It wasn't a complete collection, and currently still isn't. Many of them were from my childhood, my original reading days. Many of them also came from second hand shops and Trade Me auctions in 2009 - the first attempt I made at completing my collection.
I decided that I might as well finally do it, get them all, and to justify the time and expense to myself (and my partner), I decided I'd start a blog of my reread. So this is it.
One of the main ideas I want to explore is the feminist side of these books. I was so heavily influenced by them as a young girl - what ideas did I glean from them back then? What sort of message did I get about growing up as a female from these books?
I grew up in a feminist household, which I didn't quite realise at the time because it seemed pretty normal. I was always encouraged to work to the best of my capabilities, to be curious, to be active and to be involved. My father (who died when I was 12 - I mention this because I'm sure it will continue to come up) drove around in a car with a bumper sticker that read Women Can Do Anything. I remember someone (an adult) making fun of him for it and being wholly confused.
It was only as I became a teenager and a young adult that I began to see double standards between myself and my brothers, or other males my age. In the workplace, in regards to romantic entanglements, in the way the world is presented to me through the media. This went against the way I had been taught to exist within the world and could be pretty confusing.
The Babysitter's Club girls all work to the best of their capabilities, are curious and active and involved. They are active and engaged feminists and are incredible role models for young girls to have. They live in a world with divorced parents, with racial discrimination, with gender discrimination. They also have slumber parties and organise parade floats and go to school dances so at least there's a good mix.
So yeah, that's what I think this blog is going to be about. I really hate the word "snark" and I won't use it, but I'm sure there'll be plenty of things in the books I can make fun of. I also won't be reading in series order, for no real reason except that I don't want to. I will start with book number #1 though.
A few things about me, for context:
- I was born in 1986 - the year the first Babysitter's Club book was published. I probably started reading them in 1993, though that's a wild guess.
- The last Babysitter's Club I remember buying was #100 - and I don't remember reading too many of the books that came after that. #100 came out in 1996 though, which seems a little early for me to have stopped but is probably because of my next point.
- I live in Wellington, New Zealand so many of my ideas about the USA came from these books. And also probably means we got the books a little later than the US did though that is a complete and utter guess, founded in no fact except that we still, in 2015, struggle to get television shows the same time as the US.
- My name is Lauren, but I do enjoy my nickname - Lorrie.
