Books Read and Media Consumed in 2022

I read 47 books in 2022, which is a far cry from my reading output of a few years ago.  47 books is a respectable number, but it's really low for me and the lowest number I've had in the last decade.

I am constantly reading, but these days what I read tends to be on Reddit and Quora.  I love reading online discussions about anything and everything and spend a significant amount of time each day doing so.  I just haven't been very motivated to read actual books.

As I've stated before, I don't need any advice.  I'm not disappointed in my reading output.  The pandemic has taken a lot out of me and continues to do so.  While the pandemic itself is waning, the impact continues.  Much of my stress this last year was caused by events that came about due to the fallout of the pandemic.  

I am currently dealing with a thyroid flare-up caused by the bivalent Moderna vaccine from September 2022.  A close relative had problems caused by the original Moderna vaccine (shot #2 from February 2021).

Many students have emotional problems that are undoubtedly part of the fallout of the pandemic.  Many of the parents aren't doing that great, either.  What is going on with students and parents is adding to my personal stress.

Many people continue to struggle because they have lost loved ones from Covid-19.  While nobody close to me has died, I do know four people who died of Covid.  One was a former student of mine who died at the age of 21.  There have been so many losses, and everyone has been impacted in some fashion.

I am showing far more grace to students than I did prior to three years ago.  I must continue to do so for the foreseeable future.     

We have a ways to go, but better times are ahead.

Early in the year, I did okay with my reading.  I came up with a great idea, which was to state which book I enjoyed the most for each month.  I did that for January, February, and March, then my reading collapsed.  I have no favorite book for each month from later in the year.  

January:  3 books

Nancy Drew Diaries #23 The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall
Hardy Boys Adventures #24 As the Falcon Flies
Carolina Hurricane by Marian Rumsey 

Favorite January Book: Carolina Hurricane

February:  5 books

Girl Scouts in the Ozarks by Nancy Nance
The Whispering House by Jean Hager
Drina Ballet #1 Ballet for Drina
Drina Ballet #2 Drina's Dancing Year
Drina Ballet #3 Drina Dances in Exile

Favorite February book:  The Whispering House

March:  12 books

Drina Ballet #4 Drina Dances in Italy
Drina Ballet #5 Drina Dances Again
Drina Ballet #6 Drina Dances in New York
Drina Ballet #7 Drina Dances in Paris
Drina Ballet #8 Drina Dances in Madeira
Drina Ballet #9 Drina Dances in Switzerland
Drina Ballet #10 Drina Goes on Tour
Drina Ballet #11 Drina Ballerina
The Secret of Riverside Farm by Jean Hager
Tom Swift Inventors' Academy #8 Depth Perception
The Silent Message by Afton Huff
The Boys' Life Book of Mystery Stories

Favorite March Book:  Tie between Drina Dances in New York and Drina Dances in Paris

This was where I quit reading for an extended time.  

April:  0 books

I watched season 2 of Hardy Boys on Hulu.

May:  0 books

The book and series for The Handmaid's Tale kept getting mentioned online because of Roe v. Wade.  I realized that the premise is dystopian, and I like dystopian books.  I wanted to check out the Hulu series, but I felt that I should try the book first.  When a series or movie is based on a book, I want to read the book first.

I tried to read the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.   

A chair, a table, a lamp.  Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out.  There must have been a chandelier, once.  They've removed anything you could tie a rope to.

A window, two white curtains.  Under the window, a window seat with a little cushion...  

I do not like the writing style.  I understand that the book is apparently great and loved by many.  It's not for me.  I cannot stand the way the information is presented in a disjointed fashion.  I skimmed through most of the Kindle sample just to try to get into it.  I couldn't do it.

Off to Hulu I went.  I watched all four seasons at a rate of around one episode per day.  I really enjoy the show, even though it jumped the shark long ago.  

I didn't read any books in April and May because I was watching The Handmaid's Tale.

June:  7 books

Falling Skies by Harley Tate #1 Fire and Ashes
Falling Skies by Harley Tate #2 Thunder and Acid
Falling Skies by Harley Tate #3 Wind and Chaos
Falling Skies by Harley Tate #4 Escape and Evade
Denise by John Benton
Debbie by John Benton
Carmen by John Benton

July:  0 books

I watched season 2 of Only Murders in the Building.

I was selling books and had a lot of extra responsibilities.

August:  0 books

The extra responsibilities continued, and school started.  I quit selling books.

September:  4 books

Inheritance Games Trilogy by Jennifer Barnes #1, 2, 3
Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb 

I watched season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale weekly as new episodes were released.

October:  5 books

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike
The Wicked Heart by Christopher Pike
Gimme a Kiss by Christopher Pike
Witch by Christopher Pike
The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike

I read the Pike books in preparation for the release of The Midnight Club series on Netflix.  I watched the shows in early October.  I also watched the first Enola Holmes movie again and then watched the sequel.

I started selling books again.

November: 5 books

All the Young Dudes Harry Potter fanfic
Harry Potter #1, 2, 3, 4

In early November, Pocket presented me with an article about the All the Young Dudes Harry Potter fanfic.

How a 500,000-Word Harry Potter Fanfiction Blew Up Online

Since I am constantly reading even if it's just stuff online, I followed the link.  I was immediately intrigued.  From the article:

It’s called All the Young Dudes, and it's a 526,969-word fic that currently has a whopping 7.5 million hits on the fanfiction site, Archive of Our Own.  All the Young Dudes is set in the era when Harry's parents attended Hogwarts (ahem, known as the Marauders era), and features both familiar faces, and a budding romance between two of the series' most beloved figures: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

The 188-chapter story has now spawned a fandom of its own.  For many original HP fans, the story has become canon, and the ways in which it extends far beyond the universe J.K. Rowling created are all part of the appeal.  All the Young Dudes has a huge presence on social media, spawned audiobooks, has 16,000 ratings on Goodreads, has been fancasted, and is even the subject of a conspiracy theory involving Taylor Swift. 

My mind blown, I decided that I must check this out.  My favorite Harry Potter book is Prisoner of Azkaban, and if this fanfic even remotely deserved its fandom, then I had to see for myself.  I started reading it, and I liked what I read.  I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished, so I had no choice but to read the Harry Potter series again.

December: 6 books

Harry Potter #5, 6, 7
Teenage Runaway by John Benton
Crazy Mary by John Benton
Patti by John Benton

After I finished the last Harry Potter book, I was lost again.  I wanted more.  I then made a sudden decision to try to resume reading John Benton's Christian young adult books again.  I had to force myself to read Teenage Runaway followed by Crazy Mary.  By then, I was beginning to feel motivated.  I read Patti and found it to be LOL funny.  I love crazy books.  So fun.

I will admit that I finished Patti at 1 AM today, but most of it was read in 2022.  I decided that was close enough.  The book must go in one year or the other instead of in both.

I have started reading Suzie by John Benton.  This one is also hilarious.  Suzie buys a gun and practices in the basement.  To cover her practice, she also buys a whip which sounds a lot like a gun.  Suzie calls herself "Suzie the Wonder Whip."  OMG.  This is fun.

I am now feeling strongly motivated to read through all of John Benton's books.  I hope I can keep myself going, but going back to work could put a stop to it if I end up too tired.  I will read as much as I can this week and will hope for the best beginning next week.

End of December Update on My Activities

I expect for my stores to remain closed for at least two to three more weeks.  It could be a bit longer, depending upon how events play out.  Since I'm on winter break, I'm doing okay.  I am having spells of sudden deep fatigue, but I'm at home where it doesn't matter.  I can loll around for an hour or so until my energy level recovers.  The real test will be when I go back to work on January 6.  At that time, I'll truly know how I'm doing.

I once again broke out in terribly itchy hives due to my medication increase.  The hives were nearly unbearable from around December 14 to around December 25 even with taking four to six antihistamines per day.  It was truly horrific.  I am still itching.  At least the level isn't as high, and I am taking fewer antihistamines. 

As luck would have it, I broke a tooth on December 26, and my dental insurance is still maxed out.  I thought I could avoid dental work for quite some time after I had tooth #18 changed to a crown in October.  No, tooth #29 had other plans.  I believe the failure of tooth #29 is directly tied to my implant crowns for #30 and #31 that were placed in July.

Tooth #29 rotated 90 degrees when the implant crowns were installed.  It was under a lot of pressure right after the crowns were placed and had to be adjusted.  Furthermore, in the two months leading up to the delivery of the implant crowns, I chewed on the left side along with the front right side, meaning that I was chewing on #29.  I knew that I was putting stress on #29 that it normally wouldn't have and hoped that it would hold out.  At least it did hold out until December 26.

The tooth lost a good chunk of the outer side wall, enough that I thought that I needed a crown.  Fortunately, the dentist was able to just do a filling.  I had a small filling in that tooth.  The filling was removed and then enlarged to cover a good part of the missing section.  The jagged edge was smoothed out, so the tooth feels okay. 

The filling cost $270 since insurance covered nothing.  I was given a discount, which was probably the write-off.  If I had waited until Tuesday, then I would have had insurance coverage again.  I was a bit stressed about the broken tooth, so in my opinion, it was worth paying $270 to have it done five days sooner.  I mentioned previously that I will spend extra money on something if it will make my life better.  Having the tooth fixed five days sooner has made these five days better.  The money was spent wisely. 

A great benefit to me not selling is that I devote my attention to other activities that tie in with collecting.  A recent post of mine on Facebook sparked a discussion about how people decide what to collect.  I decided to write some posts about that topic.  Those posts will begin to be published soon.

I also finished reading the Harry Potter books again, and on a whim, I picked up one of John Benton's Christian young adult books about teen prostitution and drug abuse.  I read three of them back in the summer.  I decided to force myself to read a few of them.  I'm going to try to continue.  I'm also going to try to write up some reviews.  

I have no motivation for reviews, so this will be a struggle.  I'm not sure if I will be able to make myself follow through.  I find that I cannot stay focused long enough to get through a set of books if there are more than a few books.  This has been a problem for me ever since the pandemic began, and the problem has continued to worsen.  I furthermore can hardly motivate myself to write a review.  I just don't have it in me at this time.  While I have good intentions, I don't know what will come of them.

I am mostly unmotivated about writing my usual post about books read during the last year.  I'll make myself do it, but I have little interest in doing so.  I'm not even sure if my list of books is accurate.  I found that when I read, which was quite sporadically, that I didn't remember to get them on my list promptly.  I don't know if my list is accurate, but I can tell you that I read fewer than 50 books, which is the lowest annual number of books I've read in the last decade.

That's what is going on in my world.  
 
Here's to me once again having dental coverage beginning tomorrow!  Not only that, but the first three original text Hardy Boys books will be in the public domain tomorrow.  I look forward to seeing how this plays out.  We have just three more years until the first three original text Nancy Drew books enter the public domain.

Auctions of Scandinavian Nancy Drew and Other Series Books

Some series book fans have trouble understanding why other fans collect the international editions.  That should be obvious.  It's for the same reason that we collect books with dust jackets or that we collect books in various formats like library editions.  We enjoy the differences in cover art or the different styles of books.  The cover art of the Scandinavian editions is especially gorgeous.

My very favorite books of the international editions are the Danish editions.  One example is seen at the left above.  My next favorite books are the Norwegian editions, with one example of an early book seen at the right.  I do love the original style Norwegian cover art as much as I love the Danish editions.  However, the later Norwegian cover art isn't as beautiful in my opinion, which is why I place the Norwegian editions overall in second place. 

Several collectors currently are building sets of Scandinavian series books.  For that reason, prices for Scandinavian Nancy Drew books have been especially high in recent months.  Some fans think that the prices are too high and that the bidders are being foolish.  Fans in Norway say that the books are only worth around $5 in Norway.  The value in Norway has no bearing on the value in North America. 

Different markets, different availability. 

This is simply a case of high demand for books that are in short supply in North America.

Let's think about this.

How exactly is the average collector living in the United States going to acquire Scandinavian series books?  I suppose that they could travel to a Scandinavian country, but that would be expensive with no guarantee of success.  The cost of the trip must be considered as part of the cost of any books that are found.

If a collector is lucky enough to find a contact in another country, then it is possible to acquire the books inexpensively.  Most collectors will not be able to find a contact.  This is why the prices are high.  More than one person wants the books, and so they must bid against each other.

If the people currently buying the books end up getting all that they need, then the prices will fall again.  However, this doesn't mean that the current buyers are paying too much for the books.  The buyers have no idea whether any additional copies of each title will surface or how long that might take.  These books are in short supply in North America with no guarantee of any future availability.

I have paid high prices for international editions myself.  I've had people laugh at me or criticize me for it.  It seems like how I choose to spend my money is my business.  The same goes for how anyone else spends their money.

I paid a large amount of money for all the Japanese Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton books that I purchased in 2018.

2018: The Year of the Japanese Series Book

I wrote:

When the books were mentioned on Facebook, some people questioned why the prices were so high.  Some thought that it would be better to go to Japan and find the books.  Assuming that the books could be found, one still has to pay airfare, lodging, and transportation.  The books would not be cheap once the other costs were factored in.  Of course, if one were to be going to Japan anyway, then the cost of the trip would be irrelevant.

However, this is assuming that the books can actually be found in Japan.  I have heard about collectors who have traveled to other countries and tried to find series books as they vacation.  They usually cannot find any, or they find very few.  The international editions are not just laying around waiting for one of us to show up.

I consider it far easier just to buy the books than to try to travel to Japan to purchase them.  If some of the books are priced a bit high, then that cost is a convenience fee.

The same is true for the Scandinavian books.  It is far easier to bid on an eBay auction than to travel to Norway and search for Norwegian Nancy Drew books.  

I took screen captures of recent eBay auction results.  The bottom line is that the buyers did not pay too much.  Most of the prices are lower than what I paid for each of the Japanese series books that I bought in 2018.  There, I said it.  Those books were expensive, but they were worth it to me, which is all that matters.

Always click on each image in order to see it clearly.  Blogger shows images at a low resolution until they are enlarged. 

The results are sorted by highest price first, but some appear out of order because the seller had a higher shipping charge on some listings.

Altered Covers of Series Books

This post is not how I want it and is unfinished.  I'm publishing it anyway, since I'm not interested in writing anything else.

Altered covers fall under several different types.

Covers from random books retitled to appear to be series books

These are fantasy covers.  Someone will take a random book and retitle it, making it appear to be a Nancy Drew or other series book.  There is nothing offensive about these covers.  They can be confusing to people not well versed in series books when they are posted without an explanation.

Altered covers featuring political content

These covers always create problems.  Politics and religion are the worst topics to bring into a group.  It's amazing how many people place an altered cover with political content in a group not realizing the trouble it will cause.  Back when the main series groups were not on moderation, these covers showed up each time a late night talk show featured them.  In all cases, the posts had to be removed within hours due to the fighting that ensued.

Altered covers that mention drugs, sex, or anything offensive

Quite a few altered Nancy Drew covers have been making the rounds on Facebook and Reddit in the last few months.  The vulgar covers are currently circulating mostly among the Nancy Drew game fans.  I strongly dislike them.

It's not that I'm intolerant or a prude.  Not at all.  It was suggested earlier this month in a comment on my Facebook page that those of us who dislike obscene altered covers need to "grow up."  Huh?

I see cuss words and offensive general content all over various websites.  I read Reddit a lot, and obscenities are present in a majority of the content.  It's not that I have a problem with seeing certain words; it's that I don't want to see those words on the cover of a Nancy Drew book. 

It's funny that because I object to obscenity in one narrow situation that I am perceived to be intolerant and childish.

I just do not want to see the covers myself.  Actually, it's not so much that; I can tolerate the altered covers occasionally.  I can also tolerate them when they aren't too obscene.  Unfortunately, one cover that I recently saw crossed the line past what I can tolerate.  That was the straw that did it, and I started complaining about the covers on my Facebook page. 

It's fine that many of you love seeing the altered covers.  I do understand the allure of it for people who like that sort of humor.  I would never try to prevent you from enjoying what you like.

Since some people will keep posting the covers, I do what I can to reduce how often I see them.  Let me make this clear:  I don't complain to the group moderators.  They decide what is appropriate in their groups.  If they are fine with the vulgar content, then I am the one who must adjust.  

I left the Nancy Drew subreddit where the covers are circulating.  That subreddit consists of nearly only Nancy Drew game content, the vast majority of it outside of my interest or understanding.  I am missing very little by leaving that subreddit.

The content is also in circulation on Facebook in the Nancy Drew Game Fans group.  Even though I love the Nancy Drew games, the content in that group is not of high interest.  I'm still a member, but I unfollowed the group so that the vulgar altered covers won't show in my main Facebook feed.

A Facebook friend shared an altered cover a few weeks ago.  I realized that I could block the page that was shared by that person, which should prevent me from seeing the covers whenever they are shared from that page.  I did so, which should help.

I can't do anything about the altered covers being sold on Etsy.  If I run a Nancy Drew search on Etsy, I'm going to see the covers about Nancy burying or losing her last ****.  I am sick of them and don't find them amusing, but I just ignore them as best I can.  People apparently love them.

Fortunately, we do have a few places where we can escape.  The Collecting Vintage Children's Series Books and Nancy Drew Book Fans groups on Facebook do not allow the obscene altered covers.  I also won't ever post them here or on Facebook.

If you haven't seen the altered covers and are curious, the Facebook page that creates most of them is known as "Your Ruined Childhood."  You can also search online for "fake Nancy Drew book covers" or with similar search terms to find some of them.  Many of the covers are not offensive and are just a bit stupid.  I don't get much out of any of them since I'm not interested in seeing altered Nancy Drew covers.

A Christmas Eve Hardy Boys Digest Book Find

I purchased these Hardy Boys Digest paperback books locally today.

These books are in above average condition with either light or very light wear.  They look great. 

I have always found the Minstrel Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books to be very attractive.  The cover design is nice.

The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Digest series are well worth consideration and should not be overlooked without checking into them.  Read these old blog posts for my thoughts on both sets.

My Thoughts on Nancy Drew #57-175

An Overview of Nancy Drew #57-175

The Hardy Boys Digest Series Overview

A Great Nancy Drew Hardcover Digest Find

A couple weeks ago, I posted about some books that I purchased on eBay on December 5.

Spying Some Hardcover Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Digests

I wrote:

This happened yesterday.  I was at home, awaiting for it to be time to leave for my appointment.  I checked eBay and looked at a bulk listing of green APC Nancy Drew books.  I was using the zoom feature on the image and stopped when I reached the lower right corner.

WHAT WERE THOSE BOOKS ON THE FLOOR?!

I saw what I felt certain was a hardcover Hardy Boys Digest plus some other possible hardcover Hardy Boys Digest books.  I saw Nancy Drew Ghost Stories but couldn't tell for certain if it was hardcover. 

I checked the seller's other listings, but the books hadn't been listed.  I kept a tab open on the seller's listings page, sorted by newest first.  I came back and refreshed every so often.  Finally, the books appeared, and I got them!  This never would have happened if I hadn't taken the day off for my appointment.

These are the seller's pictures of the books.

Based on the seller's photos, I expected the Nancy Drew books to be very nice and the Hardy Boys books to be average copies.  I thought that I would end up keeping most of the Nancy Drew books and around three of the Hardy Boys books.

The books were supposed to arrive on December 12.  I checked the tracking that morning and was distressed to see that the postal service had marked the package as having an "insufficient address" and that it was being returned to the sender.  This occurred just two minutes after the package arrived at the Oklahoma City distribution center, so I was pretty sure that an entire truckload of packages got marked as being returned to sender.  No doubt, a bunch of locals were quite upset that day.

I figured that the package would arrive the next day.  Even so, I was nervous until the tracking finally updated the next morning, showing that the package was out for delivery.  I finally received the books.

As expected, the Nancy Drew books are very nice.  The Hardy Boys books are in average condition with a bit of wear and not better than my copies, and I am keeping only two of them.  

The Nancy Drew books are great.  Remember to click on images to see them at a higher resolution.

The Nancy Drew books are all Demco Turtleback editions.  The spines look very nice.  The books will look beautiful on the shelf.  The drawback is that the cover art is not reproduced well on many of the books.  The Search for Cindy Austin is particularly bad.

I cannot part with any of these books.  I will keep all 18 of the Nancy Drew books.  I am going to have to make a decision about whether I keep all of the books I already had along with these new ones or whether I can sell a few of the books I already had.  I think that perhaps a few of the ones I already had will be upgraded by these books.  For other books like Cindy Austin, I will have to keep both copies.  I think in most cases that I will keep both copies.

Another reason these books should be kept is that many of them have cover art that is more uncommon.  It's really neat to have a hardcover copy of some of the difficult to find cover art such as the one seen on Fenley Place.

Even though I wish the Hardy Boys part of the purchase had been better, I am thrilled about the Nancy Drew books.

Recent First Printing and Other Notable Nancy Drew Auctions

A number of scarce items have sold on eBay recently.  Some of them have sold for well under their value.

Click on each image in order to see it clearly.  Blogger displays embedded images at a low resolution.

A sealed Nancy Drew puzzle sold for $305.00.

I sold both the white and red versions of the Nancy Drew Diary.  The white diary is said to be much scarcer than the red diary.  It may be more scarce, but both diaries are scarce.  The white diary closed at $251.50, and the red diary closed at $238.50.  The bidders apparently valued them about the same, which is how I feel about them as well.  

Nancy Drew Ghost Stories in the Wanderer hardcover edition with dust jacket sold for $217.50.  This is one of the hardest to acquire Wanderer hardcover titles.

The first printing book and jacket for Nancy Drew Twisted Candles sold for $737.88.  I feel that this is below value, although I'm not sure what the actual value is.

A 1930A-1 Old Clock book (no jacket) sold for $695.00.  The first printing Old Clock is worth between $500 and $1000 if lacking the dust jacket, so this price is within that range.

The first printing book and jacket for Clue in the Diary sold for $1,591.79.  I recall the first printing of Diary selling years ago for $2,500 or so.  I believe that I saw that price more than once, so the buyer got a pretty good deal on this first printing copy.
 

The first printing book and jacket for Red Gate Farm sold for $800.00.  The Red Gate Farm first printing jacket isn't as hard to find as other low-numbered first printing jackets.  The first printing book is a bit harder to acquire than the jacket itself.  $800.00 probably is below value.

A first printing book and jacket for Shadow Ranch sold for $81.00.  The jacket is in pieces and is in poor condition.  Even so, this was a bargain.  The book alone is worth at least $81.00.  The jacket makes the purchase even better.  Many collectors (possibly most of them) are never going to be able to spend high amounts for the low-numbered first printings in very good or better condition.  Books and jackets like this one enable some of those people to enjoy an early book in a first printing.

A copy of Hidden Staircase with the misnumbered dust jacket sold for $158.00.  It's hard to say whether that is the value or below the value.  Years ago, I sold one or two copies for considerably less.  I assume that the value has gone up.  Read this old post of mine for more information.

 

Astonishingly High Nancy Drew Old Clock Prices

The books shown in this post are ones that actually sold.  The prices are amazing, and the books can be found for much lower prices. 

I ran a search for "Nancy Drew Old Clock" along with "first" and looked at sold items.  It's apparent that people think that Old Clock is worth much more than other titles, especially if identified as a first.  It little matters that the books are bare tweed and nowhere near first printings.

Click on an image in order to view it more clearly.

These books typically sell for $10 to $20 rather than the high prices seen above.

I also checked a few other Nancy Drew titles.  The trend is not present for Hidden Staircase, Bungalow Mystery, and others.  It's just Old Clock.

Since more than one book sold at a high price, this cannot be dismissed as meaningless.  The books were worth that much to the people who purchased them.  Clearly, some people are willing to pay high prices for bare tweed copies of Old Clock.  I am interested in why this is happening.

I suspect that each buyer used "first" as part of their search.  Without that word, eBay shows 864 results for Old Clock, which is a bit overwhelming to inexperienced buyers.  Using "first" narrows the search to 11 books, some of which are tweed and priced similarly to these sold listings.

These sorts of buying patterns are rather fascinating.