Author Donald J. Sobol [Encyclopedia Brown] 1924-2012

[Zoneboy]

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Encyclopedia Brown author Donald J. Sobol has passed away. He was 87 years old.

This GalleyCat editor will never forget the hours and hours he spent devouring this Edgar Award-winning mystery series. In addition to these books, Sobol also wrote the Two Minute Mystery series from 1959 until 1968. He launched Encyclopedia Brown in 1963, and the books are still available today from Penguin. Here is more from his biography:

Each book in the series contains ten mysteries presented in readable sentences and enhanced with witty puns and other verbal jokes. Solutions to each case are printed in the back of the book, but readers are encouraged to solve the cases themselve, reading carefully, and using a variety of methods, including deductive reasoning, psychology, and careful observation of physical evidence. Ten-year-old Leroy Brown is called “Encyclopedia” because he is so smart that he seems to know everything you would find in a set of encyclopedias. Sobol once said, “Readers constantly ask me if Encyclopedia is a real boy. The answer is no … He is, perhaps, the boy I wanted to be — doing the things I wanted to read about but could not find in any book when I was ten.”

The books inspired all sorts of cultural responses: a comic strip, a TV show, a Simpson‘s parody, an Onion article and an awesome list of the 10 Most Ridiculously Difficult Encyclopedia Brown Mysteries. Flickr user jl.incrowd has collected some classic images from the series, including the book cover embedded above.

UPDATE: If you wish to donate in memory of this great author, follow this link: “Gifts made in remembrance of Donald J. Sobol, author of the beloved Encyclopedia Brown Series, will benefit Children’s Services at The New York Public Library. The New York Public Library will send The Sobol Family a card acknowledging your generosity.” (Via Sarah Weinman)

[Marvo301]

I read and very much enjoyed both the Encyclopedia Brown books and the Two Minute Mysteries when I was a kid. Donald J. Sobol

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

I read and very much enjoyed both the Encyclopedia Brown books and the Two Minute Mysteries when I was a kid.

Likewise, they were among the books I always checked out each week at the school library.

[robyrob]

man I loved those books as a kid

[MacLeaper]

I love Encyclopedia Brown! I am a big fan of the book series- I've read this since I was a kid. The "Two Minute Mysteries" books by Donald J. Sobol are great too. It was sad to hear of his death- I pray God will comfort the family in their grief.
I have collected these books since childhood and have added the newer released titles in recent years. For anyone interested, just earlier this year a new book called "Encyclopedia Brown And His Best Cases Ever" was released, which features 15 of the classic EB mysteries (no new material there), but also includes a letter from Donald J. Sobol that talks about the creation of the series! And of course, this year also marks the 50th. anniversary of the series, since the first title was first released in 1963. It was really nice to have that last word from the author for the 50th. anniversary.
I only recently found out about the comic strip- that was really cool to find! I've seen a few strips online and more recently was able to get one of the books of comic strips that were released. I'm also interested in the TV show- I really enjoyed watching it when I was younger and I've been able to get some of the VHS releases of the show recently. It's fun watching this again- I'd love to be able to track down a good episode guide somewhere for this series though- it was rather short-lived and it's hard to find any information on it.
Anyway, it's good to see other fans of the books on here. Hooray for Encyclopedia Brown!