Lucas Blogs About Books

Not pictured: the Baudelaires' boss sunglasses . So, I've spent the last year re-reading Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. You read other things, too. I did. But you know, this was a project, like that time I read one chapter of  Journey to the West  everyday for one hundred days. That must have been before the blog. It was before the blog. So, is this where we're putting the SPOILER   warning for this month? Well, I don't know that I'll be recounting the plot of this one. What? Yeah, I thought we could have a brief discussion of Book the Thirteenth: The End And then sort of wrap up this little project in a somewhat less lengthy fashion. You're the blogger. So, what did you remember about The End before you re-read it? Alright, so we start right back up with the Baudelaires and Olaf as they sail away following the events of The Penultimate Peril . Long story short, they're shipwrecked on a desert island. Someho...

I'm not sure if you can see it from here, but Sunny looks pretty cool with sunglasses. Happy 13th of the month, readers (both hypothetical and otherwise)! You know what that means: it's time for me to revisit another entry in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events! Sticking with that intro? Yes. All right. SPOILERS  ahoy! So, in our last outing you declared that The Grim Grotto  was pretty good because it sidelined the villains and brought back a sense of narrative momentum. Yes, but Lemony Snicket's author-ly tics were still starting to rub me the wrong way. Fair enough. Anyway, let's jump into: Book the Twelfth: The Penultimate Peril So, what do you remember about this book going in? Well, it involves Kit Snicket, sister of Jacques and Lemony, a pregnant V.F.D. volunteer and former paramour of Count Olaf. Eww, is the baby— His? Almost definitely not, also you don't learn about their previous relationship until the next bo...

Huh, my hand looks like it's at a weird angle in this picture. Happy 13th of the month, readers (both hypothetical and otherwise)! You know what that means: it's time for me to revisit another entry in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events! Sticking with that intro? Yes. All right. SPOILERS  ahoy! Okay, last we checked in you were feeling a tad burnt out on all things A Series of Unfortunate Events. Well, not all things, mostly Lemony Snicket's stylistic tics. Fair enough. Do you still feel that way. Since I write the opening pretty soon after I post the previous entry, yes. Okay, so what do you remember abo— Hey, I'm the one who gets to say that this is where we talk about Book the Eleventh: The Grim Grotto . Fine, what do you remember about it. It involves a submarine and mushrooms. That's it? It might also reveal what became of Hector's self-sustaining hot-air mobile home. Okay, but you thought that about The Sl...

Happy 13th of the month, readers (both hypothetical and otherwise)! You know what that means: it's time for me to revisit another entry in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events! Sticking with that intro? Yes. All right. SPOILERS  ahoy! The last couple entries have been a bit of a roller coaster. How do you think this one will turn out? Not sure. Anyway, enough chitchat, let's get down to the business of discussing. . . Book the Tenth: The Slippery Slope Well, what do you remember about this book? At first I thought I didn't remember anything, but then I said, "Wait a minute! Isn't this the book where the Baudelaires come across Quigley Quagmire?" You mean the brother of Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, believed to have died in a fire? The very same. Well, is this that book? Maybe. You're the worst, Lucas. We'll just see if I'm right. If I am that means we'll also see the destroyed wreckage of Hector...

Lions and orphans and freaks, oh my! Happy 13th of the month, readers (both hypothetical and otherwise)! You know what that means: it's time for me to revisit another entry in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events! Sticking with that intro? Yes. All right. SPOILERS  ahoy! So, after an outing that you declared the series' best , I guess this has a pretty high bar to clear. I guess so. This is only the second book in which the protagonists find themselves on the run . Was that really necessary? Not really, but I like that song. Anyway, the halfway point seems to have been a pretty good place to change up the formula, so let's see if Lemony Snicket can keep up that momentum in . . . Book the Ninth: The Carnivorous Carnival So, what do you remember about this one going in? Can I plead the fifth? Given that this isn't a courtroom or congressional hearing and you're not under oath . . . no? All right. So, the Baudelaires have st...

I feel like there's a Crocodile Dundee joke somewhere in this cover, but I'm sure I can put my finger on it. Happy 13th of the month, readers (both hypothetical and otherwise)! You know what that means: it's time for me to revisit another entry in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events! Sticking with that intro? Yes. All right. SPOILERS  ahoy! Now that we're officially into the series' back half, have we passed the point of diminishing returns? Are you talking about the book series by Lemony Snicket or the blog series by me? Either. Well, I have to admit the fact that I remember much less about the books after The Vile Village may be a bad sign. As far as the blog series. I suppose that yes, I am worried that I will run out of things to talk about. But let's not worry about that until after I've re-read Book the Eighth – The Hostile Hospital So do you remember anything about this book? Yikes. No. Um, if pressed I...