Mimi’s Corner: Down the Rabbit Hole … with Nancy Drew

Did you ever go down a rabbit hole? I’m not talking about one that leads to dangerous or difficult situations from which it’s hard to extricate oneself. I just mean, have you ever jumped into something—a hobby, a course of action, a series of activities—that leads to unexpected occurrences?

My rabbit holes are mundane; I’ll leave the daring-do activities to others with more gumption, guts, and gall than I’ll never have. I’m more Alice in Wonderland than Indiana Jones.

Lately I’ve been thinking about various rabbit holes I jumped, or sometimes fell, into. Most are too boring to share here. Possibly, they all are too boring, but I won’t let that stop me.

The deepest rabbit holes I fell into involve books. It started with the Weekly Reader Children’s Book Club, a subscription that I received for a few years as a child. It initiated a collection that continues to this day, and I now have so many books that I could start my own lending library, at least for those who have fallen down the same literary rabbit holes as I have.

Let’s take a bunny hop through my first book obsession.

Of course, it’s girl detective, Nancy Drew, written by “Carolyn Keene,” a pseudonym for a few different authors. I fondly remember my introduction, at age 10 or 11, to The Secret in the Old Clock and The Hidden Staircase, the first two books in the series. Such fun!

I wanted to read more of them, but they weren’t available at that time from the Dayton/Montgomery County Library system. I suppose they weren’t deemed “worthy,” but they certainly would have drawn in hundreds of readers looking for mysteries who might have then turned to reading other more esteemed books. I’m happy to say that the Nancy Drew books, as well as DVDs, are available at the Tipp City Library.

I shared my pseudo “classics” with my girlfriends as we all waited for the newest installment, which always took far too long to be published. My friend Jeannine’s older brother had a stack of Hardy Boys books, which I resorted to reading while awaiting the next Nancy Drew mystery. I also read another Carolyn Keene series about the Dana Girls, Jean and Louise, who were also amateur detectives.

But to me, they couldn’t compare to my favorite heroine.  Heck, I wanted to be Nancy Drew! Who wouldn’t want to be the girl with an adventurous spirit, curiosity, and style, running around River Heights in her roadster (with a rumble seat no less), solving mysteries with her gal pals, Bess and George, a tomboy, chasing danger, while changing into lovely frocks when the occasion merited it, confronting baddies, secure in the knowledge that Dad, attorney Carson Drew, would back you up when needed, and that boyfriend Ned Nickerson and his pals could be counted on when a little brawn was called for. This wondrous group would always save the day.

Alas, although I no longer have my prized collection of Nancy Drew books, I remember how much I enjoyed them, and I credit them with instilling in me a love of reading, especially detective stories, and starting me down a large number of literary rabbit holes, chasing books by authors such as Ed McBain, author of the acclaimed 57th Precinct stories, Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch stories, and numerous other mystery/detective authors.  

As an avid reader, frustrated by eye problems, my Kindle has been a miracle. As long as I have a book to read, I am happy and ready to jump into another rabbit hole.