Tales Of A 4th Grade Nothing

I stayed at a VRBO that had a selection of books on a shelf.  I don’t know if this collection was intentional or a mix of books left behind by renters.  There were some good ‘summer readers’ – Grisham and Patterson among others.  None of them really spoke to me – except Tom Swift and His Giant Robot.

I read these as a kid and loved them.  The series followed teenage scientist Tom Swift starting around 1910, and then updated with new stories in various decades.  The ones I read were written by a syndicate of various authors using the pseudonym ‘Victor Appleton II’ in the 1950’s.

My grandfather got me into book collecting as a kid.  We’d hit estate and library sales in suburban Philadelphia looking for interesting reading.  He was after more rare options, while I was enamored with the boxes of Bobbsey Twins, Happy Hollister and the aforementioned Tom Swift books for 25 cents each.

I spent a vacation day re-reading about the robot.  And then I came home and dug out some of my other ones from the attic to re-read as well.  I also found 80’s era Choose Your Own Adventure stories in the box with Tom Swift.

I may never read an adult book again.

That’s my summer reading tip for you as we get geared up for the end of school.  Drag out that box of books your mom made you take when you moved out and see what treasures are ripe for a re-read. 

Dry Guy Andy