What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

[Hayleymoomin]

Five go to smugglers top..have just read the whole adventure series and then the secret island

[Francis]

Great books - especially in the original hardbacks with the wonderful illustrations.

[Eddie Muir]

I'm in total agreement, Francis.

[IceMaiden]

Me too. It is the illustrations that make the books really come to life which is why I think they require a lot of consideration. When their right they complement Enid's marvellously evocative descriptions to perfection, but if their wrong they undo the image that's built up in your mind from the words and make it very difficult to form another. One of the many reasons I dislike reprint illustrations, especially the modern ones, so much - to me they create such a bad impression of the books .

[Fiona1986]

Modern illustrations are often quite disappointing regardless of author. They are either cartoony and silly or they just aren't there at all! I wish the Harry Potter books had been illustrated, for example.

P.S. you need to give your tablet a good talking to IceMaiden - I see it's still substituting their for they're!

[Moonraker]

Re-Reading the Mystery series, although had to miss out Disappearing Cat - nearly dropped Burnt Cottage, but it's useful to see how the six first met up. Also to witness Goon's behaviour to the children before they became his number one antagonists. Also of note was how Jenks performed the dénouement instead of Fatty.

As for Cat, I just couldn't face all of the Tupping/Goon/Luke plot. Maybe next time!

I'm on Secret Room, now.

[Rob Houghton]

I feel the same about 'Disappearing Cat' - not one of my favourites. I do enjoy seeing how everything started in Burnt Cottage though!

[Chrissie777]

Re-Reading the Mystery series, although had to miss out Disappearing Cat - nearly dropped Burnt Cottage, but it's useful to see how the six first met up.
I'm on Secret Room, now.

I feel the same about 'Disappearing Cat' - not one of my favourites. I do enjoy seeing how everything started in Burnt Cottage though!

Same here, the first in the series never was one of my favorites. "Disappearing Cat" is too slow for me, but I sure did enjoy reading "Secret Room" several times.
Hold on, there are some more good FFO & Dog volumes coming, Nigel!

[Courtenay]

Maybe I'm the only one who absolutely loves Disappearing Cat, then! I didn't read it until I was an adult — and not only was the culprit pretty obvious from the start, but I guessed correctly how the theft was committed well before the Find-Outers figured it out — but I just loved the story anyway. Maybe because Siamese cats are my favourite?

[Chrissie777]

Don't worry, Courtenay, "Disappearing Cat" is a favorite of most forumites.

[Greyhound Mum]

I haven't got an Enid Blyton book on the go as it were at the minute, I really must pick one up. I think it's 5 go off in a caravan I've got upstairs, maybe a good bit of bedtime reading for me tonight!

[Rob Houghton]

Same here, the first in the series never was one of my favorites.

Now I come to think of it, I don't really like most of the first books in any of the series Enid wrote. I don't mind Burnt Cottage, but I'm not a massive fan of Five On A Treasure Island, or The Island of Adventure, or The Rockingdown Mystery or The Secret Seven!

Mind you, that's not to say I don't enjoy them, but none are really my favourites.

[Lucky Star]

I am very fond of The Island of Adventure, Five on a Treasure Island, TMOT Burnt Cottage and The Secret Seven. To my mind these all provide exciting and stellar introductions to their respective series'. Most of those series' of course go on to offer better entries but those first ones always feel fresh and welcoming to me, heralding a long chain of great reading in the company of some of my favourite characters.

The Rockingdown Mystery is a bit of a damp squib compared to it's successors. It's still good but really should have been better. Somehow it's elements don't quite gel as they should. The first Malory Towers is another I remember fondly and The Secret Island is an amazing first entry although like others I usually approach that one as though it were a stand alone novel.

[Rob Houghton]

and The Secret Island is an amazing first entry although like others I usually approach that one as though it were a stand alone novel.

Yes - I agree. That's why I didn't include the Secret Series. If we take 'Spiggy Holes' as being 'book 1' then I also think this is the weakest book in the series! I always class Secret Island as a stand-alone novel because its so different to those that followed it. I read it the other week and thoroughly enjoyed every page!

Talking of 'not liking' or 'not being keen on' Enid Blyton books is for me a bit pointless, however - as I love them all - even books like Banshee Towers and The Hidey Hole are more enjoyable than books by other authors!

[Courtenay]

I am very fond of The Island of Adventure, Five on a Treasure Island, TMOT Burnt Cottage and The Secret Seven. To my mind these all provide exciting and stellar introductions to their respective series'. Most of those series' of course go on to offer better entries but those first ones always feel fresh and welcoming to me, heralding a long chain of great reading in the company of some of my favourite characters.

The Rockingdown Mystery is a bit of a damp squib compared to it's successors. It's still good but really should have been better. Somehow it's elements don't quite gel as they should.

Totally agree with these (all except The Secret Seven, which I haven't read). I've always felt the Famous Five, Five Find-Outers and the Adventure series all have good, strong first stories that introduce the characters well with exciting plots and leave you wanting to read more about these children and their ongoing adventures. They may or may not be "the best" books in the series according to one's tastes, but they're all extremely good. Whereas Rockingdown is such a "damp squib" indeed that the two times I've read it (once when I was still at school and once a couple of years or so ago), I've just had no desire to read the rest of the series. I KNOW the next three books at least are absolutely brilliant according to just about everyone who's read them, but I still haven't managed to muster any great interest in them so far...