4.05 avg rating — 6,823 ratings

"It might be cheating to add all of the books in this young adult series to my "read" shelf. However looking at a current list noticed a lot of titles dealing with vampires, sorcerers and other fantasy or s-f worlds. At least some classics like Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were still there. "The Three Investigators" never acquired the popularity the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries, which was an early indication in life that what is popular isn't necessarily, or even usually, superior.

I entered a bookstore in my early twenties, nostalgic to see if any new titles had been written for the series. This led to a memorable conversation with the bookseller who noted that there were at the time no young adult series for boys. A new series for girls seemed to be introduced every month then. It was as if boys didn't read. At least now Harry Potter,The Hunger Games and Twilight appeal to both.

I wanted to add this first book in the series as a place marker for my initiation into books. "