Quickie

[discreet_chaos]

Two quick book notes;

• If Diablo Cody's book, Candy Girl : A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper is half as entertaining as her appearances on electronic media, I'd already be in line to buy my copy. Unfortunately, I suspect this may not be the case.



• Also, what's the deal with Nancy Drew? We're in the midst of reading a third book as bedtime

Comments

[ingenious76]

Is "Carolyn Keene" still writing Nancy Drew? She must be over a hundred by now! ;)

[discreet_chaos]

That's the name on the jacket, but Wikipedia says it's a pseudonym for whomever is doing it under contract. It's been several decades since I've read any Nancy Drews, but there seems to be a lack of quality, push-them-out-for-a-paycheck kind of mentality.

BTW: Since I grabbed the copy from my daughter's nightstand, here's a quick scan of the cover illustration for The Singing Suspects. I'm thinking Nancy is the one wearing shades. Sure, she doesn't look anything like my childhood image (Pamela Sue Martin), but I also think the picture could be a good indicator of the depth of the literature.

[ingenious76]

Christ, how old are they meant to be? In the books I read in the 80s, she was a supposedly mature 18 year old. These kids look about 11.

[discreet_chaos]

Their chief competition in the singing contest is a group of eight year olds. I don't know why, but I seem to have memories of Scooby Doo-like mysteries, but those that we've read thus far have had a very nice ending with no bad guys, everything has been due to a misunderstanding.

[mananath]

they're revamping most of the "old" kids titles. HB are still the standard, though I wouldn't be surprised if there is a "new" HB adventure coming out. My personal favorite, The 3 Investigators, is either no longer in print or not readily available. SVH and the Babysitters club is no longer readily available. The Choose Your Own Adventure series are currently being retooled (I believe a company recently bought the rights to them) and modernized. sigh.

wait until your daughter gets a bit older and you discover the joy that is the modern "young adult" section -- there is, sadly, a reason why full fledged adults read books from this category. It is also one of the fastest growing categories in the book industy. Probably second only to Christian fiction which is very big nowadays.

[ingenious76]

The three Investigators!

You're the only other person I ever encountered who'd even heard of them!!

As for SVH, it was a good series. Then they suddenly killed it by turning it into a stream of trashy mini-series. Plus, the utterly awful TV series. Which made Beverley Hills 90210 look half decent.

[discreet_chaos]

SVH - That was the syndicated show with the busty blonde twins? I'm an old tv-addicted perv, but that program lacked any depth and was still not titillating enough that I could watch, no matter how stoned I was at the time.

[ingenious76]

It just recycled every tired old stereotype there was. The rich bitch, the bossy, bling dripping black girl, the sports obsessed Mexican, the stoner, the nerd, the jock, the spoiled little rich boy. Tripe.

[hulagalinthesky]

I used to read Nancy Drew. It just doesn't seem the same without being set in a previous era.

[discreet_chaos]

I wondered last night, if she'd be able to relate to the old stories, if I were to seek out some vintage copies. She likes some of her "old" movies and old fashioned books (Charlotte's Web & Beatrix Potter), but as she's getting older and having more interaction with kids her own age, Harry Potter and stuff like that is all the rage.

[hulagalinthesky]

Well, I was reading Nancy Drew in the mid-80s when hardly anyone had the internet and cable and video games were just on the rise--so who knows. You could be right about her relating.