When I was sorting through household items in Minnesota, preparing for a move to Florida, I came across my old Nancy Drew mysteries. The pages were worn, some had my childhood scribbles on them, the pictures on the covers had started to fade. The question was, "Should I keep them or not?" Reluctantly, I decided not to keep them. I took the books to an antiquarian bookstore where a man offered me $30 for the 25 books. I took the money and walked out the door. When I got to the corner, I turned around and went back to the store. I said I had to have just one copy back.

I needed to keep one of those Nancy Drew mysteries because of what they represented to me. When I read them as a child, I was transported into a world of questions and mysteries. It was a magical world of curiosity and surpri…