# The Hardy Boys - Ever read them as an adult? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [August 4, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129 "2026-08-04T00:49:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/61 "2026-08-05T07:55:09Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Um, you know it’s not 2027 yet so we can’t answer that definitively, right Fuck you and get this piece of shit up to 88 mph. We’ve got to warn the past! 😜 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/62 "2026-08-05T08:42:24Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > If you are a woman, have you re-read any of the Nancy Drew books you loved as a youngster? What was your reaction? I could do pages on Nancy and me. I am, in fact, wearing my Nancy Drew yoga pants right now. But I’m in the middle of something, and just wandered over while I wait for a 5 minute timer to ding. Also, I have read just the OP. Gonna try to go through the whole thread before I make a serious contribution. No, I am not making that up about the yoga pants-- yes, I own them, and yes, I was already wearing them when I opened the thread. I also have a Nancy Drew wallet, a Nancy Drew pillowcase, and a Nancy Drew wall clock. The clock features all the different covers from various editions of _The Secret of the Old Clock._ ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/63 "2026-08-05T09:10:53Z")
I read them when I was a kid. Not that I liked them; I preferred other books. But they were entertaining enough back then. I admit, I have not tried them again as an adult. Maybe I should. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/64 "2026-08-05T12:21:11Z")
There was also the Alvin Fernald series, by Clifford Hicks, and Miss Pickerell. The only two Hardy Boys books I remember well are _The Twisted Claw_ (original) and _The Secret of Skull Mountain_ (revised). ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/65 "2026-08-05T13:18:05Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I was also a Three Investigators fan. Oh man, I _loooooooved_ those books when I was a kid, but had completely forgotten about them until this thread. Thansks for the reminder. I’ll have to pick one up and refresh my memory. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/66 "2026-08-05T14:00:21Z")
I was addicted to the EB books, and also The Great Brain, as a kid. I still remember that word-play plot and thinking “what bullshit!” because I had a habit of scouring back and forth in the books for all of the clues and hints to analyze the cases. In short, what bullshit! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/67 "2026-08-05T14:07:08Z")
Oh yeah. The Great Brain. I loved those books as a kid. To be honest, I don’t remember what age group they were aimed at. Younger than Hardy Boys readers? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/68 "2026-08-05T14:39:13Z")
No Hardy Boys for me. Did read Encyclopedia Brown and the Three Investigators. I only remember a few bits of each. In EB, I remembered the eraser case and another with the phrase, “It’s only an arrow flight away.” For the 3Is, I remember the painting in a pipe, a jeweled spider in the wall, and a secret passage between two houses on opposite sides of a ridge. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/69 "2026-08-05T16:05:11Z")
Anyone read the original Nancy Drew books? We’re they dumbed down and rewritten like the Hardy Boys? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/70 "2026-08-05T16:05:28Z")
Sorry, double posted. I meant to add that my mom read the original Nancy Drew books as a child in the 1930’s. Unfortunately my grandmother cleaned out my Mom’s room after she left home. All her childhood Books were lost. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/71 "2026-08-05T16:20:03Z")
I guess I missed all the YA detectives, though I did watch their TV shows, for what that’s worth. But I’d probably have made a good teen detective: I noticed in one episode where the bros got into a car wearing one set of clothes, drove wearing another set, and arrived in a different car and different clothes. Don’t you all have continuity folk? The only YA detective I read was Sinbad and Me by Kin Platt. A smart kid detective, though a bit unsmart about gurls, solving a decades-old mystery with his bulldog. I loved it as a kid, and then it went out of print. Finally found a copy. Holds up ok, but the mystery seems more contrived than I remember, and there’s a big plot hole I missed back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/72 "2026-08-05T16:34:52Z")
So this thread has prompted me to do a some reading outside my current backlog. I’ve got a couple _Three Investigators_ books, The pre-rewrite _Hardy Boys_ pack above, I want to dig up the first _Great Brain_ book, maybe find an _Encyclopedia Brown_ (I know I must have read that series but have little memory of it) or two. Last night I read probably the first half of _The Secret of Terror Castle_, from the _Three Investigators_ series. I remember just about all of the story beats so far as well as a lot of the scene setting when it comes to the junk yard, the Rolls Royce, etc. I gotta say, it was a lot thinner than I remember it these many years on. Obviously it’s written for younger folks (Google says third and fourth grade) so I shouldn’t expect expansive descriptive narratives, but I remembered there being much more than I am finding. Probably won’t continue this series. I still want a secret hideout in a junkyard though. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/73 "2026-08-05T16:43:50Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Obviously it’s written for younger folks (Google says third and fourth grade) so I shouldn’t expect expansive descriptive narratives, but I remembered there being much more than I am finding. I think we all had more expansive imaginations as children that filled in the blanks. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/74 "2026-08-05T16:44:25Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The same author had adult books called Two Minute Mysteries which was the same concept but with adult themes like adultery and murder as I recall. yes, the funny thing is that the “mysteries” that need solving are often the same in both. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/75 "2026-08-05T16:48:46Z")
When I was in high school in the late 80’s I picked one up and started reading it and was surprised by how dated it was. They talked about wearing dungarees and riding in a jalopy. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/76 "2026-08-05T16:49:02Z")
Many of them certainly had the same twist and were maybe about gambling debt instead of stolen lunch money but some had to do with something that a child wouldn’t be expected to know like driving a car. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/77 "2026-08-05T16:53:40Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I think we all had more expansive imaginations as children that filled in the blanks. Undoubtedly. Plus at that point, my largest exposure to literature of any kind were series stories like these. Can’t miss what you’ve not yet experienced. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/78 "2026-08-05T16:55:51Z")
maybe somewhat related, but did anyone read any of the Tom Swift books, or to be more precise, the Tom Swift Jr. books? I remember we had a bunch of them on our shelves growing up, but I didn’t read any of them. By that time (early 80’s), they already seemed really dated. But I imagine there was a lot of overlap between readers of the Hardy Boys and those books. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/79 "2026-08-05T17:43:21Z")
When I lived in the Congo from 1961 - 62 the school library had Hardy Boy books, and I read a ton of them. Anyone remember the Hardy Boys serial from the Mickey Mouse Club? I never read Nancy Drew growing up, but I read them to my daughter right through the time she was in high school. It was a tradition. It wasn’t until she decided to read the next part of one while I was on a trip that she discovered that Nancy’s housekeeper was not named Hannah Gruesome. We read a few of the original ones. Weird and a bit racist. I never read Tom Swift either until recently. My father-in-law had a bunch of the originals which he gave to me. Not too bad and scientifically reasonably accurate. They were written by the same guy who wrote Uncle Wiggly. Tom Swift Jr. started off okay but they got increasingly scientifically inaccurate. I even have a few Tom Swift III set on a space station and not very good. We also read a bunch of the Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew crossover books. A bit grittier than the '50s and '60s books. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129/80 "2026-08-05T17:56:50Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I never read Tom Swift either until recently. My father-in-law had a bunch of the originals which he gave to me. Not too bad and scientifically reasonably accurate. I had most of the Tom Swift Jr books and liked them well enough until I discovered Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein et al. As mentioned earlier I had access to a moldy set of Tom Swift originals which were special because I got to read them in a collapsing barn while avoiding chores. Dad finally caught me out, then made sure I went through the whole pile looking for a copy of “Tom Swift and his Electric Grandmother” … took me a very long time to realize I was being pranked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hardy-boys-ever-read-them-as-an-adult/1032129.md?page=5)