Saturday, September 17, 2022

Book Finds: Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, Trixie Belden, and Oz

I found these books on September 9.  Click on the images in order to view at a higher resolution.


Bungalow Mystery, Tapping Heels, and Old Attic are first picture cover printings.


Secret of the Caves is the first picture cover printing.


I found these books on September 16.



Broken Locket has double oval endpapers.


I also found Captain Salt in Oz in an early edition. 



I know very little about Oz and the values of the books, but I am confident that this book is worth more than I paid for it.  The book is copyright 1936 and looks to be from 1941 based on the last title listed on the dust jacket.  I feel like it was a pretty good find.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding #1 Old Clock and #3 Bungalow Mystery

This is some old news that I never wrote up.  Early this year, two more examples of the Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding surfaced.

Back in January, a copy of Nancy Drew #1 The Secret of the Old Clock in the 1940s Style Library Binding surfaced on eBay.  Fortunately, I saved a screen capture of the listing for whenever I felt like finally writing up a post.  The book was listed as an auction with a starting bid price of $500.  It closed at $580.


In April, collector Austin Stanley was very fortunate to find a copy of #3 The Bungalow Mystery in the 1940s Style Library Binding for $5.


This is my updated list of the known examples of this binding.  

  #1 two (mine and one sold on eBay in Jan. 2022) 
  #2 three (mine and two others)
  #3 two (mine and one that surfaced in April 2022)
  #4 one (mine)
  #5 two (mine and one that I sold years ago)
  #6 one (mine)
  #7 one (mine)
  #8 one (mine)
  #9 one (owned by someone else)
#10 two (both owned by someone else)
#11 one (mine)
#13 one (owned by someone else)
#15 two (one that sold on eBay and another owned by someone else)
#16 two (both owned by someone else)

I have mentioned before how rare these books are, and the scarcity does warrant the use of the word "rare."  Only 22 books ranging from #1 to #16 have surfaced in the 18 years that I have been aware of these books.  Consider how many of the books have just one known copy.  None of the books have more than three known copies.  Only a small number of people have ever laid hands on one of these books.  Most of the books known to exist are owned by just two people.  I have nine books, and another person has eight books.  Only five books are in the hands of others. 

A recent post on Facebook saw another person proclaim that they must find these books.  I can see where the value could climb even more.  I hope someday that I stumble across a stack of the ones I still need.  I live in hope.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Selling Hiatus Continues for Now

I do not expect to reopen my online stores anytime soon with one exception:  I will be selling Christopher Pike books on eBay beginning around October 7.  The Netflix horror series, The Midnight Club, which is based on Christopher Pike's 1994 young adult horror novel, will drop on October 7.  The Netflix series will also feature content from some of Pike's other books.  I fully expect a run on Christopher Pike books to occur as a result of the show's premiere.    

The Midnight Club: The Strange Story Behind Netflix's New Thriller

I have quite a few extra Christopher Pike books that I would like to sell.  The best time to be selling those books will be when the new series drops, whether I feel like selling books or not.  I will make sure that every extra Pike book that I have is available for sale by October 7.

I definitely am not ready to begin selling again and do not plan to sell anything else anytime soon.  If selling the Christopher Pike books turns out to be manageable, then I could reopen sometime later in October.  Going by how I feel mentally at this time, I don't expect to reopen until either Thanksgiving break or winter break.  I also could stay closed until at least January or February.  I am not even slightly interested in selling books currently.

I have some Nancy Drew library editions that I don't feel comfortable selling in fixed-price listings.  I have been selling my extra library editions at too low of prices for the last few years.  I don't want to price the books high without seeing exactly what people are willing to pay.  I want to test some of the books in auctions, pricing moderately and then letting the bidders decide if the books are worth more than that.  


The Nancy Drew library editions seen in the above photo are my current extras.  The three at the left edge are patterned bindings.  Most of the books are the Cameo binding.  I have two green APC editions, and the last book on the right is a BTSB edition.  The BTSB edition will not be auctioned since I have a firm grasp of its value, which is not high.  The rest of the books will likely be auctioned a few at a time in individual listings.

Since I don't know when I will be fully reopening, I don't know when I will feel like running the auctions.  My current thinking is that I could keep my stores mostly closed until at least the end of the year.  I could run auctions between the middle of October and the end of the year as I feel like it.  I could also end up waiting until early next year.  

I have thus far managed to avoid having to box up extra books.  I am moving perilously close to needing to do that, but I think that some rearranging of my extra unlisted books will help me to avoid boxing up books for a bit longer.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

Tom Swift and His Mind-Boggling TV Show

The Tom Swift television series is an example of what not to do when creating a new project.  The show could have been good, but every possible mistake was made that ultimately guaranteed that the show would fail.  

The writers of the Nancy Drew series from The CW wanted to do a spin-off series.  They went to a lot of trouble to adjust the Nancy Drew storyline so that Tom Swift could be introduced.  The organization known as "The Road Back" was built into the Nancy Drew series solely as a means of creating the Tom Swift backdoor pilot.  This is why The Road Back is no longer a part of the Nancy Drew show.  It's a shame, since The Road Back worked quite well in Nancy Drew.

The Road Back is a scary organization.  The idea was that they would go up against Swift Enterprises and would sabotage new projects, since they are against technological advances.

So far, so good, right?

Tom Swift was introduced in a season 2 episode of Nancy Drew.  Tom helped Nancy investigate the building where the The Road Back originated decades ago.  I had forgotten about the plot of the Tom Swift backdoor episode, and now that I remember, I am mystified about the complete disconnect between the groundwork that had been laid in Nancy Drew and what ended up being the content of the Tom Swift spin-off series.  It truly is "mind-boggling."

I liked the Tom Swift backdoor episode well enough, while some other fans didn't.  I'm not a Tom Swift fan, so I had no expectations one way or the other.  I thought it was great that another Stratemeyer series was going to be on television.  I was just going along for the ride, regardless.

This is my summary of the entire Tom Swift series.  My summary spoils the cliffhanger ending, which will never be resolved.  I doubt that anyone will mind the spoiler, since I'm thus far the only series book fan who has admitted to watching all 10 episodes.  Apparently most viewers were unable to get past the first one or two episodes.

Tom builds a spaceship to send his dad to Saturn.  All goes well, until the ship is sabotaged.  Tom learns that his father is alive and lost in space.  A capsule containing important information is sent back to Earth, but the capsule breaks apart.  Tom has to find the capsule pieces so that he can rescue his father.  But wait! 

The main story gets sidetracked repeatedly while much time is devoted to making sure that viewers understand that Tom is gay and that everyone knows the definition of words like "pansexual."  All of Tom's acquaintances are gay, bi, or trans, and viewers learn about all of that as well. 

The show makes it easy to know who the villains are.  The main villain is the only white character.  The secondary villain is an Asian woman.  The rest of the cast is black.

Tom cannot control his anger and resentment, which causes him to get into petty fights at dinner.  Tom slowly finds some capsule pieces, while constantly being distracted by everything else.  The capsule pieces don't seem that important, after all.

Tom learns about The Road Back.  They want to slow down technology by sabotaging Swift Enterprises, but Tom mostly ignores the threat.  Tom's mother doesn't get along with Tom and doesn't seem to like him, but she suddenly decides that Tom will help her build a black utopian society either in the mountains or on another planet.  Strangely, Tom and his mother promptly forget about that plan.

Tom's adoptive brother Lino suddenly develops superpowers!  He can break through steel and do pretty much anything.  No time to think about that since Tom learns that his father used anti-gay gummy vitamins on him when he was young.  Tom is now done with his dad and doesn't care if he gets rescued.  Tom's friends race to find the last capsule pieces and somehow find them right before the end of the series finale.  Tom reluctantly decides to help bring his father home after a plea from his mother. 

Just as the mission appears to be a success, a traveler from the future sabotages the rescue.  Tom is told that his dad has passed through a wormhole into the year 2096.  The series ends, leaving Tom's dad forever lost in the future.  

The first episode is weak, and the second episode is bad.  The show improves with the third and fourth episodes.  For the remainder of its run, the show flounders between good content and utter stupidity.

Admittedly, I was not in the target audience, so I frequently didn't understand the humor.  I did learn some new vocabulary, like what a "side hoe" is.  I feel enriched.

The show missed many opportunities.  The show is classified as a mystery drama series, but it is so stupid and silly. 

Tom is depicted as a stereotypical gay person played for laughs.  Since it's apparent that the showrunners wanted to make a statement with this show, their depiction of Tom worked against their purpose.  Tom is wealthy and a gifted inventor.  The show's purpose would have been better served to have had Tom more serious but still gay.

The show suffered from too many different plots.  The idea of building a black utopian society is mentioned partway through the series and then the idea is dropped.  What was the point?  

Why go to so much trouble to embed The Road Back in the Nancy Drew series (quite a few episodes with a major character murdered by them) and then have Tom act like the organization means nothing to him? 

I thought that the Tom Swift series would have the same tone as Nancy Drew.  If it had, it would have been so much better.

The show failed to attract series book collectors.  It was a mistake making Tom not white.  Allow me to explain.  Series book fans are very particular that the characters in filmed versions must look exactly the same as the characters were depicted on the covers of the books.  

Around 20 years ago, a contentious debate about Nancy Drew's hair color occurred in a Nancy Drew discussion group on the now-defunct Yahoo! Groups.  In the discussion, race was never mentioned, and it was a given that Nancy was white.  The debate had nothing to do with race.  Members became quite heated as some insisted that Nancy should have blonde hair, while others insisted that Nancy should have red hair.  As for me, I watched the debate unfold, puzzled as to why everyone was so upset.  After all, Nancy's hair has been both blonde and red on the covers of the books.  Why was it such a big deal?

I have no doubt that Tom Swift fans wanted to see a Tom Swift with blond hair and blue eyes.  Some might call it racism, but it is really just the fact that they want the character to appear just like on the books.  The character was white on the covers of the books.

The Nancy Drew series on The CW kept Nancy Drew white and with red hair, which is one of the hair colors.  While many fans do not like the premise of the Nancy Drew show, nobody has complained about the physical appearance of the actress.  The show has a diverse cast, which has been accepted well. Tom Swift would have had a better chance if the primary character had looked like the books and been surrounded by a diverse cast.

Changing Tom's appearance and completely departing from the premise of the book series caused Tom Swift fans to bail on the project.  Tom Swift is an old franchise whose fans are mostly all over the age of 50 and are predominantly white.  Those people are far outside the target demographic.  So what was the point of using the Tom Swift name?

Since this series was a spin-off of CW's Nancy Drew, fans of that series should have been interested in the show.  They didn't even care.  The below screen capture is from the Nancy Drew CW subreddit and is from the week that the Tom Swift show premiered.  


Out of 342 respondents, 261 didn't bother to watch the premiere of Tom Swift.  These people are in the Nancy Drew CW subreddit and are exactly the people who should have been invested in a spin-off series.  76% of them didn't watch the premiere of Tom Swift.  So what was the point of doing a Tom Swift spin-off from Nancy Drew?  

The Tom Swift television series was aimed at a certain demographic.  I can guess that the demographic is primarily black and overlaps heavily with LGBTQ+.  I also assume that the target demographic is fairly young.  Apparently, those people didn't watch the show, either.  Most of them probably didn't know about the show, and if they had, the name Tom Swift would have had little name recognition. 

I spent a lot of time reading reviews about the series back in June and July.  Here are some of them.

From Google:

"Nope. Too much Extra added TO the extra. Trying way too hard and failing."

"This show is extra if nothing else."

"The show is clearly aiming for a demographic (hair extension) that is not remotely like me or any series collector.  The target demographic does not even slightly overlap with Tom Swift fans."

From IMDB:

"Tom Swift is Black ... and gay.  And likes to weld bare chested."

"I tried to get through the first two episodes.  It was mental root canal."

Many of the negative reviews were removed.  Here is one from IMDB that another fan captured a few days before it disappeared.


This comment from Reddit is one of the best observations about this series that I've read:

"I couldn't exactly pin what was bugging me about it but you 100% hit the nail on the head.  Its been a long time since I have seen a pilot for a show that was so clearly a pilot trotting out way too many unnecessary an underdeveloped story beats because its not really meant to appeal to a real audience, its meant to appeal to a board of CW executives."

The showrunners tried to do too much with this show, and most of it didn't work.  

I like the main story about the capsule pieces, and I enjoyed some of the humor, at least when I could understand it.  The show is so over-the-top that I laughed at the show while I watched it.  Some of Tom's outfits are so ridiculous.  My favorite ridiculous outfit is Tom's in the below scene.  


The showrunners claimed that we would have a satisfying ending.  No, we didn't.  We don't know what would have happened with Lino's superpowers.  Tom's dad will be forever stuck in 2096.  The Road Back appears to be still active based on comments near the end of the finale.  How is this satisfying?  I was disappointed when the finale ended, because I wanted answers.

In closing, I enjoyed watching this series.  You probably expected me to say that I didn't, but I got a kick out of the experience.  It was sort of like how I have enjoyed writing some of my Nancy Drew Diaries reviews, like Heliotrope Lane.  Even though Tom has character flaws, I like Tian Richards.  I like Tom's best friend, Zenzi, and his adoptive brother, Lino.  I also like Tom's bodyguard, Isaac.  I enjoyed the main plot.  I really would like to see how the story would be resolved.  The chance of this show getting picked up on another network is nil, so I'm disappointed that I will never know.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Hulu's Hardy Boys Renewed for Season 3

This might be old news to many of you, but I was unaware that Hulu's Hardy Boys series had been renewed for its third season.  I have been worried about it.  Every few weeks, I have checked to see if any websites mentioned a renewal.  I couldn't find anything.

Reading the Hardy Boys subreddit last night led me to check again.  I finally found one page mentioning a renewal, but I wanted to make sure.  I kept digging and finally found two pages that mention that the show is about to begin filming the third season.

11 TV shows filming in Toronto this September - TV Hive 

In Production - Ontario Creates


The second season of Hardy Boys ended with some brutal cliffhangers.  I was upset after I finished watching the finale, because I was worried that the show wouldn't be renewed.  I thought maybe they knew that it would, which is why they were comfortable with the cliffhangers.  At the same time, nothing was guaranteed, so I continued to be worried.

I have checked every few weeks and could find nothing.  Finally, I quit checking, since I felt it had been too long.  I thought that the show had been canceled, and I didn't want to know.

I was so relieved last night when I learned that the third season is going to happen.

I am not in any of the Facebook groups which are most likely to share Hardy Boys information.  I would be in those groups if I were welcome.  I'm not, so I'm shut out from Hardy Boys news unless someone cares to share the news outside of those groups.  Unfortunately, people don't share that information, and I don't understand why that is.

Some Hardy Boys fans do not like the Hulu series.  But some fans, like me, love it.  Why keep the information from us?  

I plead with you:  Please share what you know with others, even if you don't think most people care.  Some of us care very much.  I have been worried about the Hulu series for months.  I'm glad that my mind is now at rest, but I had to search out the information.  Apparently people who are in the know have been aware of the renewal for some time.

Therefore, I share the news here, since some of you would appreciate knowing about this.  

I am reminded of in 2017 when I saw some strange Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys flashlight editions on eBay, detailed in this post.  I purchased the books and then asked about them on Facebook.  Someone immediately replied that the books had been in the store Five Below sometime before.  What?!  Why not tell us?  Several people were then scrambling to get the books before they disappeared.  It would have been helpful if the person who had made the spotting had taken the time to tell us.  They didn't care, but we did.

If you see or learn something connected to the series book fandom, say something!  Don't keep it to yourself.

Here's another plug for the Vintage Series Books subreddit.  I added a number of posts and will add more in the coming days.  If I think of more information that fans not on Facebook might want to know, I'll make sure that I post about it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageSeriesBooks/

Monday, September 5, 2022

Another Attempt at Series Book Discussion on Reddit

I created the Vintage Series Books subreddit in December 2020.  I want to see if I can get the subreddit to gain some ground.  If I could get some more series book collectors to join the subreddit with me, we might be able to have a go at it.  Some people are already there, but not enough are.  I expect this to be a difficult uphill battle.

Those of you who are on Facebook will likely not be interested.  That's the reality, since you have a social media site that works for you.  I haven't been happy with Facebook in years.  I will continue on Facebook since that is where nearly all series book discussion is, but I yearn for good discussion somewhere outside of Facebook.

I spend a lot of time on Reddit, far more than I do Facebook.  I find Facebook to be a bit bland these days.  When I join groups about certain topics on Facebook and join subreddits on those same topics, the discussions are much better on Reddit.  One notable example is the television series Big Brother.

Several years back, I joined three Big Brother groups on Facebook.  I left one of them pretty quickly when it became apparent that the admin was a bully who liked to denounce people in group posts when she kicked them out of the group.  She was toxic, so I left.  

I remained in the other two groups, but very quickly, I noticed how poor the discussions were.  Inaccuracies and outright lies were posted as fact, and the people posting them tended to get away with it.  Members posted lots of truly stupid stuff, and so I found the groups to be very low quality.

Big Brother discussion on Reddit and some other websites is better by a huge amount.  I quit going to the Facebook groups.  A couple weeks ago, after not having visited the Facebook groups for a couple years, I checked in on them.  I saw misinformation in recent posts in each group, information that I knew to be false because of the extensive discussions elsewhere online.  I immediately left both groups and consider them worthless.

Early in the pandemic, I joined some Covid groups on Facebook.  I had to leave immediately because of the poor moderation which allowed misinformation.  Meanwhile, Reddit had informative subreddits where misinformation was shut down quickly.

I have been following a current news story.  I'm on Reddit.  People there have mentioned the fighting and flaming going on in the corresponding Facebook group.

Famous people sometimes do AMAs (Ask Me Anything posts) in subreddits.  They'll post a photo of themselves while holding a piece of paper with their Reddit ID as proof that it's really them.  They usually don't stay long, but they do answer some of the questions.  That's neat.

The subreddit for Only Murders in the Building has attracted some of the people connected with the show.  Sometimes an actor will randomly pop in.  Other times, someone will do an AMA.

Facebook is a low effort, low quality site.  I believe that Facebook's algorithm has on average lowered the ability of people to interact intelligently.  We must put up with Facebook, since everyone is there.

Reddit is better at fostering discussion.  While Reddit users tend to post short comments, they are sprinkled with a heavy dose of humor that I find delightful.  The tone on Reddit is much better than Facebook.  People are much more likely to engage in lengthy discussions in among the short comments, resulting in many responses. 

Reddit is a throwback to the old Internet.  The plainness of the interface is similar to what we had in the old Yahoo! groups.  I like it.

Reddit works by using a system of upvotes.  When a good comment is upvoted, it floats up higher in the list of comments attached to the post.  Posts also can get upvotes, and this causes them to float up higher in the subreddit.  The upvote/downvote system helps to keep the low quality comments down at the bottom where they are less likely to be noticed.  

Last night I made a number of posts in the subreddit, using some of my recent posts from Facebook.  I am going to try to put in some effort and continue doing so at least in the short term. 

I hope that some of you who are not on Facebook will consider joining Reddit.  I understand that Facebook users won't be interested, and that's okay.  I'd love to reconnect with those of you who avoid Facebook.  We can have our own parallel discussions about series books. 

To join Reddit, you just need an email address.  You create a user ID, and you're in.

r/VintageSeriesBooks/

Saturday, September 3, 2022

An Outstanding Store Find of Nancy Drew Picture Covers Part 2

On August 21, I wrote about the outstanding store find of Nancy Drew picture covers that occurred on August 17. 

An Outstanding Store Find of Nancy Drew Picture Covers

I have been checking back to see if more books would surface.  Yesterday, they did.


I purchased two of the APC library editions.


I found these picture cover editions.  


All of #16 through #33 list to Fire Dragon the back cover.  # 21, 22, and 33 are first picture cover printings.  #43 is the first printing.

The picture covers are unquestionably linked to my August 17 purchase.  They are different titles than the ones I found before and are from the same era and in the same condition.  I will be keeping #22 and #32 because they are tint variants.

These are the rest of the books that I found.  


I purchased the flashlight edition because it has the textured cover.  Read this post for a detailed explanation about the textured flashlight editions.

Hidden Clues #6 The Textured Nancy Drew Flashlight Editions

Saturday, August 27, 2022

What Happened with My Teeth and Some Advice

Regular readers will recall that I had problems with two teeth last year.  I have mentioned them several times, but I've waited for the final resolution before telling the rest of the story.  I have included some of my past comments.  This is long and has nothing to do with series books, so read only if you care.

From June 13, 2021:

Graduation was three weeks ago.  The ceremony was held outdoors due to pandemic precautions.  Of course it rained on us...  I dealt with it okay, or so I thought.  However, my autoimmune disease does like to betray me.  The very next day I began dealing with horrific tooth and jaw pain that was quite intense.  It has really settled down in the last week, so I think I'm going to be okay without having to get major dental work. 

My dentist wants to pull a tooth and put a crown on another in an attempt to solve the problem, but that's like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  They don't think that an autoimmune flare could be causing the pain, but I know my body.

From July 10, 2021:

Both tooth #30 and #31 have been quite painful.  #31 has been a problem periodically over the years due to a crack in the tooth under the crown.  #30 has never been a problem, but it was hurting with #31.

My dentist wanted to pull tooth #31 since it is known to be cracked, see if that helped, and then put a crown on #30 if it didn't.  I declined to do anything last month since I was having an autoimmune flare and I had a suspicion that #30 was the real problem.  I didn't want to remove #31 and risk whatever that might cause.  I couldn't figure out the status of #30, so I did nothing. 

Three weeks passed.  At first, the pain went away.  And then it came back, worse than ever.  Tooth #30 became obviously infected (I'll spare you the details, but it was bad.).  Ah-ha!  I then knew which tooth was the bigger problem, just as I suspected.

I went back to the dentist where it was determined that both teeth need to be removed.  I felt like I was a fool for waiting, but my dentist thinks that I made the better decision.  This way both teeth can go together so that I have a shorter recovery time.  That's better than doing one (what would have been the wrong one to begin), waiting for it to heal, and then having to do another tooth.

...I had suspected that #30 was a problem in June, but there appeared to be nothing wrong with it.  #31 has the known crack and a small air pocket that hasn't changed in the last couple of years.  When I went back to the dentist for the infected tooth to be checked, it had changed in just three weeks.  It now has a large air pocket that goes down into the root.  It now has a visible crack.  Those two things explain the horrific pain.

I've been on an antibiotic, and I have the consultation with the oral surgeon this coming week.  Hopefully we can get the teeth removed soon.  While I hate losing teeth, I will be better off without them.  I cannot chew at all on the right side due to the pain.  Even chewing on the left side causes the right side to hurt.  It will be easier to eat once the aching teeth are gone. 

I do plan to get implants, so this will be a long process.  

On May 22, two of my teeth began to hurt and continued to hurt through the summer until they were removed on August 3.  The pain was consistently a 7 to 10 on a scale of 1 to 10...

I mentioned the tooth pain that began in May.  My tooth and gum pain lasted a total of 4 1/2 months.  The pain was intense.  Once the teeth were removed, my gums became very inflamed.  It was an autoimmune reaction exacerbated by the stitches.  In short, I ended up with burning mouth syndrome which lasted for around two months.  I lost weight during that time due to how painful eating was.

I got my dental implants on December 22.  This wasn't anything near as bad as having the teeth removed, but I can tell that the gum inflammation has started up again.  I hope that it doesn't turn into burning mouth syndrome and also that it doesn't last for two months.

That was the last time that I mentioned my teeth.  I expected all along that I would get my new teeth in either April or May, and I was going to write about it during that time.  The process did not go as planned.

The gum inflammation wasn't too bad after the implant procedure, but I did have mild burning mouth syndrome for a few weeks.

On April 11, the oral surgeon cleared me for crowns.  My dentist took impressions on April 22, and I was scheduled to receive my crowns on May 10.  

On May 10, I learned that the crowns did not fit, as in not at all.  It was rather disappointing, to say the least.  Five new impressions were taken and set back to the lab.  My appointment for crown placement was rescheduled for June 1.

Once again on June 1, the crowns did not fit.  They were closer, at least.  I was told that this does not normally happen.  I assume that it doesn't, but I will say that I have only ever had one crown before, the one placed on extracted tooth #31.  That one took three attempts.  So for me, crown placement does not go well, and I don't know why.

I did learn that the bottom of my mouth is shallow and that the impressions must not have shown that well enough.  An impression was taken of the bottom of my mouth.  There was also another problem that I'm not going to attempt to explain, but it was the lab's fault.

My crown appointment was rescheduled again for June 23.  After two failed crown appointments, I fully expected that the June 23 appointment would fail.  My attitude was quite pessimistic.  

I wasn't at all surprised to get a call from the dentist on June 16.  The latest crowns had arrived, and the dentist was certain that the crowns were still wrong.  I was asked to come in for more impressions.  I showed up 30 minutes later, and new impressions were taken.  More impressions were needed because the original ones were getting worn down.  The dentist told me that she was having a representative from the lab come and look at the incorrect crowns and the impressions.  They were going to make certain that the lab did the crowns right this time.

After that, I felt hopeful.  If a rep from the lab was getting involved, then surely the crowns would get corrected.  What seemed like my 5000th dental appointment was scheduled for July 6.

As an aside, I started using some toothpaste for bleeding gums around a week before my July 6 appointment.  I thought it was a good idea since my gums bleed and are so sensitive.  Interestingly, my gums began hurting terribly.  I thought I was having an autoimmune flare.  It took me around two weeks to figure out that the toothpaste for bleeding gums was irritating my gums.  I quit using the toothpaste, and within 48 hours, my gums were fine again.    

I showed up for my appointment on July 6, feeling hopeful but wary.  Fortunately, the crowns had finally been done right.  The crown placement took four attempts altogether.

After the crowns were screwed into place, my gums hurt, which wasn't surprising considering how sensitive they are.  I was still using the bleeding gums toothpaste at that time.  I felt a lot of pressure on the lower half of my teeth.  Tooth #29 was impacted the most.  It apparently shifted some and felt completely out of place in my mouth.  The dentist adjusted my bite, and the new teeth seemed okay.  I use "okay," but in that moment, I truly had no idea.

I found that it hurt quite a lot to chew on that side.  There was enough pressure that my front teeth even hurt.  The pain wasn't anywhere near the level of last summer, but it was causing me to have flashbacks to that experience.  The pain when chewing on the new crowns was towards the moderate side.  As a result, I kept chewing on just the left side as I had done for well over a year, feeling concerned about whether this was actually going to work out.

The teeth looked really nice.  I was happy about that.

At least once a day, I chewed a little bit on them.  The pressure did begin to go down after a few days passed.  I then ended up with Covid on July 14, and the teeth began to hurt worse from all the inflammation caused by Covid.  Gradually, the pressure began to lessen again as I moved past Covid.  It took approximately three weeks for the pressure and pain to disappear.

The crowns now feel fine.  It looks like my gums are beginning to fill in some around them.

I also want to mention how oral health has an impact on the heart.  I now have proof of this.  Here's my story.

Tooth #31 had a crack in the tooth under its crown.  I saw that crack in 2014 before the crown was placed on it.  The tooth was split down the middle all the way down into the root.  The tooth seemed okay with that crown.  I had periodic minor and sometimes moderate transitory pain from that tooth.  The pain never lasted long and didn't happen often, so I didn't worry about it.  I believe that the tooth became cracked back when I was young.  I have a vague memory of some incident from my late childhood or early teen years.

I believe that I first developed a thyroid problem when I was a teenager.  I do not believe that the cracked tooth alone caused the thyroid problem, but rather, it was one of several triggers.  I had mononucleosis when I was 19, and that illness is a known trigger for thyroid disease.  Thyroid disease also runs in my family, and I was going to end up with it eventually no matter what.  

I know that the thyroid problem started when I was a teen since that was when I began to get rashes on my wrists.  Rashes are one of my main autoimmune symptoms.  Also during my late teens, I began to have heart palpitations after eating high-sodium foods.  The palpitations worsened as the years passed.  

It was in 2001 that my still undiagnosed and untreated thyroid condition began to progress and in around 2011 that the symptoms deeply worsened.  In June and July 2014, my heart palpitations reached the point to where I found them to be unbearable.

I want to be clear that I had mentioned heart palpitations to doctors multiple times over the years.  I had been given multiple EKGs and even once wore a Holter monitor for 24 hours.  My heart was found to be normal each time it was checked.  No one ever wondered why I had palpitations.  All that mattered was that my heart was fine.

In July 2014, I went to the doctor complaining about my heart.  At that point, my heart was beating hard and fast 24 hours a day.  I was honestly about to lose my mind.  I was aware of my heartbeat every minute of every day, and I needed it to calm down.

Note:  I'm going to rate the heart palps on a scale of 0 to 5 during the rest of this post.  Level 0 is none, level 5 is what I had in June and July 2014.

I was given yet another EKG, which found that my overly enthusiastic heart was just fine as always.  I was put on a beta blocker to slow it down, and my thyroid was finally tested for the very first time.  That was when my thyroid journey began.  My immune system (the autoimmunity) was quite offended by the medication, and it took approximately six years for me to stabilize on thyroid medication.  It is common for people who have Hashimoto's thyroiditis to take years to stabilize.

My heart palpitations were not as bad (level 4) after I got on the beta blocker and after I was on the thyroid medication for a couple of months.  I didn't have the palps all the time like I did in June and July 2014, but they were still quite problematic.  Mainly, I had to be careful about sodium intake and had to drink a lot of water whenever I ingested salty foods.

During the eight years I have been on thyroid medication, the palps gradually reduced to level 3 and did not occur as often.

Let's get back to the teeth being extracted.  I noticed after the teeth were removed that I was having even fewer palpitations, let's say level 2.  Bad teeth can affect the heart.  I began to wonder if the cracked tooth was the underlying cause of the palpitations.  The palps had not vanished, but there was an improvement.  

I have noticed in this past year since the teeth were removed that my palpitations have occurred less and less as the months have passed and reduced to level 1.  I do still have an awareness of my heartbeat at times, but it is so much less often than it was before the teeth were removed.  I don't have to drink nearly as much water when I eat salty foods.  The amount of water required for salty foods has decreased greatly in the last year.

I have also noticed that my thyroid condition has further stabilized.  I am still on the same dose of medication, and I still have autoimmune flares.  I am in what I call my "back to school" flare right now.  Even though I'm in a flare, it doesn't seem to be as bad as what I used to have when school started.  It seems that removing the bad teeth reduced inflammation which in turn has made my autoimmune symptoms less severe.

I am also intrigued by the idea that the mercury in amalgam fillings may have an impact on the immune system.  The FDA has issued guidance that certain groups of people may be at risk for side effects from amalgam fillings.  

Extracted tooth #30 had a large amalgam filling through the top and another one through the side.  The one on the side had gotten damaged around five to seven years ago, which could have caused some mercury leakage.

I estimate that around 70% of the amalgam in my mouth was removed when tooth #30 was extracted.  I have just one small amalgam filling left.  If I am sensitive to mercury, then the removal of tooth #30 and the mercury in it could have helped calm my immune system.

I probably am sensitive to mercury since I'm sensitive to all sorts of stupid things like toothpaste for bleeding gums.  Most body lotion burns my skin including the ones made for sensitive skin.  I can't wear jewelry since I get rashes from the metals in it.  If I'm sensitive to metals that most people can tolerate, then why not mercury?

It's not a stretch to say that my amalgam fillings could have caused some immune problems.  Removing the amalgam filling may have helped, and removing the cracked tooth helped for sure.  A positive change in my autoimmunity occurred after the teeth were removed.  

In conclusion, the tooth known to be cracked for many years should have been removed 30 years ago.  Removing bad teeth is better than having to deal with a host of health problems caused by the bad teeth.  

Sunday, August 21, 2022

An Outstanding Store Find of Nancy Drew Picture Covers

On Wednesday, August 17, about midway through the workday, I decided that I ought to check a few places for books that afternoon.  I had felt like death from about August 1 to August 13, and I had started feeling like a normal person again beginning around August 14.  I thought that I could manage hitting a few stores, and I had a feeling that good books were out there.

After school, I briefly second-guessed myself.  Did I really want to do this in rush hour traffic?  I was certainly going to get caught in at least one traffic jam.  I couldn't shake the feeling that good books were to be found.  

From April 1:

On Friday afternoon, I wanted to go check a certain store, but I wasn't feeling well.  I really wasn't feeling well, but I also felt strongly that books were to be found in that store.  This doesn't happen to me very often, but when it does, I know not to ignore it.  I have never forgotten that day in October 2012 when I felt that a large book find was out there waiting for me, and I ended up making a fabulous book find.

Even though I truly felt bad, I drove to the store that beckoned me.  While I didn't find anything fabulous, I did come away with quite a few books.  It was like they had been put out just for me.

I had a similar feeling last Wednesday, and I couldn't ignore it.  I wasn't that surprised to find the large stash of Nancy Drew picture covers from the early 1960s.  These days I seem to be unfazed by outstanding finds.  I think this is tied to the pandemic and all the bizarre events in the world and in my life in the last 2 1/2 years. 

I should have gotten really excited about an excellent find, but that didn't happen.  I took it as an ordinary event in the course of a normal day.  Why wouldn't I find a large stash of early and first printing Nancy Drew picture covers in excellent condition and with tint anomalies?  

I started going through the books, checking the condition and deciding which ones to purchase.  Books from two different original owner's sets were present.  Around 75% of the books were from one person's set, and those books were in excellent condition and tended to be first picture cover printings.  Around 25% of the books were from another set (obvious due to markings on the books) and were in lesser condition.

Early in the process of sorting the books, I found a copy of The Clue in the Diary, knowing by exterior appearance that it wouldn't likely have the 1932 text.  I checked it anyway, and it wasn't the 1932 text.

I saw first picture covers in very nice shape and pulled out most of them.  A few were overpriced, and I did not get those.  As I went through the books, I kept spotting tint anomalies.  I seldom find tint anomalies in stores.  I have usually obtained them through bulk lots purchased online.

I found another copy of The Clue in the Diary, this time with the darker blue tint on the cover and the right texture.  It had the original text.  I was unfazed.  This was all completely normal.

Finally, I finished selecting all the books I wanted.  I left around 20 books behind that weren't worth purchasing because they were in poor condition or were overpriced.  It's obvious when a store checks online prices because they randomly price certain books significantly higher.  I always wonder exactly what they saw that made them think that a certain book is worth more than a bunch of other books that look the same.  Why did The Whispering Statue first picture cover need to be priced noticeably higher than the rest of them?  It's not worth more.

When a store checks online prices, they miss the true rarities like the 1932 text version picture cover of The Clue in the Diary.  At any given time, usually no examples will be up for sale.  They can't find that information, so they end up pricing it the same as the rest.

Right after I drove away from the store, the significance of finding The Clue in the Diary in picture cover with the 1932 text finally hit me.  I marveled that I had just purchased an extremely elusive book in the wild, and it was probably in better condition than the copy I have owned for over a decade.  Not only that, but I had also likely just found one of the nicest known surviving examples.   



The book is nicer than my copy.  Some will say that the 1932 text Diary picture cover is not that difficult to find.  The book is findable but scarce.  I have had at least a dozen copies past through my hands over the years, but most of them were trashed.  The book is extremely scarce in nice shape.  

I have sorted the books I purchased for this post so that I can more easily explain what I am keeping and why.  Remember that you can click on images in order to see them at a higher resolution.

These books are all in better shape than the corresponding printings in my collection.  I will be keeping all of them.  Hidden Staircase and Shadow Ranch have the black box on the front cover.  Lilac Inn is the first picture cover printing that didn't have the $1 box or the black box on the cover.  Diary has the original 1932 text.  Ski Jump, Velvet Mask, and Haunted Showboat are first printing picture covers.




These next books have tint anomalies on the covers, and I will probably be keeping all of them.  All the books are first printing picture covers except for both Moss-Covered Mansion books and Jewel Box.



I will probably not be keeping the books in the following photos, although I do have to check again to make sure.  These books are all first printing picture covers or first printings.




This is another group of books that I will probably not be keeping.  The books are from the early 1960s.



I also found three Nancy Drew books with dust jackets.  They are not first printings.



I found two Nancy Drew Files in the hardcover Grey Castle Press edition.  I also found one of the early Choose Your Own Adventure books.


I found three Perma-Bound Nancy Drew hardcover library editions.



Finally, I found two Trixie Belden books.


My Nancy Drew picture covers have been shelved in a location where I could not get to them.  I spent several hours yesterday moving books so that I could get the picture covers where I could reach them easily.  Now I can go back through and make certain that I am keeping the books that are in better condition and that I am keeping all of the tint anomalies that are of the most interest to me.

Here are links to my Facebook posts from yesterday that show photos of when I moved the books.

Before the move

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Some Neat Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions

I have been building a set of Nancy Drew Files in hardcover library editions.  I began my search around five years ago.  These are my previous posts on this topic.

Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions
My Progress on My Set of Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions
Just 12 More Hardcover Nancy Drew Files Needed

This month I spotted an eBay listing with five of the Nancy Drew Files.  I clicked on the listing since the books looked as if they were hardcover. 

Remember to click or tap on photos to see them at a higher resolution.


I checked my list and found that #67 Nobody's Business was one of the 12 books that I needed in hardcover.  I then looked at the bottom edge of #47 Flirting with Danger.  It appeared to me that the book had a dust jacket.  Ooh.  I am very fortunate to have some Nancy Drew Girl Detective books rebound in that fashion.

I zoomed in on the seller's photo, and it looked like all five books had dust jackets.  Not only would I obtain one of the 12 hardcover books that I needed, I would also end up with a set of five books in a special format that I love.

The books arrived yesterday, and as expected, they have dust jackets.  The jackets are the original covers from the softcover books before they were rebound.  Each cover was removed from the text block.  The text block was rebound in a plain hardcover binding.  The cover was then turned into a jacket by attaching Tyvek paper to each end of the cover in order to create the flaps that would tuck inside the book.  

The library put the jackets in mylar covers which were then glued to the inside front and back covers of the books.  The library stickers were placed on the outside of the mylar covers (Yay!).  When I received the books, the glue attaching the jackets to the books had already failed.  It was very easy to remove the jackets from the books and then remove the dirty, yellowed, and scratched mylar covers.

The original covers, now dust jackets, are still shiny and just have some scattered minor imperfections.






I love this style, and I will be keeping all five books, even though four of them are titles that I already have in hardcover.

I am now down to needing just 11 of the Nancy Drew Files books in hardcover.

 70.  Cutting Edge
 85.  Sea of Suspicion
 91.  If Looks Could Kill
 92.  My Deadly Valentine
 98.  Island of Secrets
115.  Running into Trouble
118.  Betrayed by Love
120.  Dangerous Loves
122.  Strange Memories
123.  Wicked for the Weekend
124.  Crime at the Chat Cafe

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

The Whitman Book Dilemma Part 4

This post contains lists of Whitman books that are fine to discuss in the Collecting Vintage Children's Series Books group.  Even though we now have a guideline to use when approving posts, Whitman books will continue to be a problem.  Whitman books have a certain appearance, which makes them all appear to go together.  I believe that most people view the Whitman books as a publisher's set of general children's books.  I sort of view them that way.

When we approve Whitman books that are from actual series, members who see all Whitman books as a publisher's set will unfortunately have their mistaken belief reinforced that all Whitman books are okay.  My hope is that we have to spend much less time discussing Whitman books in our moderator chat.  We're still going to have members submit Whitman books rather often that are inappropriate, but hopefully we can reject those books without having to go through lengthy discussions about what to do.

Whitman published many series books, probably far more than you realize.  All of these series are fine for the group.  I did not go to the trouble of listing the titles of the books.  I have only given the name of each series.

Whitman Series Books

Andy Lane
Bert Wilson
Blythe Girls
Bobby Blake
Bobbsey Twins
Brains Benton
Donna Parker
Fighters for Freedom Series
Five Little Peppers
Ginny Gordon
Hal Keen
Joy and Pam
Judy Jordan
Kim Aldrich
Mary Lee
Meg Duncan
Nurses Three
Outdoor Girls
Pee-wee Harris
Polly Brewster
Polly French
Power Boys
Rex Cole
Rip Foster
Robin Kane
Rover Boys
Rushton Boys
Great Marvel Series (Roy Rockwood)
Tarzan
Timber Trail Riders
Tom Slade
Tom Stetson
Tom Swift
Trixie Belden
Troy Nesbit
Trudy Phillips
The Tuckers
Walton Boys

To clarify, Fighters for Freedom Series consists of standalone stories grouped together and branded as a series.  We will not accept any other standalone books.  These books will be accepted because they are grouped together as the Fighters for Freedom series.  That name is on each dust jacket.

I feel that accepting the Fighters for Freedom books is highly problematic since a number of standalone Whitman books from the same period could be confused with them.  However, we will continue to accept them unless we decide that they are causing too much confusion.

1.  Sally Scott of the Waves, Snell
2.  Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress, Du Bois
3.  Nancy Dale, Army Nurse, Radford
4.  Kitty Carter, Canteen Girl, Radford
5.  Dick Donnelly of the Paratroops, Duncan
6.  Norma Kent of the WACS, Snell
7.  March Anson and Scott Bailey of the U.S. Navy, Duncan
8.  Sparky Ames and Mary Mason of the Ferry Command, Snell
9.  Punch Davis of the U.S. Aircraft Carrier, Snell

The rest of the books listed in this post are from series based on a real person set in a fictional story or based on the likeness of a real person set in a fictional story.  They are okay for the group and will remain okay until or unless we find that any of them are causing confusion.  I am uneasy about continuing to accept these books due how they will be confused with the authorized editions.  However, they are actual series, so we will continue to accept them.

Annette

    Sierra Summer
    The Desert Inn Mystery
    The Mystery at Moonstone Bay
    The Mystery at Smugglers' Cove
    Mystery at Medicine Wheel

Gene Autry

    Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws
    Gene Autry and the Redwood Pirates
    Gene Autry and the Golden Ladder Gang
    Gene Autry and the Badmen of Broken Bow
    Gene Autry and the Big Valley Grab
    Gene Autry and the Golden Stallion
    Gene Autry and the Ghost Riders
    Gene Autry and the Arapaho War Drums

Janet Lennon/Lennon Sisters

    Janet Lennon: Adventure at Two Rivers
    Janet Lennon and the Angels
    Janet Lennon at Camp Calamity
    Lennon Sisters: The Secret of Holiday Island

Roy Rogers

    The Gopher Creek Gunman
    The Raiders of Sawtooth Ridge
    The Ghost of Mystery Rancho
    The Outlaws of Sundown Valley
    The Rimrod Renegades

Monday, August 8, 2022

The Whitman Book Dilemma Part 3

I want to give an idea of the lengthy, involved discussions that the moderators have had about various Whitman books over the years.  I went through our moderator chat and found where we have mentioned the Whitman books.  Below, you will find comments that I have made about the Whitman books.  You're only getting my part of the conversation, but you should pick up on how difficult this has been for us.  We have needed a specific guideline that we can follow so that we do not contradict ourselves.    

October 15, 2017 

What about Whitman books?  Quite often we have had new members post Whitman books that I do not consider series books.

May 12, 2019

Yesterday I closed comments on [redacted]'s post that was almost all general Whitman books and a G.I. Joe thermos.  [redacted] contacted me since she was upset at my action.  I explained further and she deleted her post.  Her feelings were quite hurt.  She never did repost her books in the other group like I suggested.  People just want the Collecting group to be everything.

June 2, 2019

Regarding Patty O'Neal, it probably isn't a series.  However, since that kind of Whitman book tends to appeal to members, I'm inclined not to worry about it.  

June 2, 2019

I view the Whitman books of the 1940s as like a publisher set or series, so I'm okay with those showing up sometimes.

Sept. 5, 2021

Peggy Parker, Girl Inventor is part of a publisher set/series which features the Bonita Granville book among others.  The other books in the set are similar to our books (although most tend to be boring or weird).  I feel like it would be okay since the other books are okay.  Do you agree or disagree?

Sept. 13, 2021

I agree, and it is happening because of [redacted]'s Whitman post and is not unexpected.  Whitman books (aside from Trixie and other obvious series) always cause problems.

I should not have approved the post with Lassie in it.  I did because the other books were generally okay, but Lassie shouldn't have been the first book pictured.  These people don't understand group optics at all.

November 23, 2021

I declined the attached post with this reason:  "We find that the Whitman TV books cause the group to go off topic.  If you can resubmit the post without the Rin Tin Tin book, we can approve it.  Thanks!"

I just realized that Rin Tin Tin is probably one of the books in the 1958 Whitman DJ set that includes one Trixie Belden book... Like always, some posts are in the gray area making it tough to make the best decision.

January 26, 2022

I saw the post before reading this chat, and I just declined the post.  So I agree.  No Whitman television books, period.  We're done with allowing those.  They aren't our kind of series, so they don't belong.  I suggested the other group, as I always do.  People wanted the other group to exist, but they won't use it.

March 7, 2022


The Whitman books are problematic since whatever we approve leads to ones that are completely off.  See [above].  I am partly inclined to approve it since it fits with some other books that have been mentioned lately.  On the other hand, it's an authorized edition of the type we often decline.  It should be noted that we generally allow the movie star books of the 1940s.  Which way do we go?

March 7, 2022

It would be easier if we just reject all Whitman books outside of the obvious series books.  Should we just do that?  If we do reject all of them, should we also start rejecting all adaptations based on actual people like Annette and Janet Lennon?

March 8, 2022

I have read all of the female movie star books... and know that they are just like our series books.  That is why I've always approved posts about them, although I feel they are problematic due to people then thinking all Whitman books are okay.

The reason why I thought Joyce of the Secret Squadron might be okay is that it takes place during WW2, and we have recently discussed some series books set during the war.  I don't feel that those series books set during the war are strongly on topic, but we don't disallow everything that isn't precisely like Nancy Drew.

This is a real dilemma.  If we are going to continue to allow the movie star books of the 1940s and also war-themed series books, then this book seems to fit our focus.  Looking into it further, it is based on the Captain Midnight franchise, which means that we should reject it like the later Whitman TV books.

So, we could decline it because it is an authorized edition from a filmed franchise.

I don't know if Annette and Janet Lennon read that differently from Meg Duncan and Robin Kane.  I don't care to disallow Meg and Robin, but most of our group probably isn't into them.

March 8, 2022

I'm thinking this through as I continue to respond.  We need a clear guideline.  All Whitman books based on filmed versions should be declined, which means we decline the Joyce/Captain Midnight book.  Do we agree with that?

This still leaves us with the movie star books of the 1940s as well as Annette, Janet, etc.  They aren't based on filmed media, so they are different.  They are exactly like the movie star books of the 1940s.  Whatever we do on the movie star books, then we should do the same on Annette, Janet, etc.  They are no different.

March 8, 2022

The only ones I'm struggling with are the movie star books, Janet Lennon, and Annette.  They are a problem because people then think that the authorized editions are okay.

We can decline the pending post [Joyce of the Secret Squadron]...  All books from franchises that originated in filmed media should be declined...

But do we continue to approve the books where real people were used as the characters in completely fictional stories?  Maybe we should since they aren't actually an authorized edition from a franchise.

March 8, 2022

[in response to a suggestion to allow movie star and Annette/Janet Lennon]

That sounds fine.  I feel that the same decision should apply to the movie star books and Annette/Janet Lennon.  

May 22, 2022

I approved a post that includes Peggy Parker, a Whitman book in the gray area.  We previously discussed Peggy Parker here, and a post by [redacted] was allowed in the group in September.  For that reason, I went ahead and approved the post after I refreshed my memory on the situation.

July 4, 2022


Approve or disapprove?  I'm struggling, which often happens with these books.  I've searched our conversation here to see what we've said before.  Generally, we decline books where the franchise originated in filmed media.  I think these would fall under that.  

July 4, 2022

That's where my problem is; I thought of the Lone Ranger.  I was definitely a "no," but then I started thinking about it.  I'll wait for at least one more opinion before I do anything.  I can be convinced either way.

July 5, 2022

The problem is that we have accepted Jane Withers and similar before.  We have also accepted Annette and the Lennon sisters...  We are contradicting ourselves, which is why I don't know what to do.  We allow some and then not others.  We haven't been consistent.

It would be easier if we quit allowing all books that feature real people's names in the titles.  Our inconsistency makes it hard to make a decision.

July 5, 2022

I don't know that we have had complaints about off-topic books.  The problem is that we are boxed in somewhat more than we should be.  This, of course, was caused by [redacted].  

I know that [redacted] feels like we shouldn't be quite so strict.  However, I don't know how to ease up.  It would very quickly go too far towards general children's books.

Also, we do approve Troy Nesbit books.  The Gene Autry books are probably a lot like them even though an actual person's name is on the books.

To me, this is a mess.  Whitman has been a big problem all along.  I don't know where to draw the line.

I was going to decline the Gene Autry post, but I can't say that we don't allow books with real people in the titles.  We do allow some of them.  What do we say?

July 5, 2022

I see the Gene Autry books as similar to Lone Ranger and Troy Nesbit.  They are all westerns, and they are series.

July 5, 2022

It sounds like we've switched to approving them.  I will do so and will also approve the other post about the Walton Boys series.  Obviously, we will need to continue to discuss Whitman books in the future as the need arises.

This should give you an idea of our indecision concerning the Whitman books.  We want to be fair and consistent.  That is very hard to do without having a clear guideline.  I see the books published by Whitman as being all over the place.  The books are series, authorized editions, general children's books, reprints of classics, and compilations of short stories.  People tend to lump all Whitman books in together, but we cannot accept all of them.  

Two weeks ago, I presented to the other moderators what I thought we should do.  At first, they agreed with me until I remembered that I had forgotten to mention certain books.  That was when we began to disagree.  We found it impossible to come to a consensus regarding all of the Whitman books in the 2300 set.  

Finally, I suggested that we disallow discussion of the Whitman movie star books from the 1940s.  Allowing those books has caused the conflict and inconsistency.  If we were to continue to allow those books, then we would need to begin allowing certain other books in order to be consistent.  I do not feel that the other books belong in the group, so we must disallow the movie star books.

We will not approve posts with Whitman books that are the movie star books, books based on comic strips, standalone books, reprints of classics, general children's books, or the television tie-in books.

My final post on this subject will contain lists of which Whitman books we will accept in the group.
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