The Hardy Boys vs. Nancy Drew

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library ^ | October 10, 2022 | by Charlie, Reference Services

[FatherofFive]

Who can forget the Boxcar Children? 160 titles!

My 5 children loved them, and now we're reading them to the grandchildren.

[cyclotic]

A friend of mine has the entire Tom Swift collection

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Anybody remember Montgomery M. Atwater? Great books, but don’t make the mistake of getting the crappy rewrites that were published a few years ago.

[drwoof]

Beautiful memories!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“age inappropriate” — Goldfinger came out in 1964 when I was 13. Mom would not let me go see it. No explanation. Many years later (probably decades), I watched it and learned about “Pussy Galore” and realized Mom was right! Of course, when I was 13 and clueless, I would have naively thought “That’s sure an odd name for a woman.”

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Try the original Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, also the Borrowers series. I’ll bet the grandchildren will like them.

[Pilsner]

My husband collected old boys books, so our sons read the first edition Hardy Boys books. The early ones were written for an older age group than the more modern ones, so they were longer and had more advanced vocabulary.

The early Hardy Boys were also not the goody two shoes they became in the rewrites. Some how as a kid I had never read The Tower Treasure. When I read it out loud to my kids, I cautioned them that creating a hoax bomb, to distract the police, may make for a good story, but it is crime punishable by a year in jail in Texas.

[Pilsner]

My husband collected old boys books, so our sons read the first edition Hardy Boys books. The early ones were written for an older age group than the more modern ones, so they were longer and had more advanced vocabulary.

The early Hardy Boys were also not the goody two shoes they became in the rewrites. Some how as a kid I had never read The Tower Treasure. When I read it out loud to my kids, I cautioned them that creating a hoax bomb, to distract the police, may make for a good story, but it is crime punishable by a year in jail in Texas.

[logi_cal869]

HAH! Sure do!

[sloanrb]

The word TASER comes from Thomas A Swift’s Electric Rifle. That was the inspiration.

[rfreedom4u]

I read many as well. Also quite a few Dr. Dolittle books!

[logi_cal869]

Ditto.

[waterhill]

Tom Swift.

[decal]

And “Emil and the Detectives” by Erich Kaestner.

[dandiegirl]

I loved Nancy Drew books. To this day I love a good “who done it” that I attribute to my love of Nancy Drew.

[decal]

The local CBS affiliate didn’t broadcast them; luckily, WWL out of New Orleans is a clear-channel station so I got to hear them late at night.

[dandiegirl]

HaHa! My husband has the same story with his mother.

[Waverunner]

Tom Swift jr
Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators
Doc Savage
Andre Nortion Robert Henlein , Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov
Barbarella comic hardback translated from the French in our public library (woo hoo)
Private Army of Col Tobin
The Mack Bolan and The Destroyer series
Read between 2nd and 12th grade

[krizzy]

Doc Savage. I think I read every one of them, Twice.

[DouglasKC]

I was an avid Hardy Boys reader. I think at one time I had them all in hardcover as a kid.