gave me some extra space.  I have never been able to get at my Files books since they are on a top shelf (books less important to me are always up high where I cannot get to them) behind the front row of books. 

I knew what to do.  I got out my lunchboxes which were in a closet and a cabinet.  I placed them on the shelf in front of the Files.  The lunchboxes will be easier to move than a shelf full of books if I need to get at my Files books.  Even better, I can see the lunchboxes now.  

The Dana Girls picture covers and German Trixie Belden books will not necessarily stay on the bottom shelf and are not perfectly arranged at this time.  I am not going to be culling any of them, but I will be culling and moving around other books, so they might get moved at some point.

I have three categories of books in my house:  my collection, extra books that have not been listed for sale, and books that have been listed for sale.  I don't have trouble keeping my collection separate from the other two categories.  I do have problems with the unlisted extra books and the listed extra books.

Even though none of you can see the listings, I do have around 500 books that have been listed for sale online.  The listings are inactive but are still there ready to be activated when I am ready.  I have to keep those books together on certain shelves so that I don't get them mixed in with other books.  I have managed to get those books to take up less space as I have expanded my shelves full of unlisted extra books.  I need to do some more combining so that I can squeeze the extra Files books onto some of the shelves. 

It would certainly be easier on me if I were able to sell books right now and get some of them out of here.  But then, if I were selling books, I wouldn't have the time to organize my books.  I have to get creative, and so far, I have avoided having to box books up.  I can always box up the extras if I must, but I am trying to avoid that for as long as I can since boxing up books makes it harder to get to them.

By the way, I checked sold listings on eBay to see what my lunchboxes are now worth.  The Bee Gees lunchboxes have gone up in value.  The disco backlash is now a part of the distant past, and those lunchboxes are more desirable than they were years ago.  The Zorro lunchboxes are not worth as much as they once were, but they are still quite desirable.  The Nancy Drew lunchbox has the lowest value of the six lunchboxes.  

The Hardy Boys Hulu Television Series

Adaptations are important, because they keep the original property viable and in the public's mind.  Adaptations may not be like the original books, but they are important to the continuing success of the property.  Adaptations do not damage the books.  The books will never change and will always be available to the fans who prefer them.

Unlike many fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, I view filmed adaptations with an open mind.  I don't expect them to be like the original books, and I'm not disappointed when they are different.  I guess this is because I understand that the adaptation has been adapted; it has been changed from its original form.  Most fans argue that the characters and premise should not be changed at all from the original stories.  To me, an adaptation is like an alternate reality to the original form.  

In early December, 13 episodes of Hulu's Hardy Boys series were made available.  You do have to subscribe to Hulu to see the shows.  However, if you are a new subscriber, you can get a free trial.

I am not going to attempt to summarize the plot of the show.  A single story arc spans the 13 episodes of the series.  I cannot summarize it without spoiling the story.

Frank Hardy is 16 years old, played by an actor who is 23.  Joe Hardy is 12 years old, played by an actor who is around 13 to 15 years old, depending on who you believe.

The main complaint by fans is the age difference.  I have no problem with the age difference.  Joe is an utter delight.  He's no slouch.  Joe is smart and does a lot of investigating on his own. 

Frank is the one to which I did not connect.  I like him fine, but I just don't particularly connect with him.   

The boys' friends are changed up a bit.  Chet is African American.  He still lives on a farm and drives a yellow truck called "The Queen."  Callie is Chet's girlfriend as the series opens, but she and Chet break up later.  Callie and Frank clearly like each other.  

Phil Cohen likes to eat, and his personality is more or less what Chet's was in the original books.  That messed with my mind at first, but I'm fine with it.

Biff is a girl who is near Joe's age.  She and Joe make a great team.

The Hardys move to Bridgeport during the first episode.  

This series is set in the 1980s.  The vehicles are from the 1980s, and the music used is from the 1980s.  The logo for the series is the Hardy Boys Casefiles logo, and the Casefiles series debuted during the 1980s, which is why I think it was used.

The show does include supernatural events, but it is nowhere near the level of what has happened in the Nancy Drew series.  Whether we like it or not, any show nowadays is likely to include something like that in order to make the show as interesting as possible to modern viewers.

The show does have some Easter eggs, like the cities of Franklin and Dixon.  I noticed the usage of bulletin boards and felt that they were a reference to the Nancy Drew games.  Also, "Waverly" shows up on a wall on a poster, and that is part of the name of one of the Nancy Drew games.

Someone online pointed out the usage of a song by New Order called "Blue Monday."  The cover of "Blue Monday" by Flunk was used in the 2007 Nancy Drew movie with Emma Roberts.

Episode #7 "Figure in Hiding" gives a good view of a partial set of Hardy Boys blue matte picture cover books.

While this version does make some significant changes from the books, it is much closer to the Hardy Boys book series than CW's Nancy Drew series is to the Nancy Drew book series.  In the CW Nancy Drew series, Nancy Drew has sexual relations with other characters, and this is a major departure from the books.  This Hardy Boys series has nothing of the sort, which should make it more palatable to fans.  Yes, it does have changes, but the changes are not like what happened with Nancy Drew.

I strongly encourage you to give this show a chance.  You might end up liking it.  I certainly did.  In fact, this is the first filmed version of the Hardy Boys that I have actually managed to watch all the way through.  I highly recommend this show.

Books Read in 2020

This year wasn't all about books.  I consumed a good amount of recorded media, and this naturally reduced the number of books read in 2020.

With reading, my problem has been that nothing much has interested me.  I have not been able to enjoy the typical vintage series book, and I have quit reading many books partway through, ones that I would normally have enjoyed.  My reading has been sporadic, sometimes not reading for a few weeks and then reading several books rapidly.  

I found that recorded media interested me much more during the last year, and my consumption was the most since in the time period from 2006 to 2010. 

As the year began, I watched Nancy Drew on The CW each week.

As always, books in blue are books that I had read before.

January:  9 books

When I pasted my list into this post, I was struck by how long this year has seemed.  I stared at the first book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs, with surprise.  I surely read that book at least two years ago!  Life was so much simpler at the beginning of the year.  I read the book by Harriet A. Jacobs after seeing it mentioned in an article that I read on New Year's Day, probably this one.  That seems like so long ago.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs
Arden Blake #1 The Orchard Secret
Arden Blake #2 The Mystery of Jockey Hollow
Arden Black #3 Missing at Marshlands
Nancy Drew Diaries #19 Hidden Pictures
The Hollow Wall Mystery by Mildred A. Wirt
Sweet Dreams #50 Lights, Camera, Love
Sweet Dreams #53 Ghost of a Chance
Sweet Dreams #56 Campfire Nights

I was still trying to slog through the Sweet Dreams books at this point in the year.  January was a rather normal month, all things considered, but it was around January 25 that I realized that we had a huge problem looming.  The clock was ticking...  Would I be able to go to the big book sale?

February:  4 books

Sweet Dreams #58 Rhythm of Love
Sweet Dreams #59 Please Say Yes
Sweet Dreams #60 Summer Breezes
Sweet Dreams #61 Exchange of Hearts

In February, I was consumed by reading about the pandemic.  I read only four books because of my distraction, but also, because I was quite bored with Sweet Dreams.  Fortunately, I was able to attend the big book sale, just before everything fell apart.

March:  5 books

#1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
#2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
#4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
#5 Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix

In March, I escaped by reading Harry Potter after not having read them in many years.  I watched all eight Harry Potter movies for the first time right after I finished reading the seven books.

April:  16 books

#6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
#7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Tom Swift Inventors' Academy #4 The Virtual Vandal
Hardy Boys Adventures #20 Return to Black Bear Mountain
American Adventure Series #1 Crossed Trails
American Adventure Series #2 Hollywood, Ho!
American Adventure Series #3 The Hills of Home
Sweet Dreams #65 The Two of Us
Sweet Dreams #70 Special Someone
Sweet Dreams #71 Too Many Boys
Sweet Dreams #72 Goodbye Forever
Sweet Dreams #75 First Summer Love
Sweet Dreams #80 A Shot at Love
Sweet Dreams #81 Secret Admirer
Sweet Dreams #88 Wrong Kind of Boy
Rick Brant #1 The Rocket's Shadow

Somehow or another, I was able to get into reading books during April.  This was the only month in 2020 where my reading pace was anywhere near what has been normal for me.  It was also the month in which I finally gave up on Sweet Dreams.  I haven't gotten back to them.

Reading the three American Adventure books was the bright spot in April.  Not only that, but reading those books was the highpoint of my 2020 reading year.  I remember that time with happiness.  After I had read the books, I posed a question about whether anyone would care if I put up scans of the books, since they are nearly impossible to find and are in the public domain.  Around three or four of you expressed interest, and I could tell that it was genuine.  That motivated me, and I scanned all three books.  At least one or two of you read and enjoyed them.  That made me happy.

May:  9 books

Rick Brant #2 The Lost City
Rick Brant #3 Sea Gold
Rick Brant #4 100 Fathoms Under
Rick Brant #5 The Whispering Box Mystery
Rick Brant #6 The Phantom Shark
#1 Beverly Gray, Freshman
#2 Beverly Gray, Sophomore
#3 Beverly Gray, Junior
#4 Beverly Gray, Senior

In May and June, I tried to read some vintage series.  I chose two of my favorites.  It just didn't work for me.  Maybe some other year...

June:  11 books

#5 Beverly Gray's Career
#6 Beverly Gray at the World's Fair
#7/6 Beverly Gray on a World Cruise
#8/7 Beverly Gray in the Orient
#8 Beverly Gray on a Treasure Hunt
Wishing Star #6 Too Much in Love
Windswept #2 Someone Is Out There
#9 Beverly Gray's Return
Nancy Drew Diaries #20 The Vanishing Statue
#10 Beverly Gray, Reporter
#11 Beverly Gray's Romance

July:  9 books

Wishing Star #1 The Lost Summer
Wishing Star #2 The Girl Who Wanted Out
Wishing Star #3 Blind Sunday
Wishing Star #4 The Two Worlds of Jill
Wishing Star #5 Francesca, Baby
Wishing Star #7 Don't Look Back
Wishing Star #8 Katie
Wishing Star #11 Honey
Wishing Star #13 The Night Skiers

In July, my final Sweet Dreams posts were published.  One person told me to get back to reading vintage series books, since they were tired of Sweet Dreams.  This proved that some people take me for granted.  

August: 10 books

Wishing Star #12 The Great Lakeside High Experiment
Wishing Star #14 Jealousy
Wishing Star #15 The Loving Year
Wishing Star #16 Walk Beside Me, Be My Friend
Wishing Star #18 Secrets
Wishing Star #19 Sisters
Wishing Star #20 Why Did You Leave Me?
#1 The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak
#2 Midway by Melanie Karsak
#3 The Shadow Aspect by Melanie Karsak

In late August, I abandoned reading the vintage teen books.  By this point, I was floundering, unsure what to read, not finding anything of interest.  I returned to dystopian teen novels and was able to find some that interested me.

September:  13 books

#4 Witch Wood by Melanie Karsak
#5 Torn World by Melanie Karsak
Hardy Boys Adventures #21 Treacherous Tide
Tom Swift #5 The Spybot Invasion
After the EMP by Harley Tate #1-9

Around the beginning of September, I watched a few episodes of the television series, Goosebumps, on Netflix.  They were okay, but they made me think about Friday the 13th: The Series, which I wanted to see again.  This is the television series featuring Micki, Ryan, Jack, and later Johnny, who recover cursed antiques sold by Louis Vendredi, who had made a deal with the devil.  The series shares the same name as the movie franchise with Jason Voorhees, but otherwise, it has nothing to do with it.

I purchased the complete set of all three seasons.  From September through November, I watched all 72 episodes.  I loved seeing those shows again.  I was at quite a loss when I finished.  I wanted more!

October:  9 books

Southern Grit by Harley Tate #1-3
Northern Exposure by Harley Tate #1-3
Western Strength by Harley Tate #1-3

November:  5 books

Enola Holmes #1-5

December:  6 books

Enola Holmes #6
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
The Thing in B-3 by Talmage  Powell
13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror, edited by T. Pines
Friday Barnes #1 Girl Detective
Friday Barnes #2 Under Suspicion

In early December, I watched Enola Holmes on Netflix.  I then watched Hardy Boys, the Hulu television series.  In late December, I still craved television similar to Friday the 13th: The Series, so I watched the 2019-2020 Twilight Zone on CBS All Access.

I read 106 books in 2020, but I also watched more than 120 episodes from television shows.  I watched more recorded media in the last year than I read books.

In 2014, I began keeping track of how many books I read.

2014:  262 books
2015:  231 books
2016:  355 books
2017:  403 books
2018:  315 books
2019:  185 books
2020:  106 books

Ever since my reading peak in 2017, the number of books I have read has dropped each year.  In the short term, I don't expect my reading to increase.  I hope by the middle of the year that I will be more motivated to read than I have been.  That, of course, depends upon what happens.

The Enola Holmes Series

I watched the preview for Enola Holmes on Netflix.  I thought I might enjoy the movie, but I decided that I should read the books first, provided that I found them interesting.

I read the beginning of the first book on Amazon, and then purchased it.  I loved it, so I read all six books.  I then watched Enola Holmes on Netflix.  

Let's start with the books.  They are magnificent.  I cannot possibly express how very much I enjoyed them. 

I can't say a lot about the books, simply because I don't want to spoil anything.  I will say that the books remind me a lot of Dickens.  I feel like I'm actually in Victorian London and in the world of Dickens.  That's excellent, because I love that setting.  I have never read Sherlock Holmes, so I can't make any observation about that.

Getting just a little more specific, Enola is trying to stay away from her older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, for the duration of the series.  That Enola is in hiding and playing a game of cat and mouse makes the books very suspenseful.  Enola is also a very good detective and is a lot of fun.

I am very glad that I read the books before watching the Netflix movie.  There are several reasons.  The Netflix movie makes a lot of changes.  One of these would have taken away from my reading of the books.  The story involving Enola's mother is changed significantly in the Netflix adaptation, and if I would have have seen the Netflix movie first, I feel that I not only would have felt less suspense but would have expected a certain outcome as I read the books.  

To me, Enola's character in the movie does not have the depth of the book character.  Of course, this is to be expected, but still, I found the character to be lacking.  Don't misunderstand:  The Netflix character is great, but I didn't find her nearly as great as the book character.

I do like Tewksbury better in the Netflix movie.  I really enjoyed the interplay between him and Enola and the hint of romance.  The book's character has a different trajectory, so she wouldn't have the slightest interest in a romance.  

In closing, I recommend both the Netflix movie and the series of books, although the books are more special, in my opinion. 

The Thing in B-3 by Talmage Powell

I purchased The Thing in B-3 in a local store last week.  The Thing in B-3 was written by Talmage Powell.  The book was published by Whitman in 1969.  I had seen the book in the store previously, but on that day, I impulsively decided that I might enjoy reading it.  I paid $5 for the book.  

I find that Whitman books vary greatly in quality.  Some books are favorites, but I find that many  Whitman books are substandard or boring.  For that reason, I am always wary of them.  I love the appearance of Whitman books, but the stories are often not very good, in my opinion.

Deciding to purchase The Thing in B-3 was certainly a risky decision based on my past experiences.  I've done it before with other Whitman books and have often regretted those purchases.  I hoped that this purchase wouldn't end up a disaster like so many others.

This is a book where it is best not to give much of a summary.  

Bill Latham, student at Crownover University, has a job in the morgue, cleaning the floor.  One night he finds a body in drawer B-3, an unidentified body that should not be there.

That's all I'm going to reveal.  Spooky, yes?

The text was written quite well and is engaging.  The early part of the story is quite unsettling.  Much of the book plays out like a typical juvenile mystery story, with the backdrop being an unexplained event.

I enjoyed how the author switches perspective between the different characters.  At different times, the text switches between Bill, his father, the housekeeper, Bill's faculty advisor, another doctor, and a couple other people who are involved in the plot.  This is executed well and is not confusing.  Knowing the thoughts of the different characters added to my enjoyment of the story.  

This is a very good to excellent book.  I am so glad that I purchased it.

New Community for Series Book Discussions

I just created a subreddit for vintage series books on Reddit.  Follow the link, and you can read my initial post explaining a few things.  I am hoping that those of you who do not use Facebook will consider joining us on Reddit.  

https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageSeriesBooks/

Books Purchased Today and Recently

I purchased these books locally a couple weeks ago.

The Secret of the Old Mill is the 1927A-1 printing with the mistake "soorry" inside.

Today I purchased some Nancy Drew books with dust jackets.

I also purchased quite a few tweed Nancy Drew books without dust jackets.

I purchased a Whitman book and a Three Investigators book.

Finally, I purchased Little House in the Big Woods with the Sewell illustrations and the dust jacket.  I decided to purchase it as soon as I saw the price of $10.  I was certain that the price was too low, even though I had no idea of the actual value.  I have never been interested in collecting the Little House books, even though I read them when I was young.

My book has "G-U" on the copyright page, so according to this site, it was printed in July 1945.  I looked at sold listings on eBay.  An extremely nice book and dust jacket from 1952 sold for $400.  My book isn't anywhere near that nice, so it's worth a good bit less.  I found another one from 1947 possibly in slightly better condition than mine that sold for $150, so that is probably in the ballpark of what my book is worth.  In any case, I am confident that my book is worth more than $10.

Wishing Star #18 Secrets and #19 Sisters

Wishing Star #18 Secrets, Deborah Aydt, 1981

As soon as I sat down to dinner I could tell my parents were upset.

"Something has happened," my father admitted.  "And it's pretty bad.  I've been fired."

"What are we going to do?" I whispered.

Nobody answered.

Cathy's life changes forever after that night.  She switches to a new school, and must cope with her parents' depression and anger as her father is turned away from one job after another.

Her new life holds some happy surprises though.  Cathy fits in with the kids at school, lands a job of her own, and realizes that her friend Benedict is becoming more than just a friend...

It's interesting that the title is Secrets and that the summary mentions nothing about a secret.  There is one, and the summary should have mentioned that part of the plot.

This is a very good book.

Wishing Star #19 Sisters, Audrey P. Johnson, 1982

Would it always be like this?  Would Robin always have to look out for Rae?  Give things up for her?  Robin knows she shouldn't overprotect her sister—but Rae is different...

Robin doesn't really mind moving to the little town on the St. Lawrence River.  She's not crazy about the cold weather, but she's looking forward to making new friends.  And the first one she makes is Chris, who turns out to be very special!

Everything is terrific—except for Rae.  Rae is handicapped, and so self-conscious she spends all her time alone.  Robin feels guilty about her own life—the dates, the parties, the boyfriends—until Rae begins to change.  Before Robin knows it, Rae has her first boyfriend.  The only problem is, it's Chris...

I was surprised that the "handicap" is a slight limp.  I guess I was expecting a bit more than that.  I feel like the early part of the book exaggerates Rae's problem a bit, even though having a limp would be difficult for a teenager who is self-conscious.  Robin states her feelings about Rae on page 5:  "I felt guilty that I was strong and healthy and popular."

I can see where Rae might not be strong or popular because of the limp.  I find it odd that the limp also makes her unhealthy.  Huh.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I found a number of things odd.  I was a bit unsettled and puzzled by the ending.

The rest of this post contains spoilers.  Quit reading now to avoid having the ending spoiled.

When Chris first meets Robin and Rae, he is clearly interested in Rae instead of Robin.  Rae remains aloof, which is how Chris and Robin end up together.  After Chris and Robin have a falling out, Chris goes out with Rae.  They seem to get along pretty well.

Meanwhile, Robin works at a nearby greenhouse and meets Jeffrey.  Jeffrey is cold and arrogant at first, and Robin doesn't like him.  Later, they become friendly, and Jeffrey makes it clear that he is interested in Robin.

Rae and Chris break up.  And then, Robin reflects that she will get back with Chris.  The book pretty abruptly ends.  Uh, what?

I don't like Chris.  Something just doesn't feel right about his relationship with Robin.  I really thought that Robin would develop a relationship with Jeffrey.  She just abandons Jeffrey without any closure.  She isn't even sure about Chris, but she's going to get back with him, even though he has bad traits.  I don't get it.  I thought the author was headed towards a different ending.