I remember when our oldest son was around 10 years old how much he enjoyed the Choose Your Own adventures series of books.
Here’s a description from Wikipedia:
Choose Your Own Adventure, or Secret Path Books is a series of children’s gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character’s actions and the plot’s outcome. Choose Your Own Adventure, as published by Bantam Books, was one of the most popular children’s series during the 1980s and 1990s, selling more than 250 million copies between 1979 and 1998.
While I may have only read one of them just to see what it was like, I always thought it was a clever idea for a book series.
The books came back to me tonight as I was trying to think of something to write about. I had already scanned through The Wall Street Journal, the HuffPost, Seth Godin, and Fred Wilson, to no avail.
Then I went to StudyFinds, and I was overwhelmed with so many appealing topics to select from. So I thought rather than choosing just one that may have the most appeal to me, but not to you (notice how I am writing in the second person).
So I thought I would offer you a choice among a few different options, all of which I found interesting.
Here are the choices, all linked to their respective brief story. Enjoy…
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Sorry, honey: Husbands who don’t help out around the house typically earn more money
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Cure for cancer and dementia may be in DNA of naked mole rats
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Music at bedtime can leave listeners with ‘earworms’ that disrupt sleep quality
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3D-printed electronic nose developed to ‘sniff out’ COVID-19 in 80 seconds
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The first Americans? First humans to arrive in North America may have lived 30,000 years ago
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Americans don’t know where their national landmarks are — 1 in 5 thinks Niagara Falls is in Iceland!
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Rudeness can lead to serious mistakes in life-or-death situations
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Artificial intelligence can unknowingly influence your dating, voting decisions
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For your brain, time really does fly when you’re having fun!
Have fun choosing your own adventure, perhaps you’ll fin out if time really does fly…
A common mistake about Niagara Falls because it is actually on the Greenland side of the border with Iceland.
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isn’t that right near the Statue of Liberty?
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I definitely remember the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. They were such a thing for a few years. I did sometimes go back to read what might have happened if I had chosen a different path. I see life as a choose your own adventure experience.
Some f these topics are intriguing, but I think I would like to know more about how artificial intelligence can unknowingly influence our dating and voting decisions. That might at least explain why so many people voted for President Trump twice. That, to me, is one of life’s most confounding mysteries, especially after four years of evidence.
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I think my son would check out all the possible ways the stories could go.
And yes, it would be interesting to see what the impact was of all of those fake social media ads during the elections…
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I choose music at bedtime but only if I need to stay up all night. I remember those books. They should bring them back. They encouraged reading by making it interactive.
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I know my son certainly enjoyed those books…
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My sister and I had a lot of fun with those Choose your own adventure books! The perfect thing for long car rides! The person who created them was pretty smart! 🙂
I can see how rudeness can lead to life and death mistakes. If you have just been the rudest customer in Starbucks and then you fall over with a heart attack is someone going to want to help you?
Yes, why does time fly when having fun?
You do have a wide assortment of topics to pick from!
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My oldest son really enjoyed those books as well.
And I hope I don’t have a heart attack in Starbucks while you are there 🙂
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Haha! I wasn’t saying that I wouldn’t save the guy, I was talking about other people! And of course I would save you, I need that beach house! LOL! 😛
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I think I’ll keep dangling the beach house in front of you; it might keep me alive…
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Haha! Aren’t you smart! 🙂
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well I did get a 100 on a spelling test once when I was little…
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I remember those books! FOr my own adventure, I may start with time flies when you’re having fun and work my way up from there.
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have fun on your adventure!
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I picked the “First Americans.” Earlier tonight, I was thinking of these early Americans migrating across the Bering Strait land bridge.
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I know so little about the earliest days of our country…
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I appreciate that *you* didn’t write your post in second person. I get why they would do that if the child is the protagonist, but in every other case, it makes a story unreadable.
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I’ll have to keep an eye out for that, because I usually don’t pay attention to things like the tense or what person I am writing in. It’s probably a bit of a hodge-podge…
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I went with the earworm post, and sang it to myself. Now I won’t get any sleep tonight. But maybe this is why some babies cry all night. If they get sang to sleep by their mommies, they get an earworm. And then they cry all night, and their mommies are up all night trying to sing them to sleep again. Who knew?
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Oh my gosh! Shaking my head! Who would have thought how “dangerous” it can be to sing your baby to sleep. I never knew! 😶🤚
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wow, the headsmacks seem to be coming quite frequently… 🙂
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That was last night, today is a new day! 🙂
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another day, another chance for some head smacks…
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I know. Think of all the poor, traumatized children who’ve had to put up with this. Somebody should contact Child Protection Services.
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I think you’re on to something here. You could make billions if you could figure out a way to help babies, and parents, sleep all night…
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Billions, eh? Now I won’t be able to sleep, just thinking about how rich I might become.
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and once you’re rich, your sleep problems will be over…
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Sure will. Until they try to raise taxes, or someone tries to steal my money. Then I won’t be able to sleep again.
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well if it would help, you could share some of your wealth with me…
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I’m sure that would help. You.
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that’s better than no one being helped…
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Unless I just help myself.
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but sharing your wealth will make you even happier, and less stressed…
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Sure, until I go broke.
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from what you’ve told me about managing money, I don’t see that happening…
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Well, the less money you have, the easier it is to manage.
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that’s what I’ve discovered…
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Same here.
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👍
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Omg you just triggered fond memories within me. I miss CYOA books. I remember the ones where you had inventory sheets and even dice to add to the fun of it all. I’ve searched for them online, but nothing beats playing with books. I might actually go and look to buy some now. Thanks for this post!
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I don’t remember the inventory sheets and dice; glad you enjoyed the post. Have fun on your adventure!
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I could write a whole series of blogs choosing a different path at many stages of my life – would we start with leaving school, the first time we get a choice? Our children had those books and we still have them in the book collection saved for the grandchildren. I think you should blog about when humans first arrived in North America because 30,000 years isn’t that long ago…
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Would you have left school as soon as you had the choice? For the most part, I enjoyed school. I think we may have given away most of our CYOA books. And I guess in the grand scheme of things, 30,000 years is not that long ago…
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When greeted with such a selection of reading, I suddenly got a huge case of FOMO and read them all. I don’t remember these books, but it seems their popularity would have peaked while I was in the service. Sounds like an interesting concept.
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I think the books were popular during the 80s and 90s. But it sounds like you were busy creating your own adventures during that time…
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Also highly interactive….😁
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I’m sure you had to keep you focus during those adventures…
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Well now I’m torn between telling my husband to help out less around the house or just not showing him the article!!
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that’s a tough choice 🙂
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I remember these books well, from my daughters’ young days. personally, I’ve always been a fan of the much-maligned naked mole rat.
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the picture of the naked mole rat is kind of a turn-off…
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this is true
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👍
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1) Isn’t Niagara Falls in Greenland or something? 2) Those are great books, I especially recommend the one about Atlantis, where you can undergo a painless operation that allows you to breathe underwater after your submarine crashes. 3) I haven’t clicked any of the links yet.
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is that why the rainbow above the Falls is always green?
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That sounds right.
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We somehow missed the CYOA books. They sound like fun. I picked the naked mole rats story. Amazing they can live to 50 and may hold clues to conquering aging.
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the picture of the naked mole rat is kind of creepy…
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Reminds of the fetal pigs we dissected in biology class.
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yes, I can see the likeness. also kind of disgusting…
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I loved chose your own adventure books, Jim. I even bought some for my boys when they were young. Amazon still stocks them.
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I know my oldest son really liked them, I can’t remember with the other two…
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I loved choose your own adventure books. I only got a few. However, I ended up reading it at least twice – first was how I would choose it if it was me, and second, to see all of the alternate endings. Good stuff!
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from what I have heard, they were fun books to read. And who could resist checking out one of the alternate endings?
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So have you bought your e-nose yet? This could be very helpful in detecting cancer, diabetes. Just think of what would happen if all K teacher had e-noses. Talk about preventive medicine. And high school counselors – kids could go to continuing education – or not based on how the nose led them.
I have seen an adventure book like that online, too. They are so cool. I love your post and all the choices. That would keep me busy all day 🙂
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the possibilities are endless, you just have to see beyond your own nose. 🙂
and I know my son really enjoyed the choose your own adventure books…
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Oh dear, that’s a big problem. 🙂
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🙂
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I loved these books growing up! Lol I have a fondness for the Falls being from Ontario, Canada and visiting the landmark often in my childhood 🙂
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the books seem like they were fun to read. and how nice to have visited the Falls so often. I’m glad they are not in Iceland… 🙂
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I’d never heard of those Secret Path books Jim, but what a great idea! 🙂
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I don’t think they became popular until the 1980s and 1990s, and they were geared towards a younger audience…
it is a clever idea..
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Yes it is!.
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