#reading psa

I’ll again be reading an intimidating (to me) classic this year, since it worked out so well for me the last three years.  This time I will give Middlemarch by George Eliot a try, going very slowly for now (my goal is to read about 30 pages/3 chapters or so) each week. I might read bigger chunks at a time if I feel like it, though. 

And if I manage to finish that and the year isn’t over yet, I’ll probably read Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. 

So, its the beginning of a new year and everyone is setting up their Goodreads Challenges. I just wanted to take the time to remind you that no one can judge you on the number of books you put down. 

If you exceed that number - great! If you don’t - also great! If you barely hit that number - still great! 

So I've received a few nasty anons (and one that wasn't even anon) and I'm not posting them because you frankly don't deserve the space. This account is run by one tired adult who really likes reading. That's it.

Sometimes, I LOVE a book and sometimes, I really really don't. If I don't like a book you love that is not a moral failing on me. And frankly, just don't interact with the post. Harassment will not be tolerated and honestly, is fucking childish. Sending some random person on the internet harassment or hate because I didn't like your favorite book is pathetic.

Second, I've received comments on why I only say nice things about fanfic with questions asking why I don't critique the works. Or saying I recommended a story you don't like. First, fanfic is free and the authors and artists who contribute are amazing human beings. None of them have asked for feedback or critical comments. Second, I'm not going to recommend a fanfic I don't love.

My posts related to fanfic are fanfic RECOMMENDATIONS and SPOTLIGHTS. If I open a fanfic and I don't like it, I won't tell you about it, I close it and move on with my day.

So I’m sure a whole bunch of you just saw the teaser trailer for a series of unfortunate events.

If you’ve never read the series before SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING GO READ IT NOW  I your friendly neighborhood guide would like to highly recommend the series as it is a very quick read. Even if it is 13 books. Yes I know. Trust me they go by fast. They are written for a young audience and I, personally, can get through the first 4 books in a day, 5-8 in half a day, then the rest about a day each. That’s my personal reading level but someone with less time could read the entire series in about 2 weeks.

But before you embark on your reading adventure I am here to deliver some important PSA’s about the series to let you have the best time possible. I say this as a huge fan, and having noted no one seems to talk about these things. 

So, first PSA: Do not watch the film until you have gotten to at least book number 6. Honestly I’d recommend not watching the film at all because it mangles so much of the text. It was supposed to be books 1-3 in a film (as they are so short) but it inserts a lot of later plot developments that readers did not learn until book 5-6. Did I mention it also mangles the text horribly? Because it does.

Second PSA: Read the dedications. All of them. TRUST ME ON THIS.

Third PSA. There are several canonical books that are not typically mentioned as part of the series. These books give more background details to later plot developments and help A LOT in understanding more of the world. While they aren’t ‘required’ reading per say, they are canon and I find no one talks about them. The first is the unauthorized biography of lemony snicket. This book came out somewhere between books 7-9. As any reader will tell you lemony snicket, the author of Unfortunate Events, Lemony is as much a character as any of the Baudelaires. His biography has a LOT of stuff on the background of certain plot developments. The second book is the “Beatrice Letters” This book is to be read right before the final text. It’s not as necessary to read, but... if you’ve been reading the dedications, you’ll want to read this.

Fourth PSA: This is a personal one but if you can find them listen to the audio books. About Half are narrated by Tim Curry (YES THAT TIM CURRY) and the other half by snicket. Its amazing.