I have to laugh at myself. I decided that I was going to get rid of three boxes of books from when I was in elementary school and a bit older. So, I was going through the boxes and all that happened was I started remembering why I collected the books in the first place! Needless to say, I only ended up getting rid of one box. I think I might make some of the series I have left over from when I was younger a reading project. You see, when I was reading these series, I didn't exactly have the internet at my fingertips. If I couldn't find the next book in a series, it was not always an easy thing to remedy. Plus, I didn't exactly have a large budget for book-buying. So, in the middle of my sorting, I picked up a couple of series that I really enjoyed and didn't have all the books for to see if it was possible to acquire them. I had some success with the library, but they didn't have all of them. Some will have to be inter-library loaned, while others are not available at all. Still, I think I might try and read some of the series in their entirety. Or, close to their entirety. I wish I had lived in such a technological age when I was hooked on the series. I still look at second-hand stores for them, actually. Anyway, I don't think the dates are adding up to elementary school. They more add up to when I was going through my horses/animal stage, so reading levels didn't really matter!
The two series that I am strongly considering for this project:
Riding Academy by Alison Hart
Animal Inn by Virginia Vail
Then, I have series in their entirety like:
Sweet Valley High - Which I didn't actually like at all when I was reading them...
Sweet Valley University - I liked these slightly better
Baby-Sitter's Club - The acceptable thing for me to be reading when I was like 5 or 6... It drove me crazy how the first chapter was always exactly the same!
Baby-Sitter's Little Sister - See above
Nancy Drew - I actually prefer The Hardy Boys. I should try and get the entire set of Hardy Boys...
Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - There are several of these I don't have, and I actually like this series the best.
Lurlene McDaniel's - Really depressing books, but I do think I used to like her.
See, this is why I didn't like books for my reading level when I was younger. They really were not that great.... I used to just read my mothers random books because she would only buy me the series seen above, and, well... I would have preferred fantasy and science-fiction. When I had my own money I started reading Star Trek and Madeleine L'Engle. But, there are a few gems from above. There were also The Boxcar Children and Saddle Club. My library has like all The Saddle Club books. I don't know how extensive this trip down reading memory lane will wind up being, but I do hope to read some of them! Then, I might give them away.... Right...
Monday, January 26, 2009
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What a fun post! This brought back many memories! And I know how hard it is to part with those books that filled so many hours when we were little. But as you listed off the books in those boxes, I kept thinking of what a great addition they would make to some new teacher's class library. They would be read over and over by different groups of readers, and they would continue to be loved by many!
ReplyDeleteOne word for you - ebay. Seriously. And I had *totally* forgotten about Animal Inn.
ReplyDeleteI also preferred the Hardy Boys. My brother has the whole series in the old blue hardcovers. sigh.
Robin: I actually tried the school route. No one would take them!
ReplyDeleteSassymonkey: I wouldn't mind selling them on ebay, but first I have to figure out how to go about doing that and how much to charge! (Yep, never used ebay before...)
Or, wait, did you mean look for the ones I am missing on ebay?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I have these moments when I think I have too many books and go through my shelves to see what could go on Bookmooch. Normally they end with me sitting in a corner hugging ym books and going "I love you all!!11". So I know how you feel :P
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post! Most of my books from grade school are gone, but sometimes I think I should try to find copies again - I liked the Sweet Valley Twins and University but the High ones all seemed the same. Other than those I read alot of Christopher Pike, LJ Smtih and Judy Blume.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Lurlene McDaniel's - there were so many knock-offs of this style too. I tried reading one last year, it was pretty bad.
Nymeth: I have the worst time sorting out my books, too. Putting my youngish books in boxes was sort of necessary, though, because I had no shelf space for them!
ReplyDeleteJoanne: You know, I never really read Christopher Pike or Judy Blume. Sort of strange when you think about it because they were really popular, but it just never happened. I read Blume later in life, but I don't think I have ever read Pike. My sister liked R.L. Stine, so about as far as I went was to read a few of his books. She had Fear Street when she got a bit older and I liked those.
I never read a Hardy Boys mystery - hmm, now I feel like I'm missing out!
ReplyDeleteOne of my cousins used to be obsessed about those Lurlene McDaniel books! I kid her now that she's grown up now but I'm just joking with her after all I was obsessed with the Sweet Dreams series.
A couple of my friends are still obsessed with Lurlene McDaniels. I haven't read her in years, but I am tempted to reread a couple I remember really liking!
ReplyDeleteTrips down memory lane are certainly fun ones...I can certainly see why you had a hard time getting rid of three boxes and only did one! Over the last several years I've went about collecting paperbacks that I remember seeing on my uncle dean's bookshelf...ones I read and ones I did not read and want to at some point. It has been a fun thing to do and always brings back lots of memories.
ReplyDeleteMy wife loves children's and ya fiction even more than I do and I remember buying her McDaniel books from the bookstore I worked at when we were first married. She has been slowly working her way through the Nancy Drew series lately and has enjoyed them. She laughs a lot at how corny they are and yet is still enjoying them for the nostalgia factor.
I read almost all of the Baby-Sitters and Little Sisters Club books! Oh I hated that too. I also read every R. L. Stein Fear Street book I could find too after I got sick of the Baby-Sitters.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had boxes of books from when I was younger but my mom had yard sales and that was a great way for me to make a little extra money...
Carl: I had planned to reread the Nancy Drew series last year, but I didn't get very far with the goal. Life got busy and I hardly read at all! They are very corny, though!
ReplyDeleteTink: I own almost all of Ann M. Martin's books, so I pretty much read all of them when I was younger. I kept reading the series even when I got sick of it because, well, I had read the first however many so I really should keep going,right? Books are the only thing I wouldn't part with at yard sales. I sold pretty much everything else, though