Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series Celebration!

This blog post is a little celebration that will expose me (further) as a giant nerd (crazy person). 

I have completed my collection of the
Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series!!

When I was in primary school, I was obsessed with the Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series. They are awesome! (note the use of ‘are’, their awesomeness has not faded with the years).

In primary school I borrowed a large number (not sure exactly 10-14 or so) of them from my best friend.  He then went to a different high school, and we lost touch for a number of years. In year 12, we were re-united and I realised that I still had them so I asked if he wanted them back. No-longer being in primary school, he said no, I could keep them. *SCORE!*

So a few years later I started trying to collect all the missing titles. This proved to be more difficult than I first thought. Then over the last year or so it kind of slipped from my mind. You can see one of my very early blog entries where I tried to read and review all the ones I had.

Last week, that same friend and his lovely wife (the mutual friend that facilitated our reunion in high school as she had kept contact with him, then went on to marry him) came over for dinner. Nostalgia had him browsing this series on my shelf and he asked if I had the complete set. I checked and saw I had only one left to collect. They both offered to check their local second hand bookshops. The next day, he sent me a text saying that the one I needed was on Amazon. I looked into it, and it would have cost me $16-$20 all up including postage. I figured I should check ebay while I was at it and there was a copy for $6 with free postage! *WIN!*

So this is a little celebration of my childhood (adulthood) nerd-dom (craziness). I even threw together a video to mark the event!

It’s true, I panicked for a moment when I looked on Wikipedia and saw that did have ‘Agent Arthur’s Mountain Mission’. But thankfully there is always someone crazier in the world and I found *this website* that told me once and for all that it never existed. I kind of wish my Agent Arthur's Island Adventure had a matching cover, but beggars can't be choosers.

It is also true that I don’t have all the other series either. I do have the 3 Advance level ones, but not all of the other series. I am missing:

Science series # 2 – The Time Warp Vrius

Whodunnits # 2 – Murder Unlimited

Spinechillers # 1 – Midnight Ghosts

Spinechillers # 2 – House of Shadows

Spinechillers # 6 – Nightmare at Mystery Mansion

Spinechillers  - Clock of Doom

Then of the Young Series, the only one I do have us # 7.

But a win is a win and I've got the whole original series now! I'm so happy! If only my Emily Rodda Teen Power Inc series were as complete (I'm missing 4 of those)

Anyway, I’ll wrap it up there, those of you who are collectors can celebrate with me and the others, well, you can think what you will. It won’t change how I feel about it! J

5 Gold Stars