| T itian (pronounced "tish-en"): n. [from the color of the hair in many of Titian's portraits] reddish yellow; auburn.  --Webster's Dictionary
M y fascination with collecting girls' series books began late in life. It's interesting how life changes directions when you have a youngster in the house. I taught my daughter how to read when she was 4, and when she was 5 she began to lose interest in the early reader books. I told her about how much I had loved Nancy Drew® when I was young. I thought that I'd made a mistake mentioning them to her--I was sure she was too young to get much out of them--but she made me promise to take her to the library so that we could at least take a look at a Nancy Drew® book. When she saw the images of Nancy on the picture cover books,she grinned. Nancy was a titian head, just like her and mom! She picked out The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (revised), and we began our adventure with Nancy. I honestly hadn't remembered this particular story, so it was a lot of fun rediscovering Nancy, Bess and George. My daughter was hooked by the time we were 3 or 4 chapters along, and with that, the Nancy Drew® fan club was extended into the next generation. Another old series has also become a favorite: The Happy Hollisters. And of course, we read many of the old classics, like Charlotte's Web, Little House, and Beatrix Potter. Thankfully, my daughter is seldom seen without a book in her hands. Fond memories returned to me as we read the old books, and I wanted to find the original versions of Nancy, driving her blue roadster. (Yes, I'm that old!) I started to surf the Web and I learned quite a bit about Nancy Drew®. By chance, a used bookstore opened up just down the street from our house, and I found "original" Nancys sitting on the shelf. The shopkeeper warned me that collecting books was an addiction, but I bought my first book, anyway. This book has led to several others, and to my Judy Bolton collection which is steadily growing as well. I hope this site sparks your curiosity enough to take a look around. If you don't already collect books and are thinking of starting, there's some help for you under "Collecting For Fun", above. ...And to all my fellow titian heads of the world, I salute you! Thanks for stopping by!! |
