kfudge Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have read the first in the series.... It was good, a quick read much better than the movie. However, I too did not feel compelled to read the rest of the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I read all 12 of them, and I must admit, pretty good! I really enjoyed the way he used his words to describe the childrens unfortunes. It's much better than the film! In the film they put all the books together and mix it all around! So In my opinion the books, as always, beat the film! Great read though, I'd recommend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissWhitlock Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Oh, Haven't you read The End? Yes, the film was almost nothing like the book. However, I didn't like the way he described the children's unfortunes. Especially in the 11th one, how he just kept going on and on about the water cycle or something. That was annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I'd picked up the 2nd in the series for some light, easy reading between the heavy "We Need to Talk about Kevin" and the scary "Ring".. I started to read it, but gave up about 1/4 of the way in. It just felt pointless and a waste of time -- I wasn't getting anything out of it or enjoying it, so I moved straight on to "Ring." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polly Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I have about three more of these to read. They are good but you just can't read the whole series together they are very repetative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Did any of you complete the entire 13 books? We actually enjoyed the stories but got side tracked and didnt finish it. We also listened to them on CD. Great voices. I cant remember his name but he was in Home Alone 2 Lost In New York. He was the hotel manager. I was disappointed when they did the movie and combined most of the movies into one. Sad, sad, sad. This didnt do the books justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Hi Katrina, I have never read them but I am planning to, I liked the film but I would rather read the books. Tim Curry played the hotel manager in 'Home Alone 2~ Lost in New York', so I imagine the CD would be really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosalind Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I'm halfway throug the series. They are put aside for the moment until I feel I need a very light read again. Waht I read up till now was really good though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Tim Curry played the hotel manager in 'Home Alone 2~ Lost in New York', so I imagine the CD would be really good. ... O, M, G! I love Tim Curry's acting and voice (Rocky Horror, Clue, The Man in the Iron Mask - yes I know it was a terrible film but I don't care -, the fabulous Will Shakespeare series...); as it happens, I'm not adverse to the Lemony Snicket books, either. If I haven't read them all it is mainly an issue of shelfspace: when my cousin (roughly a decade my junior) lent me the first book one time I was staying over at her uncle, she assured me I'd love it, and I did! I found it refreshing, diverting, and was quite impressed at how much education (particularly about complicated words) the guy had managed to sneak into the book without seeming patronising towards the kiddies. In a few years when I've got a house of my own, more shelves and possibly kiddies to read them to (excuses, excuses) I might invest in a boxset; for the time being... ooooh, Tim Curry CD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I love the Lemony Snicket books but for some reason I stopped reading them after book 9. Now I've moved and don't have much room I think I might look into getting the CDs as I adore Tim Curry. He was the only reason I managed to sit through the travesty that was The Colour Of Magic and the only reason to watch the tv adaptation of IT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Thats him!! Tim Curry!!! I LOVE him, his expressions, his voice... I could actually picture his facial expressions while listening to the Series of Unfortunate Events CD's. I think I may have to pick up where I left off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaLee Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 My sons' and I read five or six books from the Series of the Unfortunate Events and as I recall, everyone enjoyed them. Not sure why they stopped reading them though. I'm guessing another series took over. I remember my youngest becoming a REDWALL nut at one point.....could be that these books bumped Lemony Snicket's books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I completed the entire thirteen books and felt the ending was a let down - without giving too much away. The novels are good though and I enjoyed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I read all thirteen books as well, and I did enjoy the first half of the series a lot, but felt that the last six or seven books got a bit repetitive, and also predictable. I know the books aren't aimed at my age group, and I can understand why children would love the series, but I don't think there was enough originality by the end. However, as I'd started them, I had to finish the saga just so I knew how it ended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie2008 Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I haven't read them yet, although I do want to. I have seen the movie though and wasn't really impressed (even Meryl Streep couldn't save it for me ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I saw today that The Book People have all 13 books in hardback for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 How much is that in American dollars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 With postage I think it'd be around $40 at a guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanne Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 My two eldest and I have read the first six or so and I have to say that they enjoyed them more than I did. Although they are well written and certainly different from other children books, for me they were slightly too repetitive. However, I did enjoy them enough to probably pick the next one up in the series at some point or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvellousMedicine Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I read all thirteen books as well, and I did enjoy the first half of the series a lot, but felt that the last six or seven books got a bit repetitive, and also predictable. Funnily enough... I felt the opposite. I felt that the books worked best in the first half of the series precisely because they were repetitive. There was quite a nice formula (e.g., the kids arrive with a new colourful foster parent; Count Olaf turns up in a ridiculous disguise that the adults seem strangely blind to; and so on). In those books, the fun for me was down to the humour and colourful character descriptions rather than any innovation in the plots, and the "disguise of the week" format was part of the charm. I don't like those sketch shows where the characters do the same thing every single time in slightly different ways... but... I imagine that people who do like them, probably like them in the same way that I liked the early Snickett books (if that makes any sense at all!). Once the books moved away from the new location/new foster parent/new disguise for Count Olaf format, I felt they just seemed less tightly-written, less colourful, less memorable. They just went a bit flabby without the tried and tested framework behind them. Sets like the Slippery Slope and characters like the man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair and no beard, just seemed to lack the fizz and colour of the Miserable Mill or Uncle Monty. Anyway, I still enjoyed the series right to the end but definitely noted a downwards trend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iguana Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I read the first 8 and read about 70% of the 9th and I liked them a lot. The thing I like most is the author, he wants to make the reader believe that he doesn't want him to read it but obviously the more people who read the book the more popular his books become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iguana Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 After seeing the film I have considered getting them, but haven't as of yet I read nine and a half and I liked them a lot so I think it would be a wise decision to read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Friborg Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 I suggest you read the Series of Unfortunate Events. It's a good read! And you'll love the characters, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaila Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Amongst my childhood favourites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacred Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I would def recommend buying the books!!!! I LOVED them. I read them when I was younger and I remember being drawn to the book by the author's writing style. I read the back of book and first few pages and was intrigued. I'm glad I bought it in the end... Watched the films as well but preferred books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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