Busy... Busy... Busy!

Just wanted to take a quick moment and let everyone know I am alive and well. Been very busy with working two jobs and the Master's class. I'm working this weekend at my second job,,, Hope to be able to get some postings in the next few days, including a look at some upcoming new additions to my Bonanzle booth.

Rick Brant Guide by James Ogden

For anyone interested in collecting the Rick Brant series, let me recommend you pick up a copy of James Ogden's Rick Brant Guide. It can be purchased from Spindrift Books ( www.spindriftbooks.com/guide.html) and is available as a CD-Rom. The book is in it's second edition, and is very helpful in identifying the various printings of each of the Rick Brant titles.

I took the time to copy mine onto paper, and had it bound at a local Staples. It is a nice copy that I refer to when I am looking at a book trying to determine if I want to buy it. I have had the good fortune of finding a few first printings, and use the book to guide me finding more first printings.

Spindrift Books also sells some reprints of later titles in the Rick Brant series that are hard to find in their original formats. They feature as well copies of the Hal Goodwin penned The Feathered Cape, a book I have never read, but many consider a wonderful book from the Rick Brant creator.

If you are a Rick Brant collector, and don't have Mr. Ogden's excellent guide, I encourage you to pick one up!

The Secret of the Lost Tunnel

Among my earliest series book reading picks were The Hardy Boys. Adventures with Frank and Joe led me on many thrilling journeys that included haunted houses, hidden treasure, and sneaky spies. I had several of the blue PC editions from the sixties, and many were probably original text PC's that I am sorry have disappeared over the years.

I am especially fond of the original text version of The Secret of the Lost Tunnel. The boys travel south in an effort to vindicate the good name of a Confederate Civil War general. He was accused of stealing gold from a bank, and the boys work hard to help clear up the mystery. I have only read the original text version, but upon searching the title on Google, the revised text appears to be a condensed version of the same story.

I love Civil War stories, and anything set in the South. Ghostwriter Andrew Svensen did a great job, in my opinion, fleshing out the characters and creating an interesting read. As a child, I enjoyed books that had boys investigating abandoned mines and tunnels. We had large drainage pipes in our community, and my friends and I would light candles and explore the underground maze of pipes. It was real life Tom Sawyer type adventure! We never ran across Injun Joe, thank goodness!

The Hardy Boys series continues to delight children, and the books continue to sell on Ebay and Bonanzle. I have several nice copies in my Bonanzle Booth, and of course the revised text books are available in the cheap Flashlight editions. If you don't remember this one, pick up a copy and read it! You'll enjoy the mystery.

Series Book Periodicals- Yellowback Library

There are several different periodicals that specialize in series book information. One of the oldest is the Yellowback Library. I am not sure how many years it has been published, but Gil O'Gara does a great job giving us a monthly periodical about our hobby. The banner reads, "Series Books, Dime Novels, and related literature." There is often a reprint of some kind, normally of the Dime Novel variety, and there have been several articles over the last year that feature information on such series as Rick Brant, Ken Holt, the Oz books, and other assorted series.

The periodical runs approximately 26 pages long, and includes some regular advertisers that specialize in series books. A one year subscription runs 36.00. You can send a check to Gil O'Gara, PO Box 36172, Des Moines, IA 50315. You can email Gil at gilo@iowalink.com .

For juvenile series book information, Yellowback Library is worth a look!!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

I have shared with readers here on the blog that I am taking a Young Adult Literature class which is taking a lot of reading time. I have 14 books I have to read this semester, and quite a few papers and reflections. This is keeping me from reading many series books from the past, but is introducing me to new titles, authors, and series.

One such series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. With five books in the series I have read the first two, and I have to say that they are wonderful reads. The series centers around a young boy who discovers that he is a demigod. Demigods are illegitimate children of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes... they are all there. Like Harry Potter returning to school each Fall, Percy finds himself returning to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp close to Long Island, that serves as a safe haven for kids sired by the Gods. Adventures ensue as Percy finds himself battling evil forces that want to destroy Mount Olympus (now located hundreds of floors above the Empire State Building!) and enslave mankind.

The five book series is exciting, opens up for a reader the world of Greek mythology, and fun to read. I have managed to procure 3 first printings signed by the author, Rick Riordan, and will be hanging on to them. More people will be exposed to Percy and his friends next January. A feature length film of The Lightening Thief, is being filmed by director Chris Columbus, and the previews I've seen look like it is going to be fun.

If you haven't checked out this series yet, I urge you to do it. The books are great reads, and I believe these will be collectibles of the future!

Farah's Guide... INVALUABLE!

Farah's Guide, by David Farah is a book most Nancy Drew collectors are aware of and many use. The book, now in its 12th edition, allows a collector to identify a first printing of a Nancy Drew book. The guide lists 2745 printings of Nancy Drew books published between 1930 and 1979. It is 556 pages long, and has numerous additional articles beneficial to the Nancy Drew collector.

I find the guide very useful in identifying the printings of the Nancy Drew books I own. The guide concentrates primarily on the first 56 books published in the series. It does have a short entry on the Simon and Schuster books #57-78. I would love to see someone put together and publish a guide to the paperbacks, with artwork included.

The guide gives a history of the series, as well as biographical information on the authors and illustrators. It has 135 photos of authors, illustrators, models photos of poses used for cover art, and pictures of ledger pages kept by Mildred Wirt Benson as she received payments for her work on the Nancy Drew series. Additionally, there is information on collectibles spawned by the series over the years.

Mr. Farah has been printing his guide now for twenty years, and has been a collector since 1967. This 12th edition is considered a 20th year anniversary edition, and is available in a hardcover dust jacket copy as well as a spiral bound copy. The spiral bound edition sells for $95.00, while the hardcover lists at $130.00. The hardcover has been produced to look like a 1930's Nancy Drew book, complete with orange lettering and a spine symbol. Though seemingly hefty in price, either edition of the guide is well worth the investment spent.

I have found the guide useful as I buy and sell Nancy Drew books. I often dream of having a complete collection in high quality first printings, and this guide is an excellent tool in identifying those elusive firsts. Clicking on the picture in this blog will take you directly to Mr. Farah's web page, where you will find additional information and be able to download an order form. I highly recommend Farah's Guide to my readers.

Cherry Ames

When I was a child, my sister had a few different series books on her shelf. One of the series, Cherry Ames, detailed the adventures of a young girl as she practiced nursing in various locales. Patricia became a nurse, and currently works at the same school that I do providing health care to the various high school students. She remembers reading the books, and like many girls of the 1950's and 1960's, a seed was planted that would eventually lead to a career.

My sister's Cherry Ames books have mostly disappeared. Only three remain, and this week I managed to pick up a few more at a local antique store. I plan to find some more titles to add eventually to my Bonanzle booth, but in the meantime I will read a few to sample a series of which I have little knowledge.

Here is what I do know: The series consists of 27 titles published between 1943 and 1968. The early books describe her entry into nursing at nursing school, then quickly move her into the Army where she serves her country during the second World War. These early books are printed on "wartime" paper, which means first printings will be brittle and brown in nature. They were printed by Grosset and Dunlap, and the early copies up to #7 are red or maroon with gray endpapers. The complete series can be collected in the pictorial cover editions with green spines. You may also find some PC's with yellow spines, but these were changed to green to differentiate the series from the yellow spine Nancy Drews, also published in the 1960's.

The series was originally authored by Helen Wells, who wrote the first eight volumes. Julie Tatham, the maiden name of Julie Campbell who penned the Trixie Belden series wrote the next eight volumes, concluding with #16. Helen Wells came back to the series and authored the rest.

The books became more mystery centered as they continued, mostly in an attempt to draw in readers of other girl detective stories like Nancy Drew and the Dana Girls. The higher numbered volumes, like The Mystery in the Doctor's Office and Ski Nurse Mystery are very hard to find and command high prices. The first twenty volumes appear to have been reprinted, which will allow some to purchase the series at a lesser price.

I will review a couple of titles in the series sometime in the future. I'm taking a course for my Masters on Young Adult literature, so my reading list is already pretty long. When I get a chance, however, I plan to dig deeper into the Cherry Ames series.