A Series of Unfortunate Events....the books not the movie

[adina]

Anyone read these?

My husband is reading them to our girls, a chapter a night, before bed. They love them. Absolutely love them. And they talk about it all time, about Sunny, Klaus, and Violet, and how Count Olaf is a bad person, and how he is trying to trick them. And how the kids try to outsmart him, and what they think will happen next.

So at school today, they are doing a dress up like your favorite story character, my oldest is Violet, from these books.

adina

[mjs1973]

Anyone read these?

My husband is reading them to our girls, a chapter a night, before bed. They love them. Absolutely love them. And they talk about it all time, about Sunny, Klaus, and Violet, and how Count Olaf is a bad person, and how he is trying to trick them. And how the kids try to outsmart him, and what they think will happen next.

So at school today, they are doing a dress up like your favorite story character, my oldest is Violet, from these books.

adina

I was planning on reading them a while back but I haven't gotten to them yet. My girlfriend ordered 3 books in the series, but she ordered books 6,7 and 8 instead of the first ones...

[adina]

We got 1,2, and 3 from Santa. I've going to pick up the next 2 in the next month or so.

Here she is, we tried to get the whole outfit, but my lens started making funny noises and wouldn't focus. I think it is dying....

[EmbeddedMatt]

Those books should not be considered juvenile literature. They are better than most fiction intended for adult audiences. My two and half year old doesn't care for them, but my five month old loves to listen to me read those books to him. I give Klaus a Schwarzenegger voice which he seems to enjoy.

The only thing that turns me off is the high price of the books. I guess it's not all that high, but multiplied by eleven it starts to add up which is why I have checked out all but the first from the public library -- a phrase which here means a place where cheapskates go to borrow books and get tax forms.

[adina]

We are huge fans of the public library. My 6 yr old is going to get her very own library card this month (she just started girls scouts, that's one of thier activities).

High price of books? I'll pay it. What I won't pay big bucks for is video games or movies. We buy probably about 1 or 2 movies a year. But a book, I'd pay money for those any day of the week.

adina

[Chunk]

Another shot for the portfolio, Adina. Yours and hers.

[EmbeddedMatt]

What's a movie? I think I've been to one movie since my first son was born. I like the books too. I just don't know if I like them $100 worth.

Since you mentioned video games, there is one video game that my family has really enjoyed: Donkey Konga for GameCube. The short version is you beat a bongo drum along to the music but it is great fun. What would I do without Donkey Konga, Lemony Snicket, the Wiggles, and TiVo? (Oh, and my camera since this is a photorgraphy forum.)

[adina]

Another shot for the portfolio, Adina. Yours and hers.

thanks Chuck.

I have such a hard time with the fact she's 6. When did we get so old?

[adina]

What's a movie? I think I've been to one movie since my first son was born. I like the books too. I just don't know if I like them $100 worth.

Since you mentioned video games, there is one video game that my family has really enjoyed: Donkey Konga for GameCube. The short version is you beat a bongo drum along to the music but it is great fun. What would I do without Donkey Konga, Lemony Snicket, the Wiggles, and TiVo? (Oh, and my camera since this is a photorgraphy forum.)

We have the GameCube too. We bought it for New Years Eve when my youngest was like 2. We have Mario party 4 and 5. We just picked up a Sonic game for my oldest for Christmas at Menards for like $13.

How often do we use that thing? Like once every other month or so. Why did we get it? They ambushed me at the store. "I love you Mommy" " You're the best Mom ever, can we look at the Nintendo"

[MJS]

Books are cool. We still read together when appropriate, even with my 14 year old. The television and computer are off limits during the school week for the kids. Lucky for Dad the teacher, I need to use the PC for educational and busines purposes, yeah, that's it, educational purposes. Heck, we didn't even have any type of console games in the house till grandma bought the X box this past Christmas.

[opus]

my son read the Lemony Snicket books when he was 11 or 12 and loved them. I started book 1 but couldn't really get myself involved in it, don't know why.

Hey, I've heard the X Box has some sort of exercise "game" for it that gives you a "personalized" and varied workout, and if you don't do it regularly the game yells at you. If you do it regularly, it rewards you with cool new music and stuff.

I want that game.

[walterick]

I have an Atari 2600 stashed away somewhere. It is as fun or funner than the new stuff, I guarantee you... when it works.

Next is the original Nintendo 8-bit which works almost as often as the Atari. Super Mario Brothers 3, the original Legend of Zelda and Tetris will keep you busy through senility (if they don't cause it)

As for books, it's been maybe 10 years since I've read a fiction book It's all health/psychology/spirituality for me these days. Oh, and a little politics thrown in there too. Let it be known, I am the slowest reader in the western hemisphere so reading a book is a major commitment for me. I read 3 books a year if I'm lucky. I have textboks to read for grad school now so my self-medication of spiritual books is on hold till graduation.

Rick

[almo]

Oh gee-golly-gosh, I love books! I am on the Lord Of The Rings at this moment. That and a troublesome issuse of shutterbug. I was reading the Harry Potter series with my GF, but we called it quits after book 4. To darned expencive and I had certain objections to a novel like those being aimed at childern. In my opinion that is teenaged to full blown adult literature.

I havn't seen or read any of the unfortunate events books, but I did see an interview with the author and while he did kinda' creep me out I found him to be a fairly stable person, and he does seem to really love kids and unstand their thought processes. Although I am not sure I would want to leave my kids alone with him.

How do his books compare to the Potter books?

almo

[megan]

Oooh, I LOVE the Lemony Snicket books! I got them about 3 years ago. And I don't have kids! I think they are just great. I love the photos of him :

http://www.lemonysnicket.com/author.cfm
(I think there are more on Meredith Heuer's website)

and I love this site:

http://www.quidditch.com/lemony%20snicket.htm

which goes into where all of the names come from (remember Sunny and Klaus von Bulow?), and sunny's little quips, and lots of other little literary tidbits.

I can't wait to have kids and read Lemony Snicket as well as Neil Gaiman's kids books to them! It must be fun for your husband. The movie was good, the costumes and sets were the best part IMHO.

Megan

[megan]

Wow! I would have loved to have seen an interview with him.
I'm a fan of his band, the Magnetic Fields. They are a little darker than the books

mg

[megan]

a phrase which here means a place where cheapskates go to borrow books and get tax forms.

Brilliant!
When my friend worked at Scholastic, she got me the Scholastic-issued paperbacks.

When my niece was in 3rd grade and a budding avid reader, I bought her the first set for Christmas, then the second set for her birthday. She couldn't wait for next Christmas for the third installment! She's a little older now and I get to start her on my favorite classics from the Bronte sisters.

Has anyone gotten the Series of Unfortunate Events Calendar?
It's GREAT!

mg

[adina]

Oh gee-golly-gosh, I love books! I am on the Lord Of The Rings at this moment. That and a troublesome issuse of shutterbug. I was reading the Harry Potter series with my GF, but we called it quits after book 4. To darned expencive and I had certain objections to a novel like those being aimed at childern. In my opinion that is teenaged to full blown adult literature.

I havn't seen or read any of the unfortunate events books, but I did see an interview with the author and while he did kinda' creep me out I found him to be a fairly stable person, and he does seem to really love kids and unstand their thought processes. Although I am not sure I would want to leave my kids alone with him.

How do his books compare to the Potter books?

almo

For a 4 and 6 yr old, I'd prefer these to Harry Potter. They are rather dark and gloomy, but they seem to run about 200 pages, and the chapters are shorter, which is good for the attention span of a 4 yr old. I think the Potter books get so involved it would be hard for my 4 yr old to keep up.

I read all the Harry Potter books that have been released, courtesy of our local library. I enjoyed them, some better than others, but I think the Lemony Snicket is better for our age group here.

adina