Girl Seluth

One of the series I very much enjoyed as a 9-12 year old was the Nancy Drew series. I must have read at least 80 of those books growing up.  I remember reading them until 2 or 3 in the morning (yep my insomnia started young) partly 'cause I loved to read and partly to finish the book 'cause on occasion they scared the daylights out of me.  I also remember on occasion reading the last page first, just to let myself know everything was going to be ok.  So in a fit of nostalgia (with my nephews at reading age I have been rereading a lot of my old favorites) and because I consider it a classic I got the first two Nancy Drew books in a handy little back to back all in one combo deal.  Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock/The Hidden Staircase.  The following contains a light on details synopsis for each book and of course SPOILERS!

In the first book The Secret of the Old Clock we meet our titan haired heroine (or strawberry blond depending on which version you read) Nancy Drew.  This spunky young woman is the apple of her lawyer fathers eye and the beloved charge of the long time house keeper Hannah Gruen who has watched over the household since Mrs. Drew died years ago. She drives a blue convertible and is always dressed at the height of practical fashion.  She is smart, generous, kind, a good daughter, and fiercely independent.  This is pretty much how she is described in the opening scene in just about every book. Our leading lady rescues a small girl from being hit by a car, and finds out that her elderly great aunts have been robbed and left pennyless.
 Nancy is told that the women thought they were to receive money from an old family friend Josiah Crowley, but finds out all the money went to his rich entitled relatives. This intrigues Nancy and she vows to find out what happened.  Along the way she meets other poor unfortunate souls who are also in dire need of the money Josiah promised them. Hijinx and shenanigans ensue.  After a few frustrating dead ends our girl finally captures her suspects, finds the real will and all the sweet yet poor souls finally get some cash.  In the second book The Hidden Staircase our lovely girl detective is contacted by one of her many friends to come solve the mystery of the ghostly happenings at Twin Elms manor, an old family home that dates back to Colonial times. Along with this mystery is the problem her dad is facing trying to find an owner who has sold his property to the railroad and is now holding out for more money.  Nancy goes to the old house with her friend to investigate and many mysterious things happen.  At some point Nancy's father goes missing and is presumed kidnapped.  Nancy tries to work on both cases at once, eventually realizing they are connected somehow. Eventually hidden passages are found, bad guys are caught, dads are rescued, and sweet elderly Miss Flora is able to live out her days in peace in the old family home.
Upon rereading these books I am struck by many things.  First off, I can't believe how scared these books with the "ghosts" always made me, even then I knew it was never going to be a real ghost, but a flesh and blood bad guy...but I still was scared. Second, these books are a much quicker read then I remember.

Third, now I remember that almost all of the Nancy Drew stories follow the same basic formula, two seemingly unrelated mysteries come together to form a bit of a far fetched solution to a problem brought to her by one of her zillions of friends and/or family, this of course following a frustrating search for clues, a revelation, a harrowing escape/hiding from the bad guys, followed by a neat bow tied ending for everybody. Fourth keeping in mind that these first books were written and set in the 1930's I can't decide if Nancy is a daring female breaking out of the strict mold set for young ladies of her time, or a uber privileged white girl who can't help but meddle in the affairs of others.  I actually very much like the mix of Ms. Drew, one moment she is trying on a beautiful frilly dress for the club social dance and twenty minutes later she is tramping through mud and hiding in cobwebby closets to eavesdrop on the bad guy.   This is actually the type of hero/heroine I like best, one that does not feel that they have to be all of one thing, now Nancy is a bit to perfect for my taste, but at least she is as willing to take down a bad guy as she is to go to a club function. She does morph a bit throughout the years, considering that she has been in stories from the 1930s all the to the present one would hope she would modernize a bit.  That being said, I have to say I love the older stories the best.  I love reading about the clothes, the lack of internet, the food, the places, the weird niceties that seem so utterly ridiculous now.  All in all I enjoyed my time with Nancy Drew and am going to pick up the next couple of books next time I am at the book store...I think I will dedicate a shelf to this series.  Happy Reading Everybody!

What series do you remember from your childhood?  Does a book written in a different era excuse certain attitudes? Am I crazy to dedicate shelf space I don't have?

Holiday Update

Hello All, I hope you had a wonderful weekend full of food and reading.  My Thanksgiving was amazing and so so so busy.

My Firehouse

 I spent the day at the fire station with my second family.  I know you hear organizations like the military, police force and first responders talk about being family, but until you actually experience it there is just no way to describe the true feeling of family you get.  We fight, joke, tease, help, laugh, yell and work just like a real family does.  We had a full on turkey dinner cooked by one of our engine bosses, apple pie supplied by my sweet Hubbin who dropped in for a few minutes and a Monopoly game that lasted until 2:30 am...it would have gone on longer but we kept getting calls.  I am so grateful for my family away from family.

Finally made it home around 10am on Friday and promptly passed out as I had not been anywhere near a bed for a really long time.  Hubbin was great and took me out to dinner and a movie (Hunger Games: Catching Fire, based on the book of the same name, post to come soon.).  Next day we decorated for Christmas using ornaments made out of paper printed with my favorite quotes and made our tree into a story tree (pics and stories to come later).  I finished two books and attempted to organize my overstuffed bookshelves (no luck).  Watched the mid-season finally of Walking Dead and saw some stuff that came directly from the graphic novels which was pretty cool.  Also it is really weird to watch zombies and death when your pretty Christmas tree is standing right next to the television.  We have been planning a trip to meet up with my insanely large and also just plain insane family (so excited!) and Skyping with my west coast family so that has been fun.  I am gearing up for an incredibly hectic month so posting may be a wee spotty.  I will try and be as consistent as I can and give you heads up when I will be out for a while.  In the mean time I need some suggestions for a good Christmas/Holiday book.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Food!

Happy Almost Thanksgiving to all of my American readers.  I will be at the station, bossing my ambulance for the next couple of days so this is the last post until Monday.  Here in America we are celebrating food this week, I know, I know it's supposed to be about being thankful, and it is and I am and also there is a ton of really good food :-)  I have also noticed that food plays a big role in many books.  It is a way to establish time, place and status.  Exotic made up foods let you know you are somewhere unknown, when bread crusts are mentioned you know you are probably on the lower side of the class level.  Feasts, markets, snacks all help to add dimension to a story.  Here are some of my favorite food mentions in books.

Little House Series- This is probably one of my first full on book/food experiences. Food plays a huge role throughout the series and shows just how hard one had to work just to have food to put on the table.  I loved all of the descriptions on how food was grown, butchered, processed, prepared and consumed.  I must have driven my family crazy trying to mimic it all.  Some of the foods I wanted to try after reading this series- Vanity Puffs, cracklings, fresh churned butter, apple pie for breakfast, fresh maple syrup candy.

Harry Potter Series- These books are a great example of using food to help define a different world and different classes.  In the beginning just the ability to eat as much food as one wanted for each meal was one of Harry's biggest delights after arriving at Hogwarts.  The addition of variety and the novelty of wizard only foods just added to the atmosphere.  Of course after learning about the house-elves the immensity of these meals took on another meaning entirely.  One of my favorite scenes is still the first time we are introduced to Honeydukes and all of the delicious variety of magical candies seen within.  Some things that sound like fun to try- Berties Every-flavor Beans, butterbeer, chocolate frogs, Fizzing Whizbees, Ice Mice, Pepper Imps.

Chronicles of Narnia-My first introduction to books, also my first introduction to the importance of food.  From the turkish delight that tempts Edmund, to the mysterious feast on the outmost island at the end of the world, food in this world can have some serious consequences.  Food is also used to show community as when the Beavers feed the children a simple yet hearty and warming meal.  Food is used to mark the different cultures, people, and places within the realm that Narnia dwells.  To this day I still want to go to a giants kitchen and swim in a big cup of coffee!  Some food from my favorite realm that sound worth a try- Sticky marmalade roll, turkish delight, toffee candy plant fruit, buttered toast, frothy hot chocolate.

The Girl Who series- I have not finished this series yet (it's not even completely written yet) but the food in these stories is just so imaginative and descriptive that I have to include what I have read about already.  This is fairy food and by eating it our hero September must come back to Fairyland every year.  Again food is used to highlight the various regions and peoples that September meets along her journey and they are as varied and creative as one can get.  These stories also play on the Greek stories of Persephone and how eating the pomegranate seed compels her to return to the Underworld for a set amount of time each year. Some foods that I would gladly get stuck in Fairyland for- Pumpkin soup, The Elephants Fiery Heart Coffee.
So many many many many more that if I start naming them I will never stop!

The Candymakers- Ok so this one may have less to do with food as a whole and be more about candy, but in my family we eat dessert first so that makes it food!  The candy plays a pivitol role in this book as a way to teach, comfort, enjoy, amaze...well pretty much everything.  I think the main thing about the candy in this book is the way that each character goes about making his or her candy.  Some are methodical, some go for looks, some for taste, some just throw stuff pel-mel and hope for the best.  Each style, flavor, and design represents so much about each character in the book that you end up learning more from the candy then you do anything else.  Some tasty treats that I would like to try- Bubbletastic ChocoRocket, Pepsicle, Neon Yellow Lightining Chew, Oozing Crunchorama.

Ok so those are just a few books where food plays a role in defining the book, I know there are zillions of others, but these are the ones that made it on this year.  Next year we will add some more. On that note as much as I love the food aspect of Thanksgiving, I am also very thankful for so many things this year.  My whole family on both sides have been making progress in work, health, family and general awesomeness, Hubbin has been doing great in school, I have been having an awesome time at the station, and my bookshelves are full.  Most of all I am thankful for the sheer amount of loving family I have.  I have my friends who may as well be family, my station brothers and sisters, my inlaws and outlaws, my blood family and my adopted family and most of all my amazing Hubbin who loves me, spoils me, encourages me and makes me feel like the smartest, sexiest, most amazing person on the planet on a daily basis.  Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!