I am pretty anal when it comes to books. I buy them brand new (usually) and I simply can NOT make myself read a book which hasn't been "treated". I take really good care of my books... all the edges have to be wrapped in magic tape, the corners have to be doubly protected and my name has to be stamped on the first page. All my books are arranged alphabetically, via the author's name. I buy hardbacks as well (can't wait for the paperbacks to come out). With the hardbacks, the same treatment applies but the sleeves have to be glued on to the books. Hardbacks have their own special shelves.
OK OK OK... so the books are placed somewhat "higgly piggly" on my shelves... I never did say I was a neat person 
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When I was a kid, I used to spend all my money on books... I had the entire collection of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers etc. Well... I did like my reading. Unfortunately, when I was away in Australia, my parents moved out of the house we were staying in and into an apartment... most of my stuff was either thrown or given away or sold. It was not a pleasant home coming I can tell you!!
So anyway, one day, I came across a collection of Enid Blyton books... the Malory Towers and the St. Clare's series... the whole set compiled into two books for each series... in hardback no less. Well, I had to buy them all, especially seeing that they were marked down by 80%!! I have to admit that I did enjoy reading them once I brought them all home. It brought back a lot of memories... it is VERY light reading... somewhat chauvernistic but then, it was written in the 1920s or something. For those of you who are in the dark... these books are about an all girls boarding school. I have just finished reading all four books again... and one would start to wonder about the "innocence" of girls living in the same building, looking up and imitating one another, falling in love at the sight of a gorgeous girl... a definite hot bed for lesbianism .
Then, just the other day, I found myself in the children's section by accident and saw the entire Famous Five series in hardback... I couldn't resist buying the one entitle "Five Go Off In A Caravan". That was my favourite one as a child... I loved reading about them going off on their own, the foods they eat (my favourite part in every Enid Blyton book) etc. Now, after reading it again (can't bear to pick it up once more), come on... now how realistic is it for four children, ranging from 9 - 13 years old and a dog to be let loose in the English country side? They were allowed to rent two caravans, take two horses and just pack up and leave to go on their adventures? Didn't their parents worry? Didn't they know about the dangers of doing that eg. kidnapping, paedophiles, getting lost etc?
Then, despite the fact that they could drink water out of a river without boiling it first, despite the fact that they were able to get food from virtually everywhere they went the chauvernism bothered me. The girls, including the one who pretended to be a boy, were the ones expected to cook AND clean... the boys were the ones who handled the security etc. That part totally irked me. Children today are still reading Enid Blyton books... seeing how they are still in print and distributed EVERYWHERE. They are going to come away from the books with the classic caveman way of thinking. In the boarding school series, it is normal for a person who has been ill to stay away for a length of time... under quarantine and the such. It is normal for a person to go away to the beach for six months to get rid of whooping cough (granted that medicine during the early 1900s weren't as advanced as it is today). So children are going to start thinking that it is now normal for them to miss school for weeks on end if they get sick. These books should be modified into the modern way of thinking I reackon!
Oh well... regardless, I am still going around looking for Enid Blyton books... I really like reading some of them... just bought "The Children of Cherry Tree Farm" today... much prefer the "Willow Farm" series though (couldn't find it 
). Although some of the ideology in the books still irritate me, it is fun reading them all over again. I intend to buy my favourite ones... am madly looking for the "Faraway Tree" series... if I remember correctly, that was one of my favourites as well. Noddy can go fly a kite, The Naughtiest Girl can take a hike, the Golliwogs... well, no. I might just buy the "Wishing Chair" series. It is nice to buy these books, now with the kind of money I have... I don't have to save up anymore ... the books seem a LOT cheaper, even though they are in hardback... well, things change... I read a LOT faster now as well. I shall keep on looking in every bookstore I come across until I find all the Enid Blyton books I want to read again . Wish me luck!!
