4 ms·

I loved these books as a kid back in the 80's. I'm sure they played a key role in shaping my interests and worldview. These, along with the "Encyclopedia Brown"

I loved these books as a kid back in the 80's. I'm sure they played a key role in shaping my interests and worldview. These, along with the "Encyclopedia Brown" books, the "The Three Investigators" series, the "Tom Swift Jr" series, and "The Great Brain", plus the original Doyle canon of Sherlock Holmes stories, were constant companions in my youth. Oh, and those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Those were great. Every year the local Barnes & Noble does a Christmas book drive thing to provide books for under-privileged children in the area. I usually chip in at least a few titles, and if I could actually find any of those on the shelf (aside from Sherlock Holmes), I'd probably get some of them, so some young kids today could experience the same thrill.

peter_l_downs 3y ago
++++++++ all of these. Wonderful books. "The Great Brain" has to be my favorite, but they're all good.
ethbr1 3y ago
Tom Swift Jr. is definitely worth a look, if only for the titles you can't not read in a 1950s radio voice. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift_Jr.#List_of_titles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift_Jr.#List_of_titles
at_a_remove 3y ago
We must have had very similar reading lists, although I think I subbed in Trixie Belden (an odd choice for a boy) for the Three Investigators.
- mindcrime 3y ago
  > although I think I subbed in Trixie Belden I never read any of those, but that reminds me, I left off the "The Hardy Boys" and "Nancy Drew" stories from my original list. Those were also frequently read in my home as a kid. :-)
- gumby 3y ago
  > (an odd choice for a boy) Our library had a four book limit and we could only go once a week. So I always read my sister’s books and she read mine.
wduquette 3y ago
Heh. I loved these back in the 70's, and remember them fondly. Along with Encyclopedia Brown, many of the Three Investigators books, and all of the Great Brain stories. Never got into Tom Swift particular, but I did read the Danny Dunn novels (Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine got me interested in computers) and The Many Inventions of Alvin Fernald.
- mindcrime 3y ago
  > but I did read the Danny Dunn novels (Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine got me interested in computers) Amazing. These[1] sound exactly like something that would have been up my alley, but I'd never even heard of this series until right now. I might just have to find some of them and go back and read them now. Wonder how they hold up for reading by an adult in our times? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Dunn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Dunn
  - dekhn 3y ago
    I just went back and skimmed "Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint", I think it's worth reading that one, but it would be a lot more fun to read to a kid than to read on your own (the writing level is clearly for kids). It's archived: https://archive.org/details/dannydunnantigra0000jayw/page/n1/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/dannydunnantigra0000jayw/page/n1...
mhb 3y ago
I also enjoyed John D. Fitzgerald's (Great Brain author) semiautobiographical novel "Papa Married a Mormon". https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/564854.Papa_Married_a_Mormon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/564854.Papa_Married_a_Mo...

peter_l_downs 3y ago

++++++++ all of these. Wonderful books. "The Great Brain" has to be my favorite, but they're all good.

ethbr1 3y ago

Tom Swift Jr. is definitely worth a look, if only for the titles you can't not read in a 1950s radio voice. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift_Jr.#List_of_titles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift_Jr.#List_of_titles

at_a_remove 3y ago

We must have had very similar reading lists, although I think I subbed in Trixie Belden (an odd choice for a boy) for the Three Investigators.

mindcrime 3y ago
> although I think I subbed in Trixie Belden I never read any of those, but that reminds me, I left off the "The Hardy Boys" and "Nancy Drew" stories from my original list. Those were also frequently read in my home as a kid. :-)
gumby 3y ago
> (an odd choice for a boy) Our library had a four book limit and we could only go once a week. So I always read my sister’s books and she read mine.

wduquette 3y ago

Heh. I loved these back in the 70's, and remember them fondly. Along with Encyclopedia Brown, many of the Three Investigators books, and all of the Great Brain stories. Never got into Tom Swift particular, but I did read the Danny Dunn novels (Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine got me interested in computers) and The Many Inventions of Alvin Fernald.

mindcrime 3y ago
> but I did read the Danny Dunn novels (Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine got me interested in computers) Amazing. These[1] sound exactly like something that would have been up my alley, but I'd never even heard of this series until right now. I might just have to find some of them and go back and read them now. Wonder how they hold up for reading by an adult in our times? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Dunn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Dunn
- dekhn 3y ago
  I just went back and skimmed "Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint", I think it's worth reading that one, but it would be a lot more fun to read to a kid than to read on your own (the writing level is clearly for kids). It's archived: https://archive.org/details/dannydunnantigra0000jayw/page/n1/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/dannydunnantigra0000jayw/page/n1...

mhb 3y ago

I also enjoyed John D. Fitzgerald's (Great Brain author) semiautobiographical novel "Papa Married a Mormon". https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/564854.Papa_Married_a_Mormon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/564854.Papa_Married_a_Mo...