Try Harder, Carolyn Keene.

Mid-December! Wow, how did that even happen? It hasn't been wintery-cold here; the last few days have been very grey and wet. My Kickstarter Project, Books & Postcards form Wyoming, only has hours to go! I'm amazed at how well it has been received, and so very grateful for all the support I've found! And of course I am very excited about my residency!

Persian cats are being stolen, and Nancy is tap-dancing in morse code.
WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

One of my winter leisure pastimes seems to be reading Nancy Drew books while soaking in the bathtub. They are fascinating in their ridiculousness, and the astounding variety of bad writing styles all attributed to Carolyn Keene. Because I'm Michelle Moode, and my hobbies and interests occasionally turn into temporary obsessions, the whole Nancy Drew thing is starting to take on a pseudo-scholarly-research sort of thing, as I have started taking notes as I read. Really? Mostly this consists of...

1.  The sequence of  outrageous dangers Nancy encounters in a given book. Some seem due to outright recklessness, and her father is not nearly concerned enough about his daughter's safety. 
2.  Also her pleasant, smiling comments and reactions after she, ya know, gets clear of her car or cottage that has had a time-bomb placed in it...
3. Nancy's astounding talents and skills. From tap-dancing to horse-riding to flying airplanes. And the whole mystery-solving thing. Nancy is awesome.

 I've also become interested in learning more about the history of the series, and the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and the revisions that were made to the original stories, and what seems to be a serious collecting community. 

Were you into Nancy Drew as a kid? I confess, I really wasn't. I owned and read a few of the "Nancy Drew Files" written in the 1980's, (I have re-read a couple of these recently. Just...wow.) and maybe a couple of the original books from the library...

I really don't mean to sound all cynical or serious about this, you know. Again, this is just a winter diversion, and good bathtub reading.  I have been joking with friends about starting a Nancy Drew blog...what should I call it?