“The Secret of the Old Clock” from the Nancy Drew series was the first young adult book I read. This is THE that book got me hooked on reading. It was the first time I experienced not wanting to go to bed because the next chapter looked more interesting than the previous one. It was the first book I carried around everywhere I went. I had already known reading was good but didn’t realize it could be so beautifully consuming.
If it were food, it would be a box of Whitman’s chocolates. I associate this brand of sweets with my childhood. I loved how the logo and the packaging were so charming (sort of like a cross-stitch pattern), and I loved the chocolates even more! Each chocolate had a different flavor, and my sisters and I loved biting into them, guessing what fillings would surprise us. Those chocolates were addicting — one just wasn’t enough. Same with my love for the Nancy Drew series. After this first book, I was addicted.
If it were food, it would also be dried mangoes. I remember bringing this book along with me to Cebu. It was my first plane ride, and Nancy Drew was with me. I remember reading it in a hotel. I remember the sweet scent of dried mangoes mingling with the crisp smell of the book’s pages.
Whitman’s chocolates and dried mangoes = The Secret of the Old Clock. Quite an odd combination, but as it is with mysteries, the unexpected yields the most fulfilling finds. The chocolates and dried mangoes evoke lovely memories of my childhood, happy memories of stumbling upon and staying true to a love I’ve kept for many years to come.
*****
– This is my first contribution to the If Books were Food Blog Carnival.
– Nancy Drew image [source]
– Whitman’s image [source]
– Dried mangoes image [source]
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
brissiemum2
January 14, 2008 at 3:57 pm (16 years ago)Oh wow! Nancy Drew was the first for me, too. My mum worked at a book warehouse at the time and used to bring damaged copies home and I was hooked. I devoured them like chocolate. I always say that Nancy Drew taught me to love books.
Em Dy
January 14, 2008 at 4:07 pm (16 years ago)I discovered Nancy Drew through my younger sister who loved the library more than I did. I was more into chess and dama while growing up. She introduced me to Hardy Boys too.
spanx
January 14, 2008 at 4:28 pm (16 years ago)confessions of a former (maybe still a) nerd:
between grade 5-6 at la salle,
i tore through all 50+ hardy boys and
around every book in the alfred hitchcock & the three investigators series.
then i ran out of young adult mystery books,
and i got so desperate to get my bookworm fix,
i read a nancy drew book .
my introduction to chick-lit.
hahahaha!
imagine my blubbering blustering explanations
to my dad and brother when they found me engrossed
in a carolyn keene book.
i moved on to robert ludlum, frederick forsythe,
and the mild erotica of sidney sheldon soon after. “,)
mari
January 14, 2008 at 11:24 pm (16 years ago)i’m a nancy drew fan myself. i never got to own one. all the nancy drew books i read are borrowed from the school library.
empress maruja
January 14, 2008 at 11:39 pm (16 years ago)Oh my, it was Nancy Drew that got me hooked on reading too! (Well, until after college though
)
Ruy
January 15, 2008 at 12:01 am (16 years ago)We are very similar I see. What got me addicted to reading was Hardy Boys “While the CLOCK Ticked”. I was in grade 1 and the success of finishing a real book (it took my childhood attention span and reading skills 2 months to finish) encouraged me to keep to keep devouring more unil the library couldn’t cough out any more Hardy Boys for me to read. I then turned two Encyclopedia Brown and The Three Investigators.
I just remembered that my greatest frustration as a kid was that The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook eluded me no matter how hard I searched.
Gina
January 15, 2008 at 1:06 am (16 years ago)I love the way you connected book and food into a cohesive whole. Parang one couldn’t be without the other.
The Nancy Drew series was my most favorite read in High School. I couldn’t put the book down once I start. It just gets more and more exciting with every chapter. I don’t remember any particular story line tho.
I’ll think of something to do with this topic..Fun,fun.
chinita_jill
January 15, 2008 at 2:10 pm (16 years ago)oof, this one’s a long entry (ended up reviewing 2 books–couldn’t choose!
:o)), but here we go: http://aballofyarn.blogspot.com/2008/01/blog-carnival-if-books-were-food.html
really had fun with this, toni. more, more :o)
JO
January 16, 2008 at 9:16 am (16 years ago)that’ s my first too…
Em Dy
January 16, 2008 at 3:15 pm (16 years ago)Yes I did like the Nancy Drew books and would read them when she finished. But I don’t recall any story at all. I made sure that I watched the movie though.
Lynne
January 17, 2008 at 7:04 pm (16 years ago)Like you guys, it was the Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene which get me hooked to reading books. I can finish 3 books per day. I was in grade 4 or 5 then. I had read the 52 books then. I dont know what the last book is now!
After the Nancy Drew books, I also tried Hardy Boys, Alfred Hitchcock, Dana Girls, then the Mills and Boone. Over the years, when I get a chance to hold on my Nancy Drew books collection, I start reading the Secret of the Old Clock. How I wish I can be like Nancy Drew!
Meeya
January 19, 2008 at 2:20 am (16 years ago)wow, ako lang yata ang hindi nagsimula sa nancy drew! 😀
gosh, i love whitman’s too! it’s the perfect analogy to nancy drew, each bite and each page both a mystery!
renin
February 6, 2008 at 7:57 pm (16 years ago)so nancy drew’s book is a must read… i’ll do my best to have a copy…
btw, my love of reading started when i was in grade two. then i was content with short stories. then i enjoyed WWII genre, to friendship ones… now i prefer thicker books. currently i am into collecting L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of green Gables series ( I have 5 out of 8)