These two books were passed down to me from my Grandpa, whose name you see inscribed inside and who received them from his young son, who grew up to be Uncle Jimmy. I was captivated by the stories and ended up collecting 34 of the 38 books that were published in the Trixie Belden mystery series.
The first book is 56 years old, and the other is 51! They are showing their age and falling apart, but that is part of their charm. I am holding something in my hands that my grandfather, who passed away in the early 1970s, held in his hands and kept on a shelf. Maybe he shook his head and smiled at his young son’s choice of book for him. After all, these books feature a set of teenage, horse-loving sleuths and were marketed to young girls. Maybe Uncle Jimmy gave these books to his father to hide the fact that he wanted to read them himself?
Can you pass an e-book down to your children and grandchildren? Can you write in it, run your hands over it, and know you are holding a piece of the past?
You can have a device and know that there are 483 e-books saved in it, or you can have shelves of history that you can see, touch, inscribe, cherish, share, and hand down. That keeps me firmly in the world of print.
I loved Trixie Belden books and read all of them. Then I discovered Nancy Drew, and read over 50 of them. All long gone. I had two younger sisters and all of my things got passed down. I am sure they are all gone now. Loved those stories though. I have some old books that I still cherish, Brenda, but am happy with my e-books now. I don't have to dust them!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us. I would probably enjoy reading a couple of Trixie books again, if I still had them on the shelf (Nancy Drew, too!).