Trixie Belden Books

Library reignites reading passion

If you weren't athletically inclined like me when you were a kid, your best shot at winning a ribbon was participating in the library's summer reading program. Luckily for me, I loved reading.

My favorites back then were mystery novels. I solved cases alongside literary sleuths Encyclopedia Brown and Trixie Belden from the comfort of my own bedroom. Trixie Belden, for those who don't know, is similar to Nancy Drew. Both began solving recurring, improbable mysteries more than 60 years ago. However, Trixie alone had a pesky tendency (to which I could relate) of sticking her foot in her mouth.

Finding time to read is more challenging these days. No longer can I stay in bed all day with a good mystery and a cookie. My employer swould undoubtedly find me and suggest I return to work. If they didn't, my 6-year-old daughter would.

Consequently, I have discovered creative ways to sneak reading time into my days. I'll read while walking on a treadmill, and I'll also haul a sack of books with me to doctor's appointments.

But now, I'm not the only reader in my house. Thanks to a wonderful kindergarten teacher, my daughter is already well on her way to becoming a full-fledged bibliophile. That development, coupled with her competitive spirit, made her an ideal candidate for this summer's reading program at the library. And my lack of reading material made me an ideal candidate for the adult summer reading program.

In the spirit of its "One World, Many Stories" theme, the library issued reading passports and a recommended reading list with an international flavor. My first selection was about an American woman pondering marriage while living in Vietnam with her Brazilian fiancé. Next, I read a journalist's firsthand account of a disastrous Mount Everest expedition, followed by this year's One Book One Community selection, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

My preoccupation with completing the program is similar to my pug dog's preoccupation with finding the last crumb of a dog treat — obsessive, desperate and completely committed. To that end, I've cut back on extracurricular activities such as "Glee," gossip magazines and — to my detriment — sleep.

Abby has been equally determined to finish. She too has cut back on extras such as "Punky Brewster" reruns, Uno games and — to her detriment — sleep. Many a night I have found her awake past her bedtime huddled under her covers cradling a Junie B. Jones book in one hand, eyes propped open with the other.

Trixie Belden: Julie Campbell/Kathryn Kenny « Brain Vs. Book

Town and in the end decided you loved your rich white lady more. In which case, boo to you! Trixie Belden doesn’t need money or a red Fiat or whatever the hell it is Nancy Drew drives. Trixie Belden doesn’t even have a horse. That’s how hardcore she is.

I was so in love with this fictional heroine that I named my hamster after her when I was nine. My boy hamster. Although I didn’t know he was a boy at the time I named him. Why did Trixie captivate me so? What was this spell she cast?

She was just this girl, this thirteen-year-old girl, who went around and solved mysteries. She had sandy blond curls which I, being of straight and black hair, coveted. She was poor. I was poor. She had older brothers. When I read about her older brothers, I wished I had some. She was everything I wanted to be. And all those books about her (thirty-nine of them) showed me how I could get there.

I literally had every single one of the books. I spent every penny of my allowance on them. I read them over and over and over. To this day, I don’t think I have loved a book more than I loved the Trixie Belden series. I’m sure that’s due to the fact that my eight- to twelve-year-old self was not that discerning a reader (if it had words printed on it, I would read it), but I also think the series had some serious things to recommend itself.