Like many kids of my generation, I read the most popular children's books that introduced me to delightful new characters, historical events, and stories that would come to stand the test of time. From simple narrative and watercolor illustrations to expanding my world and imagination, many books of my childhood managed to invoke good reading habits and a lifelong passion for immersing myself in a good book.
Some of those books included Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Are You My Mother? and Babar. Babar had an influence on my reading development and imagination due to his adventures of living in civilization and survival in the jungle. I’ve owned a Babar stuffed animal for many years.
As a young girl, I was greatly influenced by Nancy Drew zipping around her hometown of River Heights in a blue roadster solving mysteries and catching criminals. She had beauty, cute clothes, courage, and a sense of justice. Every chance I got, I rode my bike to the library and checked out as many Nancy Drew and mystery books that would fit into my bike’s basket. Looking back, it was probably the start of my love of mysteries. The original influencer, Nancy influenced millions of girls by giving them action-packet adventure and originality. Some notable women inspired by Nancy Drew are Gayle King, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, Sonia Sotomayor, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Laura Bush. I am fortunate to own Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books in my home library. The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn.
During my teenage years, I dabbled in writing poetry and short stories and tucked them away in my dresser drawer after they were completed. It never dawned on me to seek publication. I was just glad to create various characters and places. Later I read Agatha Christie, Poe, and Mary Higgins Clark.
My love of reading and writing mysteries led to watching mystery, suspense, and detective shows such as Ellery Queen Mysteries, Perry Mason, Sherlock Holmes, Alfred Hitchcock, Columbo, and Murder She Wrote, my all-time favorite. I’ve watched every episode of Murder She Wrote and became fascinated by the creative titles. The Corpse Flew First Class, Simon Says Color Me Dead, and Murder She Spoke to name a few.
Today, I still read
mysteries but mostly books that my author friends, and peers have written. I
love diverse characters and the distinctive places they visit. As a cozy mystery
author of a dozen short fiction and novella books, I am fortunate to have my
work published alongside many great mystery writers. I also have the great opportunity to critique and edit books for fellow
authors, which gives me great pride to review their books.
Post a comment and let us know!
Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys & Bobbsey Twins books in Teresa's library.
15 comments:
Greetings...from one Nancy Drew lover to another! And Hardy Boys! SOOOO influential. Both series find their way into the stories I write. Did you ever read The Three Investigators by Alfred Hitchcock? Another childhood favorite.
For children's books, how about "Eloise at the Plaza"? I loved it, my daughter loved it, and now my granddaughter laughs at Eloise, too.
No! But I will read it. Love Hitchcock! Thanks!!
Great book! I love that you have three generations of readers!
I meant to add my name above!
My childhood reading influences are a little different as I was reading books off the NYT bestseller list by age 10. Over teh course of my life the most significant influences were Starship Troopers by Heinlein, The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, and Hawaii by Michener.
Awesome! I love that you read these books at 10! I’m impressed with your reading skills!
Apologies for the tardy comment... I always enjoyed the Hardy Boys, though my favorite character was Chet--the chubby guy. A lot of my reading was in non-fiction, especially books about the American Civil War and various biographies of famous Americans. Fiction-wise, I really enjoyed the Dr. Doolittle series of books. I still wonder about the Pushmi-Pullu. (How did it go to the bathroom?)
I read fiction throughout high school and college. (I think I developed the reading version of PTSD after reading As I Lay Dying. So, please no more Faulkner. I don't care if Darl's mom was a fish.). But non-fiction was my mainstay. And in law school, I had to double-down on non-fiction. Although, in retrospect, reading some fiction would have been a good counter-balance.
Being a writer, or at least a writer-wannabe, has forced/allowed me to read more fiction than I ever imagined. It's been wonderful. I can't begin to say the how many authors, old and new, I've enjoyed reading. (I've even tried some Faulkner.) Along with works by my fellow Mystery by the Sea authors, I've enjoyed discovering, or in some cases rediscovering, works by Ernest Hemingway, David Morrell, Heather Graham, Hank Philippi Ryan, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connolly, and Robert Dugoni. I'm sure there are many I've omitted, but it's a start.
Another Nancy Drew fan here! I also read every Hardy Boys book I could get my hands on. My favorite Christmas I’ll always remember is the one that I got this long heavy box—it was filled with Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, spy books, I couldn’t even breathe I was so excited! Today I still read sleuth and spy stories! -Y. Saxon
So many books (and shows!) y'all are mentioning that I love! My current obsession is Erle Stanley Gardner. I LOVE Perry Mason & am striving to read all 82 books (hard to find some), also the Lam & Cool mysteries! As much as I love the Perry Mason show, the books are even more brilliant, thrilling, & complex. Love the relationships between the characters. AND a side bonus, I'm learning so much about plotting!
All of these are wonderful! I remember the Doolittle series. I also like to read fellow authors work to help develop my writing craft! Thank you for posting. I’ll check out some of the authors you mentioned.
I love hearing about your excitement when receiving the Nancy Drew books! I always felt the same way when I was a kid. Thank you for posting!
I love Perry Mason too! My husband and I have been watching the show during the pandemic. I’ll check out the Lam & Cool mysteries. Erle Stanley Gardner sounds wonderful too! Thank you for posting!
Teresa, I loved reading of your youth loves! I could so see you stuffing all those good Nancy Drew reads in your bicycle basket just smiling away as you speed race your way home to get your hands on them! For me, I hated reading when I was younger. Yep, I know, you cant believe it, right? But I did. I had trouble concentrating at home so I hated reading. actually I loathed it. Even though I was in honors English all of my junior high and high school years. I read Dickens, Frost, Shakespeare, etc. It wasn't until I went through a tough divorce and read to my little daughter her stories that I caught the reading bug! I started reading Agatha Christie and went from there down the rabbit hole toward mysteries! Thanks for the memory!
Definitely a Nancy Drew fan as a kid! As I grew older, Agatha Christie became my favorite, but the most influential book I remember reading as a child was The Phantom Tollbooth. So different from my mysteries, it captured my imagination in a way no other book had up to that point. Be interesting to reread it now as an adult.
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