an (un)fortunate reading experience

hi everyone!

wow, where’ve i been? hehe!  well if you ask my husband, i’ve had my nose stuck in books and magazines the last few weeks! hehe! 

i have this strange habit of reading several different books (plus 2-3 different magazines) at the same time.  i donno why.  maybe because now that i go to the library all the time and the books are free (i used to belong to book clubs and buy them all the time!  egads!), it’s easy to grab a few and then just read them as i’m in the mood throughout the day/evening.

just last night i finished reading Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. many of you have probably seen the movie, like i did, starring Jim Carrey.  i saw it not too long after it came out.  it was okay—but a bit dark and creepy for me considering it was supposed to be a kids’ movie!   if you havent, in short, it’s about 3 orphaned siblings and their woeful story of being shuffled from guardian to guardian, all the while a sinister man trying to steal their family’s fortune.

but then i found out it was based on books and was curious to read them.  there’s 13 (juvenile fiction) books in the series, and the movie only covers the first 3 (therefore, doesn’t tell the whole complicated story!).  so, last summer i read 8 of them.  but then i could never get ahold of book 9 or 10—they were always checked out! hehe!  so i gave up until just last week, when books 9-13 were in.  so i checked them all out and like i said, finished them last nite.  i actually read the last two books both yesterday! LOL!

i have to admit when i first started reading them last summer, i was a bit disappointed.  in fact, i kept thinking to myself—i dont think i’d want my own child to read these!  they are very morbid—and usually more than one person dies during each book and always in a quite um, unfortunate way.  

fortunately, they arent very gruesome at all—but as the author always warns at the beginning of each book and also in a letter to the reader on the back cover, you should never expect happy endings:

Dear Reader,

Unless you are a slug, a sea anenome, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp.  You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater.

In fact, the horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn’t want me even to mention the worst of it, which includes mushrooms, a desperate search for something lost, a mechanical monster, a distressing message from a lost friend, and tap dancing. 

As a dedicated author who has pledged to keep recording the depressing story of the Baudelaires, I must continue to delve deep into the cavernous depths of the orphans’ lives.  You, on the other hand, may delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being dampened. 

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

The Grim Grotto, Book the Eleventh

but of course his fair warnings only curiosify! hehe! :)

i’m not much of one for book reviews that give too much away, but let me say that i was very hooked to this series, especially once more mysterious (and unfortunate!) events kept creeping into the plot.  i’m a sucker for stuff like that.  and UNLIKE most adult fiction mystery books i read—i DIDNT figure this one out!

in fact, i’m so curiosified that i put The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket on hold at the library. hehe!  it’s supposed to help clear up a lot of the loose ends and questions readers might have about many of the secret circumstances that surround the Baudelaire’s lives.

i was also interested in finding out more about Lemony Snicket himself!  while that link was interesting enough, i found that reading about Mr. Snicket’s uhh, representative, Mr. Handler, quite intriguing now that i’ve read the books! 

however, DONT look up Lemony Snicket himself on Wiki, unless you want more secrets revealed to you that could spoil the fun in reading the books.  i purposely waited until i was finished with them, and i’m glad i did!  but, if you’re like one of those little kids who MUST find his Christmas gifts where they’re hidden in the closet before Christmas morning, then by all means, read about Lemony Snicket and his secrets! LOL!   

i was also quite impressed with the amount of information packed into each book, and how the author is very consistent with his facts between books.  as you continue to progress in the series, there are many references about past events to help you connect it all together into one big, cohesive account of the characters’ lives.  

in fact, i almost find myself missing the Baudelaires! hehe!  kinda like how i felt after reading The Chronicles of Narnia (my fave books of all time!).  you become very attached to the characters because the books reveal so much about their personas that they seem like real people. 

if you enjoy easy-to-read fantasy that’s a bit dark and humorous yet with witty (and very sad and true) tales of the human condition all wound up and concealed in a juvenile fiction form, then i definitely recommend this series of books!

ANYHOO…this has once again got my creative juices flowing for my own juvenile fiction writing.  yes, i’ve been interested in it for years!  i’ve not yet completed a book, but i’ve got plenty of little stories on the side.  in fact, here’s a short one (based on a true story from my own life!) you may enjoy called crinkle crinkle scoop.  i suppose it might be more suited to an audience of adults born in the 70s moreso than kids tho. hehe!!

alrighty, off i go…to write while the pen’s hot!!

enjoy your monday!

~josey~