Moving Away from Preteen Towards Demented Child

I was in a bad mood. This weekend was just freaking stressful (college apps... gah), and I did not feel like challenging myself with anything actually intellectually stimulating. So I read more books absurdly under my reading level!

During NaNoWriMo, Lemony Snicket wrote one of the pep talks. There were a dozen or so pep talks released over the course of the month. I only read two of them, John Green's and Snicket's. Reading Snicket's talk made me really miss the Series of Unfortunate Events. So I started looking around Lemony Snicket's website to see if he'd written anything new. He has.

But before I could start something new, I decided that I had to reread the series. Which is why I read The Bad Beginning and The Reptile Room this weekend.

Yes, they are children's books, I am aware of that. And yes, they are unfortunate and not the typical books that one would gravitate towards in times of stress and anxiety. But, I love them. They are comfort books. They were the first series that I became obsessed with to the point where I started frequenting fan sites and writing essays on my theories. The Series of Unfortunate Eventswas my first Harry Potter series.

The two books themselves were very good. I'd forgotten about a lot of stuff. The plot points I remembered for the most part, but I didn't remember all of the little references to side characters. (OMG Bruce is in the end of Reptile Room and he appears in a later book! Theory time!) I had also forgotten about Snicket's habit of defining words within the text. I like it. It's an excellent way to subtly teach children vocabulary.

I like Violet and Klaus and Sunny. I grew up with them. Or, at least, I spent a lot of 5th and 6th grade being obsessed with them. At the same time though, it feels kind of stupid to summarize the plots here. I've read them enough that I know I won't forget. I'm going to continue to work my way through the series, and I should have some more interesting posts when I can start theorizing again. The earlier books are pretty devoid of material that is usable in theories.

Also, I feel weird referring to "Lemony Snicket" as Snicket. His real name is Daniel Handler. I feel like I should refer to him as "Handler." But I guess he likes his pen name, and it serves a purpose.

I swear, I'll get around to No Exit and Water for Elephants. Soon. And I'll finish my Vegetarianism and Occultism audiobook this week. 'Tis my goal.

Total: 83
NonFic: 25 (30.1%)