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Series (formula and literary) and familiarity
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From: Michele Regenold <michele.regenold_at_gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 06 Aug 2011 09:52:51 -0500
Another Nancy Drew, Three Investigators formula fan here.
I loved reading these as a kid for sheer entertainment because I was deep into mysteries and was trying to decide whether I wanted to be a police officer, private detective, or spy when I grew up. I never reread any of the formula books, however, since there was always a new one to capture my interest instead. It was the familiarity of Nancy getting to solve a new problem that attracted me.
One issue related to familiarity that I haven't seen mentioned is rereading as an emotional lifeline. As a kid, real life was full of upheaval because my family moved frequently (10 schools in 10 years) and often 2 or 3 times in the same year. Laura Ingalls seemed to have the same crazy dad I did. After I discovered that she'd written a whole series, I must have reread that series 9 or 10 times between the ages of 8 and 10. It was a relief to know that if she could survive the Nellie Olsens of the world, not to mention her dad's wandering ways, so could I.
Michele Regenold Novelist-in-training
Received on Sat 06 Aug 2011 09:52:51 AM CDT
Date: Sat, 06 Aug 2011 09:52:51 -0500
Another Nancy Drew, Three Investigators formula fan here.
I loved reading these as a kid for sheer entertainment because I was deep into mysteries and was trying to decide whether I wanted to be a police officer, private detective, or spy when I grew up. I never reread any of the formula books, however, since there was always a new one to capture my interest instead. It was the familiarity of Nancy getting to solve a new problem that attracted me.
One issue related to familiarity that I haven't seen mentioned is rereading as an emotional lifeline. As a kid, real life was full of upheaval because my family moved frequently (10 schools in 10 years) and often 2 or 3 times in the same year. Laura Ingalls seemed to have the same crazy dad I did. After I discovered that she'd written a whole series, I must have reread that series 9 or 10 times between the ages of 8 and 10. It was a relief to know that if she could survive the Nellie Olsens of the world, not to mention her dad's wandering ways, so could I.
Michele Regenold Novelist-in-training
Received on Sat 06 Aug 2011 09:52:51 AM CDT
