The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room

Over the past few years, I'v begun picking up books and saying, "Oh, this looks good!"  Then I begin the book and realize that it IS good... and that I read it previously.  So, I am beginning this as a journal for remembering all the reading I do.  :)

My most recent books were checked out on audio from the library in the school I teach for.  In less than a week, I finished them and very much enjoyed them:

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning.  This was read by Tim Curry, which is why I picked it up off the shelf immediately.  The Baudelaire children begin their sad turn of events by receiving news that their parents have died in a house fire while the children were exploring the beach.  They are then passed on to a relative, Count Olaf, who will becoming their nemesis for the rest of the series (I assume... I've only read two of these books).  He stages a marriage to Violet, the oldest, but is thwarted by her cleverly using her left hand to sign the marriage license.  One of the things I love about this book is that the narrator's presence is VERY strong.  He is constantly interrupting to warn the reader that the story has a sad ending or to tell the reader what a word means.  The dry humor is wonderful because you can just imagine parents reading this with their kids and laughing out loud.  At the end of the book there is an interview with the author.  It's odd because I'm not sure if he is actually on the autism spectrum or if he is pretending for the sake of his "character". It reminds me of Andy Kaufmann.  He's pretending that he is not really Lemony Snicket, but simply Daniel Handler, the legal rep. for Lemony Snicket.

The Reptile Room immediately followed the first.  It was significantly less scary, which I think Snicket made up for by killing a character.  I very much appreciated the suspense of this sophomore novel, but you can tell that it is a vehicle for continuing the series and providing a little sunshine after such a negative first book.  The sad part is that I can no find the rest of the series on audio!

I must also admit that I must have finished these at least 6 books ago and have forgotten about this blog.  I'm back on the beat, now.  ;)