Fiction_L Archives Lemony Snicket Dates: 1/16/04,4:01 PM  through  1/22/04,10:20 PM  (23 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2011-current     2009-2010     2004-2008    1995-2003    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to January 2004 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Bruce Bumbalough" <[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 4:01 PM

Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
unfinished.

So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
them?

TIA.

Bruce L. Bumbalough
Reference Librarian
Grapevine Public Library
Grapevine, Texas 76051

email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
Voice: (817) 410-3404
Fax: (817) 410-3084

FROM: Molly Williams <[removed]@waterborolibrary.org>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 4:12 PM

Bruce,

I tried to read the first one, too, expecting to enjoy it, and I also
did not finish it. The events were too "unfortunate" for me and the
characters not compelling enough.

~ Molly Wms.

--
Molly Williams, Volunteer Web-Tender,
Waterboro Public Library (Maine): http://www.waterborolibrary.org/
... WPL Weblog: http://www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm

Bruce Bumbalough wrote:

>Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>unfinished.
>
>So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>them?
>
>TIA.
>
>
>Bruce L. Bumbalough
>Reference Librarian
>Grapevine Public Library
>Grapevine, Texas 76051
>
>email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
>Voice: (817) 410-3404
>Fax: (817) 410-3084
>
>
>

FROM: "Karen Traynor, Chittenango" <[removed]@midyork.org>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 4:22 PM

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Bruce Bumbalough" <[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us>
>Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>unfinished.
>
>So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>them?

They are wildly popular at our small libraries, with both children and adults. In fact, my staff are always anxiously awaiting the release of the next one and fight over who gets to read it first.

My son read the first few and enjoyed them. While you are right in saying that the children are mistreated, they always get the best of the evil adults in the story, and I think that is a popular theme in the 9-12 age group.

For the reluctant reader, they are a great way of improving vocabulary in a humorous way.

To truly appreciate them, you have to listen to the audio version where Tim Curry is the reader. <g>

Karen Traynor
Sullivan Free Library
519 McDonnell Street
Chittenango, NY 13037

FROM: Andrew Smith <[removed]@mail.wrl.org>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 4:28 PM

I've only dipped into these, so can't say for sure what a more in-depth
reading would show, but I would say they probably function very much like
the unexpurgated Grimm fairy tales in which mothers (yes, stepmothers were
a later change) abandon, abuse, even threaten to eat their children.
Bettelheim says those stories, bloody and horrific as rational adults may
see them, serve as an outlet for the many and often unnameable fears that
children have. Michael Bishop's introductory essay to Fantasy Literature:
A Reader's Guide (Garland Publishing, 1990) also deals with the other
formats - movies, comic books, games - that he says help children grow
into something more than dull adults. It is well worth reading to
understand why fantastic reading should be encouraged - even if is isn't
to your taste.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Andrew Smith [removed]@mail.wrl.org
Readers Services Librarian
Williamsburg Regional Library (757) 259-4050
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004, Bruce Bumbalough wrote:

> Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
> Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
> books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
> would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
> found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
> abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
> unfinished.
>
> So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
> them?
>
> TIA.
>
>
> Bruce L. Bumbalough
> Reference Librarian
> Grapevine Public Library
> Grapevine, Texas 76051
>
> email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
> Voice: (817) 410-3404
> Fax: (817) 410-3084
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>

FROM: "Joy Tofteland" <[removed]@ankeny.k12.ia.us>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 4:39 PM

I find Chekov or Dostoyevsky more uplifting. ;-) I read the first three in
the series, but could not go on. The fact that their lives were so totally
hopeless and humorless seems inappropriate for a children's book. I guess
it does not fit MY sense of humor. They are very popular at out library.
We are already replacing some that have worn out from circulating.

Joy Tofteland
Reference/ Technical Resources Librarian
Kirkendall Public Library
Ankeny, IA

-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org
[[removed]@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of Bruce Bumbalough
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 3:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Lemony Snicket

Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
unfinished.

So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
them?

TIA.

Bruce L. Bumbalough
Reference Librarian
Grapevine Public Library
Grapevine, Texas 76051

email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
Voice: (817) 410-3404
Fax: (817) 410-3084

FROM: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 1/16/04, 5:08 PM

At 03:58 PM 1/16/04 -0600, you wrote:
>Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>unfinished.

I read the first one, and thought it was a mildly amusing idea. I
read the second one, and thought it was the first one all over again
and the idea/joke had worn thin. I gather the next six or eight or
however many there are so far are more of the same again....

Surely, though, there's a lot of other classic kid's lit in which
children are abused. Maybe most of it is from the Victorian era
and before and less read today, at least by kids (though for reasons
other than abuse issues).

Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu

FROM: [removed]@uiuc.edu
REC'D: 1/16/04, 9:56 PM

I did not find anything especially humorous about the Lemony Snicket books either - until i listened to the audio books. that made them so much more entertaining. I think Tim Burton reads most of them...but the author also reads a few and he is great fun to listen to. i know other "adults" who really enjoy them, so i guess it's not just a kid thing. :)

~karin

Karin Thogersen
graduate assistant
grainger engineering library
university of illinois, urbana-champaign

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:58:32 -0600
>From: "Bruce Bumbalough" <[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us>
>Subject: Lemony Snicket
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>
>Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>unfinished.
>
>So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>them?
>
>TIA.
>
>
>Bruce L. Bumbalough
>Reference Librarian
>Grapevine Public Library
>Grapevine, Texas 76051
>
>email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
>Voice: (817) 410-3404
>Fax: (817) 410-3084
>
>
>......................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org

FROM: [removed]@uiuc.edu
REC'D: 1/16/04, 9:56 PM

whoops! Tim curry, i mean. sorry bout that.
~k

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:23:14 -0500 (EST)
>From: Andrew Smith <[removed]@mail.wrl.org>
>Subject: Re: Lemony Snicket
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>
>I've only dipped into these, so can't say for sure what a more in-depth
>reading would show, but I would say they probably function very much like
>the unexpurgated Grimm fairy tales in which mothers (yes, stepmothers were
>a later change) abandon, abuse, even threaten to eat their children.
>Bettelheim says those stories, bloody and horrific as rational adults may
>see them, serve as an outlet for the many and often unnameable fears that
>children have. Michael Bishop's introductory essay to Fantasy Literature:
>A Reader's Guide (Garland Publishing, 1990) also deals with the other
>formats - movies, comic books, games - that he says help children grow
>into something more than dull adults. It is well worth reading to
>understand why fantastic reading should be encouraged - even if is isn't
>to your taste.
>
>*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
>
>Andrew Smith [removed]@mail.wrl.org
>Readers Services Librarian
>Williamsburg Regional Library (757) 259-4050
>_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>On Fri, 16 Jan 2004, Bruce Bumbalough wrote:
>
>> Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>> Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>> books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>> would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>> found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>> abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>> unfinished.
>>
>> So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>> them?
>>
>> TIA.
>>
>>
>> Bruce L. Bumbalough
>> Reference Librarian
>> Grapevine Public Library
>> Grapevine, Texas 76051
>>
>> email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
>> Voice: (817) 410-3404
>> Fax: (817) 410-3084
>>
>>
>> ......................................................................
>> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>>
>
>
>......................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org

FROM: Kathleen Stipek <[removed]@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us>
REC'D: 1/17/04, 9:17 AM

I tried the first book, in print, and the only character I liked was the
baby who went around biting everybody that got on its infantile nerves. Oh,
to be able to do that to the ones who get on my aging nerves! I didn't like
the book because of its arch tone and campy manner. Brother Snicket is just
a wee bit too twee for me.

Kathleen Stipek, Alachua County Library District (FMG), 401 East University
Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (352-334-3939; fax 352-334-3948)

"Non, merci."
--Cyrano de Bergerac

-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Bumbalough [[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Lemony Snicket

Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
unfinished.

So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
them?

TIA.

Bruce L. Bumbalough
Reference Librarian
Grapevine Public Library
Grapevine, Texas 76051

email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
Voice: (817) 410-3404
Fax: (817) 410-3084

FROM: Heuer <[removed]@itol.com>
REC'D: 1/17/04, 2:21 PM

Yes the ones read by Tim Curry are wonderful because of his voice and the
attitude he brings to the characters. I enjoyed the first couple but as soon
as the author started doing the narration I lost interest. The stories were
all starting to sound the same but Curry made them interesting however the
author's voice just bored me and reminded me that yes, these all are about
the same - so I quit listening half way through.

--
Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
[removed]@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes,
Art is knowing which ones to keep." -anonymous

> From: [removed]@uiuc.edu
> Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 21:53:37 -0600
> To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> Subject: Re: Lemony Snicket
>
> whoops! Tim curry, i mean. sorry bout that.
> ~k
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
>> Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:23:14 -0500 (EST)
>> From: Andrew Smith <[removed]@mail.wrl.org>
>> Subject: Re: Lemony Snicket
>> To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>>
>> I've only dipped into these, so can't say for sure what a more in-depth
>> reading would show, but I would say they probably function very much like
>> the unexpurgated Grimm fairy tales in which mothers (yes, stepmothers were
>> a later change) abandon, abuse, even threaten to eat their children.
>> Bettelheim says those stories, bloody and horrific as rational adults may
>> see them, serve as an outlet for the many and often unnameable fears that
>> children have. Michael Bishop's introductory essay to Fantasy Literature:
>> A Reader's Guide (Garland Publishing, 1990) also deals with the other
>> formats - movies, comic books, games - that he says help children grow
>> into something more than dull adults. It is well worth reading to
>> understand why fantastic reading should be encouraged - even if is isn't
>> to your taste.
>>
>> *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
>>
>> Andrew Smith [removed]@mail.wrl.org
>> Readers Services Librarian
>> Williamsburg Regional Library (757) 259-4050
>> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
>> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>>
>> On Fri, 16 Jan 2004, Bruce Bumbalough wrote:
>>
>>> Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>>> Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>>> books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>>> would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>>> found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>>> abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>>> unfinished.
>>>
>>> So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>>> them?
>>>
>>> TIA.
>>>
>>>
>>> Bruce L. Bumbalough
>>> Reference Librarian
>>> Grapevine Public Library
>>> Grapevine, Texas 76051
>>>
>>> email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
>>> Voice: (817) 410-3404
>>> Fax: (817) 410-3084
>>>
>>>
>>> ......................................................................
>>> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>>> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> ......................................................................
>> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org

FROM: Di Herald <[removed]@mac.com>
REC'D: 1/17/04, 2:43 PM

I know I'm late in chiming in on this thread but I actually enjoyed the first book (didn't read any of the others). It was recommended to me by one of my former teen readers who was a college student working on her third degree when she told me to read it. I did like the arch tone and campy manner. To me that was the point. As far as abused children go -- abuse does happen in real life and I liked that the Beaudelaire (sp?) children were such survivors. As far as who the books are for, my 10 year old neice loves them and was finishing off the series before she started on the lovely fantasy novel I sent her for Christmas, the woman who recommend them to me is in her 20s and totally brilliant, and I am not young by any means. It is a type of book that appeals to certain readers like Hovarth's Canning Season and Carl Hiaasen who write with a twist.

Diana Tixier Herald, author of TEEN GENREFLECTING 2nd edition
ISBN: 1563089963
http://www.genrefluent.com [removed]@sff.net
Rosenberg's first law of reading:"Never apologize for your reading tastes."

On Saturday, January 17, 2004, at 08:12AM, Kathleen Stipek <[removed]@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us> wrote:

>I tried the first book, in print, and the only character I liked was the
>baby who went around biting everybody that got on its infantile nerves. Oh,
>to be able to do that to the ones who get on my aging nerves! I didn't like
>the book because of its arch tone and campy manner. Brother Snicket is just
>a wee bit too twee for me.
>
>Kathleen Stipek, Alachua County Library District (FMG), 401 East University
>Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (352-334-3939; fax 352-334-3948)
>
>"Non, merci."
>--Cyrano de Bergerac
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bruce Bumbalough [[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us]
>Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:59 PM
>To: Fiction_L
>Subject: Lemony Snicket
>
>
>Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
>Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
>books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
>would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
>found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
>abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
>unfinished.
>
>So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
>them?
>
>TIA.
>
>
>Bruce L. Bumbalough
>Reference Librarian
>Grapevine Public Library
>Grapevine, Texas 76051
>
>email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
>Voice: (817) 410-3404
>Fax: (817) 410-3084
>
>
>......................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>
>......................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>
>


Diana Tixier Herald, author of TEEN GENREFLECTING 2nd edition
ISBN: 1563089963
http://www.genrefluent.com [removed]@sff.net
Rosenberg's first law of reading:"Never apologize for your reading tastes."

FROM: N Korsavidis <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 1/18/04, 1:16 PM

I have read all of the Lemony Snicket books and have
loved every minute of them. I agree to a certain point
that they are more "adult" than "children's". For
example, in the Hostile Hospital, the author mentions
various names of patients within and I quickly
recognized one as Clarissa Dalloway from Virginia
Woolf.

I have given them to adults and children alike, but
usually only if I know they prefer that specific
genre. I tend to also mention they are somewhat along
the lines of the Roald Dahl books in their humor.

I did start listening to Book 1 on audio and I have to
agree Tim Curry did a great job narrating!

Natalie

=====
Natalie Korsavidis
Youth Services Librarian
Farmingdale Public Library

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes
http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

FROM: "Bev Copeland" <[removed]@webrary.org>
REC'D: 1/20/04, 9:45 AM

I cannot understand all the excitement about these books, they are very
heavy and very dark and I felt, disturbing. I actually made it through a
couple of the series before thinking to myself, " This is just too much!"
I kept thinking that the stories would eventually turn out on a more
positive note. I wouldn't personally recommend them to anyone.

Bev Copeland
Youth Services Dept.
Morton Grove Public Library
6140 North Lincoln Avenue
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 965-4220
[removed]@webrary.org
http://www.webrary.org
Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
official Library policy.

----------
>From: "Bruce Bumbalough" <[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us>
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>Subject: Lemony Snicket
>Date: Fri, Jan 16, 2004, 3:58 PM
>

> Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
> Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
> books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
> would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
> found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
> abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
> unfinished.
>
> So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
> them?
>
> TIA.
>
> Bruce L. Bumbalough
> Reference Librarian
> Grapevine Public Library
> Grapevine, Texas 76051
>
> email: [removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us
> Voice: (817) 410-3404
> Fax: (817) 410-3084
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org

FROM: Laura Pearle <[removed]@pcs-nyc.org>
REC'D: 1/20/04, 10:19 AM

I can tell you that when the new books come out, I have students lining up
to borrow them. As far as I can tell, they don't see them as "dark" or
problematic, and the so-called abuse of the Baudelaire children my students
find comical. It's one of those books that adults seem not to like but
kids love.

Go figure.

Laura Pearle
Head Librarian
Gladys Brooks Library
Professional Children's School
[removed]@pcs-nyc.org

***
This e-mail is a natural product made from recycled electrons. The slight
variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character
and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws of defects

FROM: Lindy Pratch <[removed]@EPL.CA>
REC'D: 1/20/04, 5:44 PM

I read Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning when it first came out and I found
it amusing but I didn't feel compelled to read the subsequent books as they
were published. Then, last year, I volunteered to compile a list of Lemony
Snicket read-alikes. (We had long waiting lists for his newer titles.) To
refresh my memory, I read another in the Series of Unfortunate Events; the
one on the shelf at the time was The Miserable Mill. The Beaudelaire
children were forced to operate dangerous machinery in a sawmill... it was
just so ridiculous. I loved it and I laughed out loud in parts. I don't
think these books are just for kids. Grown-ups can enjoy silliness too.

Lindy Pratch
Edmonton Public Library

FROM: "Erin Apostolos" <[removed]@mailserv.mvlc.lib.ma.us>
REC'D: 1/21/04, 2:16 PM

Upon finishing Sabriel (also read by Tim Curry) in audio I was so impressed
with his narration that I tried the first Lemony Snicket in audio. Where
Curry's narration was perfect, the story couldn't keep my interest. It was
just so "woe is me" and wrought with despair that I couldn't stand it
anymore. I quit half-way through. I almost never quit books and this one
was only 4 CDs long but I've had root canals that were more uplifting.

Erin Apostolos
Assistant Director for User Services
Merrimack Valley Library Consortium

From: Bruce Bumbalough [[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Lemony Snicket

Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
unfinished.

So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
them?

FROM: "Robin Deffendall" <[removed]@cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 1/21/04, 2:44 PM

Who knows why some people like this sort of thing. The kids that like Lemony
Snickett probably grow into adults who like "A Child Called 'It'"..... I
suspect it's like roller coasters and Stephen King. Laughing at danger and
the "safe scare."

I've been turned off of depression lit (which I always think of as "disease
of the week") ever since spending several years as a teen librarian. Ah, the
angst!

One day I will read a Lemony Snickett (if I could find the aptly named "The
Bad Beginning" on the shelf). But I dread the day.

Robin Deffendall
Branch Manager
Bordeaux Branch Library
Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center
Fayetteville, NC
"The Very Best Place to Start for Learning and Discovery."

-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org [[removed]@maillist.webrary.org]
On Behalf Of Erin Apostolos
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 3:10 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: RE: Lemony Snicket

Upon finishing Sabriel (also read by Tim Curry) in audio I was so impressed
with his narration that I tried the first Lemony Snicket in audio. Where
Curry's narration was perfect, the story couldn't keep my interest. It was
just so "woe is me" and wrought with despair that I couldn't stand it
anymore. I quit half-way through. I almost never quit books and this one
was only 4 CDs long but I've had root canals that were more uplifting.

Erin Apostolos
Assistant Director for User Services
Merrimack Valley Library Consortium

From: Bruce Bumbalough [[removed]@grapevine.lib.tx.us]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Lemony Snicket

Talking with the children's librarians the other day, the subject of Lemony
Snicket came up. One of them said the mothers whose children read these
books enjoy them because the humor works on many levels. I thought maybe I
would try one and so took home the first in the series "A Bad Beginning". I
found it very difficult to read a book for children in which children are
abused. I finally did something rare for me and abandoned the book
unfinished.

So I am wondering -- I know they are "kid books" -- what do you all think of
them?

FROM: Rachel Thern <[removed]@mail.pratt.lib.md.us>
REC'D: 1/22/04, 8:51 AM

Um, no, I'm an adult who enjoys the Lemony Snicket series and am
surprised by all the people who find it depressing. It's got a fantasy
sense of unreality that makes it very different from any "real" stories
of child abuse. I don't consider it depressing at all, the fact that
it's a bit dark is what makes it so fun. Well, those who don't get it
can stick with the sunny stuff. I love Violet.
Rachel

Robin Deffendall wrote:

>Who knows why some people like this sort of thing. The kids that like Lemony
>Snickett probably grow into adults who like "A Child Called 'It'"..... I
>suspect it's like roller coasters and Stephen King. Laughing at danger and
>the "safe scare."
>
>
>

FROM: Joshua Newhouse <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 1/22/04, 1:14 PM

Hi there,

I was initially reluctant to read the Lemony Snicket
books, but after hearing such good things I began
them. The first one I'll admit was a little slow, but
once you get into the series you'll keep reading them
regardless of whether you are young or old. As far as
abuse, think of it as Cinderella-style where the
heroes and heroines have to face adversity. The sly
wit, dark humor and engaging characters have grabbed
my 12 year old brother-in-law, and me in different
ways.

Really the big difference between these and other
similar books is the deprecating wit, and the dark
endings. So many television shows and movies end with
cliffhangers and really these books do the same. I
would recommend these for kids finished with Harry
Potter and twiddling their thumbs (advanced 3rd grade
and up roughly) with no qualms. But not for everyone.

Thanks for reading,

Josh
USF

Re: Upon finishing Sabriel (also read by Tim Curry) in
audio I was so
impressed
with his narration that I tried the first Lemony
Snicket in audio.
Where
Curry's narration was perfect, the story couldn't keep
my interest. It
was
just so "woe is me" and wrought with despair that I
couldn't stand it
anymore. I quit half-way through. I almost never quit
books and this
one
was only 4 CDs long but I've had root canals that were
more uplifting.

Erin Apostolos
Assistant Director for User Services
Merrimack Valley Library Consortium

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it!
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FROM: [removed]@rcn.com
REC'D: 1/22/04, 4:18 PM

I haven't read the Lemony Snicket books, but sort of imagined
them as being along the lines of Edward Gorey's "Gashlycrumb
Tinies" - "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs; B is for
Basil assaulted by bears.." or possibly Saki's (H.H.
Munro) "Sredni Vashtar". Or maybe even Roald Dahl, though I
tend to think of him mostly as mean, while the others are
sometimes funny but very dark.

Thanks for the info on the narrator - I'd listen to Tim Curry
read the phone book! :^)

Helen Shaw
Reference, Holden,MA
Tech Services Hudson, MA

------------------------------------

Life would be a lot better if the reference desk were made out of gingerbread instead of laminated particle board. Seriously. - http://badgirllibrarian.blogspot.com/

FROM: Kathleen Stipek <[removed]@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us>
REC'D: 1/22/04, 4:24 PM

Also Lois Duncan's Terrible Tales of Happy Days School where brats and inept
adults get theirs in verse. Those of us who have days when we think that
the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland was a little soft-hearted can read these
and laugh ourselves silly.

Kathleen Stipek, Alachua County Library District (FMG), 401 East University
Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (352-334-3939; fax 352-334-3948)

"Non, merci."
--Cyrano de Bergerac

-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@rcn.com [[removed]@rcn.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 5:13 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Lemony Snicket

I haven't read the Lemony Snicket books, but sort of imagined
them as being along the lines of Edward Gorey's "Gashlycrumb
Tinies" - "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs; B is for
Basil assaulted by bears.." or possibly Saki's (H.H.
Munro) "Sredni Vashtar". Or maybe even Roald Dahl, though I
tend to think of him mostly as mean, while the others are
sometimes funny but very dark.

Thanks for the info on the narrator - I'd listen to Tim Curry
read the phone book! :^)

Helen Shaw
Reference, Holden,MA
Tech Services Hudson, MA

------------------------------------

Life would be a lot better if the reference desk were made out of
gingerbread instead of laminated particle board. Seriously. -
http://badgirllibrarian.blogspot.com/

FROM: <[removed]@bellsouth.net>
REC'D: 1/22/04, 10:14 PM

> I'd listen to Alan Rickman do the same! (Oh, dear! I hope this doesn't start an
extraneous thread)
> From: [removed]@rcn.com
> Date: 2004/01/22 Thu PM 05:13:06 EST
> To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> Subject: Lemony Snicket
>
>
> Thanks for the info on the narrator - I'd listen to Tim Curry
> read the phone book! :^)
>
> Helen Shaw
> Reference, Holden,MA
> Tech Services Hudson, MA
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Life would be a lot better if the reference desk were made out of gingerbread instead of
laminated particle board. Seriously. - http://badgirllibrarian.blogspot.com/
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>

FROM: <[removed]@bellsouth.net>
REC'D: 1/22/04, 10:20 PM

> I'd listen to Alan Rickman do the same! (Oh, dear! I hope this doesn't start an
extraneous thread)
> From: [removed]@rcn.com
> Date: 2004/01/22 Thu PM 05:13:06 EST
> To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> Subject: Lemony Snicket
>
>
> Thanks for the info on the narrator - I'd listen to Tim Curry
> read the phone book! :^)
>
> Helen Shaw
> Reference, Holden,MA
> Tech Services Hudson, MA
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Life would be a lot better if the reference desk were made out of gingerbread instead of
laminated particle board. Seriously. - http://badgirllibrarian.blogspot.com/
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>

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