The Hardy Boys stink? Say it ain't so!

[howeverbrief]

Kate Beaton has been doing a series of short comics based on Nancy Drew covers. Per usual, the comment section lead me to a great article on a related topic. After trying to reread his old set as an adult, the writer attempted to track down the original author of the first twenty-one volumes of The Hardy Boys to see why anyone would write such awful books. He didn't find the already deceased author, but the author's family offered a fascinating back-story of a man constantly under pressure to write a series (of which he was ashamed) in order to feed his family.

Here's the article: The Hardy Boys The Final Chapter

I remember voraciously tearing through both Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys series when I was younger, maybe some Boxcar Children as well, but like many people, I haven't thought to try reading them again. Apparently they are quite terrible, but who ever said that children have great taste anyhow? I'm a little scared to go back and see what I thought was so awesome about the books I used to read now, but maybe one of these days I will.