I am now reading vintage teen fiction books in my 40's

[enigmatic]

When I was a kid, I was what you would call way ahead of the rest of my classmates in terms of reading above my age group; I was reading stuff like Norman O. Brown, Kafka, and Erich Fromm when I was 12, while my English teachers in Middle School were handing out "Shane" and "Great Expectations". I did a book report of Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" when I was 14, and almost got thrown out of my 8th Grade English class for telling the teacher (and Walt Whitman worshiper) that "Leaves Of Grass" was hackneyed, and argued at length why Bukowski was the greatest poet of our times. I was a difficult student in that way, I guess:)

Anyway, the past few years I happened to pick up a copy of a Brains Benton Mystery (a teen fiction book series published by Whitman in the 50's and 60's) at a garage sale on a lark, took it home and read it from start to finish in one setting, and was completely, utterly hooked from then on. Then came The Power Boys series, some vintage Hardy Boys stuff from the 40's, and this past weekend I lucked into a complete set of first edition Chip Hilton Sports Fiction series from the 40's and 50's written by Clair Bee that I found at a small-town thrift store for 10 bucks, and I'm enjoying the hell out of them right now.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, other than that I guess I'm at the age now where I can truly appreciate how well-written and FUN these books are, especially in the time frame they were written, and that they are almost as good as meditation or anything else as a way to escape reality for awhile and recharge my mental batteries..

That is all:)