Hilariously irreverent and fun! :) Excellent portrayal of how Shakespeare probably intended his plays, in an interesting twist - he was entertaining, not trying to be all stuffed-shirt and prestigious. :)

What they did with the comedies was AMAZING. I always thought the comedies seemed the same, but oh my word, I was crying-laughing by the end. :) Very impressive and TRUE.

First read in 2007.
First re-read in 2016: All the feels. There is so much I see in the first book about the overarching plot (from what I remember) that I wouldn't have caught the first time. It really made me appreciate Ms. Rowling's mind even more. :)

As always, Mary's character is charming, slightly arrogant, but 'perfect' still. I just found out that there are several other books in this series, so I'll have to read them eventually.

There were parts that I liked in this book that was better than the first, such as the balloons (the whole balloons chapter really - I loved the little old woman). I see why they left some of the scenes out of the Disney movie - they just didn't have the technology!

Interesting plot and a fantastic read! As the series progresses, the writing gets more choppy, sloppy, and hurried. But it's still a well-done series.

This is a series that you either love or you don't.

I love this series, and I plowed through all 13 of these books quickly.

The three children are believable and you love them and you feel so bad about all the terrible things that have happened to these poor, fictional charcters...even Olaf is endearing!

I find Snicket's writing style incredible - one of the best writers I've seen in a long time. Snicket's character descriptions consist of little tidbits of information - you are confident that every word has been chosen carefully, and every moment Snicket is Up To Something. He explains big words to his readers without insulting them. He juxtaposes sad and funny. Like I said––you either like it or you don't.

Might this be children's satire? :)

This was one of the weaker books in the series, and it was just plain sad:

-I wasn't (and am still not) sure what to think of smokehead guy. But one needs something to further the plot.

I freaking love this series:

-VFD is killing me!! =) I find myself trying to guess what Olaf is up to every time, and I'm always wrong. I love that I cannot figure this out.
-I'm excited to see that Beatrice has been mentioned, and the 'in' and 'out' had me rolling with laughter.

I'm getting more and more on edge when I read these books - I can't put them down:

-I am SO excited about Mr. Jerome, even though he dies.
-I'm really glad that the triplets may be regular characters.
-The ending has me mesmerized. Where are they going go to next?? What is VFD??