The Search for Nancy Drew*

I’ve always been a a voracious reader.

It makes me laugh to see old family videos where in the midst of family playroom chaos, I am sitting on the floor with a pile of books, absolutely oblivious to the fact that my brothers are yelling and throwing things around me.

I don’t just read books, I get lost in them. For example, I just finished reading Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed. I could not put it down. It was the kind of book that made me want to whip it out to read a few paragraphs between classes, wish my lunch break were longer and keep me up until the wee hours of the morning, completely enraptured by the story. (It also happens to be this month’s book club book.)

I’ve always been like that with a good book. I’m sure that’s why my eyesight is so terrible–I read so much as a child, and secretly reading under the covers after bedtime by the light of a Gloworm can’t be good for the eyes.

In our old house in the Great White North we had an enclosed front porch. On one wall of that porch was a large, white bookshelf that was absolutely packed with books. And that, my lovelies, is where I fell in love with Nancy Drew.

When my mom was little she was a huge Nancy Drew fan. She owned a huge chunk of the original series of 56 books, and as I began reading them she helped fill in the gaps through birthday and Christmas presents. I have read and loved every single one of the original books, and I hope to someday pass that love onto my own daughter.

A little while ago I learned that my mom had given all our Nancy Drew books to Peeah, to put into Princess Piper’s nursery for when she gets a little older. I can’t lie, I was a little miffed. I know Peeah also read many of them when she was younger, but I’ve always thought of those books as my own and wanted to have the series for my little girl. Peeah just beat me to it.

However, I’m done being sad. It’s absolutely fair for her to have them, and it gives me a wonderful new challenge: building my own set. I also don’t want just any books, I want old, loved copies–either the original blue covers,

or the second edition yellow covered books.

None of those new plastic-looking ones, please.

I guess I just feel like Nancy should be a part of every little girl’s childhood. It’s such a wonderful series–I think almost every woman has read at least one at some point in her life.

So, I’ve been hunting at yard sales and thrift stores and I have five so far. I’m actually really excited about this new collection–I love a challenge and I’m determined to find them all!

Did Nancy Drew solve any mysteries in your childhood?