The Happy Hollisters Book Club: Benefits of Membership

The Happy Hollisters at Circus Island; illustration by Helen S. Hamilton

Are you on the fence, wondering whether The Happy Hollisters Book Club is right for your young readers? Maybe all you need is a little boost of information. Let us tell you how it works!

The Happy Hollisters Book Club is not like Oprah’s Book Club or your mom’s neighborhood book group. It’s not an in-person discussion group where a group of friends choose a book to read and then gather together to enjoy some snacks, compare notes, and discuss the book’s themes and characters. [Of course, if you want to start a discussion-type Happy Hollisters book club with your local or online friends, we encourage you to do so and are always available to answer any questions that might arise from your discussions! We offer bulk discounts if you want to order multiple copies of books to share with your group, and we even have youth and adult t-shirts available on our website if your book club members want to show off their Happy Hollisters pride!]

The Happy Hollisters Book Club is, simply put, a subscription. It allows you to build a complete collection of the series (33 volumes in all) over time, spreading the cost of the books out over 17 months.

Many readers may remember the Book of the Month Club, which started way back in 1926 as a “negative option” club. Your introductory book was offered at a very low price, or sometimes free, with your agreement to purchase a certain number of books. Every four weeks or so, you’d get a card in the mail announcing which book would be sent next. If you didn’t want that book, you had to return the card to decline the shipment by a certain date; if you didn’t meet the deadline, you’d receive the book in the mail, along with a bill for the cost of the book plus postage and handling. Membership could go on for years, but after you purchased a minimum number of books, you could write to the company and request cancellation of your membership. That’s not how we do it!

The original Happy Hollisters Book Club, which operated from 1962 through 1971, was a “continuity” subscription program. You joined by purchasing the first volume for just 10 cents. Two new Happy Hollisters books were then shipped automatically each month without the hassle of returning a card each month.

Here at TheHappyHollisters.com, we like doing things the old-fashioned way. Our new Happy Hollisters Book Club works the same way, with these benefits:

  • Your first volume, The Happy Hollisters, is still just a dime!
  • Choice of paperback or special-edition hardcovers with bonus pages
  • Two books shipped monthly at more than 15% off the retail price
  • Pay as you go by credit card
  • Free shipping to U.S. addresses
  • Personalized inscriptions from “Jerry West” (kids love this!)
  • Cancel anytime—no minimum number of books to purchase
  • Customized plans available on request— omit any volumes you already own or adjust frequency of shipments
  • Upon completion, each member receives a “Super Sleuth” certificate

Still Not Convinced? The Happy Hollisters Book Club is operated with a special bonus that major publishers and big clubs can’t offer!

Everything—club enrollments, confirmations, questions, personalized inscriptions, packaging, shipping—everything is handled personally by Andy Svenson III, grandson of the author, with assistance from his wife, Callie. No other subscription service in the world offers such a personal touch!

But just because he’s related, what the heck does Andy III really know about running a book club?

When the original Happy Hollisters Book Club was discontinued in 1971, the entire series went out of print. When author Andrew Svenson (aka “Jerry West”) died in 1975, the rights to the series were transferred to his widow, Marian. The series remained out of print until the reissue project was tackled by Andy III, beginning in 2010. Once all 33 volumes were reissued in 2018, The Happy Hollisters Book Club was relaunched.

While such an immense project might seem complicated and daunting to some, Andy III was uniquely qualified to take it on. Fortunately, he followed his grandfather’s (and father’s) footsteps into the publishing world, but as a marketer, not a writer. Freshly armed with a business marketing degree from the University of Iowa, Andy III’s first professional gig was in book club management, heading up the Prevention, Organic Gardening, and Practical Homeowner Book Clubs for Rodale Press and then the Outdoor Life and Popular Science Book Clubs for Grolier Publishing. Later, as a marketing consultant, he merchandised and managed club and continuity operations for American Express Publishing, Sunset, and Time-Life/Book of the Month Club. With 40 years in book publishing and direct-mail marketing, he was confident he had the chops to reissue the series and relaunch The Happy Hollisters Book Club.

The Svensons’ personal handling also allows for unique flexibility. If two books isn’t enough to satisfy your voracious young readers each month, we can send additional books to fit your family’s reading schedule. Behind in your reading and need to take a couple of months off? We can do that too! Already own several volumes in the series? We can create a custom plan just for you, omitting the books you already own.

All Happy Hollisters Book Club members have unlimited access to support by email or phone. You will never deal with a third-party fulfillment agent or customer service rep in another country; every call and email is handled personally by the Svenson family!

What have you got to lose? Join The Happy Hollisters Book Club for just ten cents today, and we’ll send volume 1 (your choice of paperback or hardcover). We can add personalized inscriptions from “Jerry West” to engage with your young reader(s) and address packages to them directly. It’s kind of a novelty for kids to get their own mail—another throwback to the days before the internet!

You and your family will have 30 days to read the book and see if it’s right for you. If you all love the story and want to read more, there’s nothing more for you to do; every month, we’ll send two more books in the series. Once you receive volume 33, The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Midnight Trolls, that’s it. There are no more books for us to ship (unless, of course, you want to continue with The Classic Hardy Boys Book Club or The Classic Nancy Drew Book Club). We’ll send certificates of completion for any number of family members you choose, and you will have a complete set of Happy Hollisters books in your family library!

We offer the first book for 10 cents because we are sure you will be hooked from the first chapter. But, if you’re not, no worries! Simply send us an email or give us a call, and we’ll suspend your membership immediately. Any books you have already paid for—including the 10-cent introductory volume—are yours to keep!

If you still have questions, all you have to do is ask! You can reach us by email at support@thehappyhollisters.com or call the Happy Hollisters Hotline at 727-945-7002.

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