When the kids were young and, in my opinion, reading books too easy for them, I tricked them into reading the Lemony Snicket books by telling them they were too hard for them to read and maybe they could read them in a few years time.

They fell for it and both of them ended up reading the entire series while I only read up to The Carnivorous Carnival.

I binged on the Netflix versions of the books (oh wow! Neil Patrick Harris!!!) and since season 2 ends with the book I last read, I decided to go ahead and read the rest of the series but it would seem that our copies of the books have mysteriously disappeared, a phrase that here means “someone absconded with them but are not admitting it,” so I was forced to use the Libby app on my phone and put it on hold.

I liked it, just fine, but I am ashamed to say that I like the series better. The repetition in the book got to me (which is why I stopped reading the series after The Carnivorous Carnival (which I may or may not have finished).

I will still read The Grim Grotto, and The Penultimate Peril and The End, but I am pretty sure I will feel the same about them.

The kids gave me a couple of Snicket’s other books (or rather Daniel Handler — the real name of the author) and I do need to get to those, which I will, hopefully this year.

Very enjoyable book, fun in many ways, easy to read. I was a little put off, however, about the mean-spirited things the author had to say about most people, especially those who were Canadian, Midwestern, from Seattle or even just “nice.” I would have attributed it to the characters in the book, but Semple said that she wrote the book based on her difficult transition from LA to Seattle.

That said, I suppose it was a satire, so I suppose I will let it pass. Looking forward to the film due out in October — although Cate Blanchett is not who I pictured as Bernadette.