The Bad Beginning
Because what I need in my life right now is yet another series with more than ten books. At least these can all be read in a single sitting.
The Bad Beginning is the first in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. I first read it and the second book years ago when I was baby-sitting for my cousins. But at the time the series wasn't complete and I had no real incentive to track it down and read the whole thing. Then I kept hearing about it. Then Netflix announced their adaptation of it. Then it was my birthday. So I finally bought The Complete Wreck and doubled the length of my reading list in one fell swoop.
But it is a very short book. 160 pages, with illustrations and large type on small pages. I read it quickly and found it delightful. Even though these books are about the terrible things that happen to the Baudelaire orphans, beginning with them becoming orphans, Snicket has a sense of humor that elevates the story. It's funny and charming while refusing to shy away from grief and pain and fear.
The books are very obviously written for children, with Snicket interrupting the text every so often to explain a word or concept. I especially liked when he flipped this around, using a more complicated word like feigning to explain the basic word faking.
I'm eager to read the rest over the weekends remaining in the summer. Despite constant assurances that this won't end well I can't help but expect a happy ending. It's a children's book, after all. I guess I'll just have to see where it goes.
The Bad Beginning is the first in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. I first read it and the second book years ago when I was baby-sitting for my cousins. But at the time the series wasn't complete and I had no real incentive to track it down and read the whole thing. Then I kept hearing about it. Then Netflix announced their adaptation of it. Then it was my birthday. So I finally bought The Complete Wreck and doubled the length of my reading list in one fell swoop.
But it is a very short book. 160 pages, with illustrations and large type on small pages. I read it quickly and found it delightful. Even though these books are about the terrible things that happen to the Baudelaire orphans, beginning with them becoming orphans, Snicket has a sense of humor that elevates the story. It's funny and charming while refusing to shy away from grief and pain and fear.
The books are very obviously written for children, with Snicket interrupting the text every so often to explain a word or concept. I especially liked when he flipped this around, using a more complicated word like feigning to explain the basic word faking.
I'm eager to read the rest over the weekends remaining in the summer. Despite constant assurances that this won't end well I can't help but expect a happy ending. It's a children's book, after all. I guess I'll just have to see where it goes.
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