My Storytelling Mind

This is the fourteenth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. The autobiography was released before the ninth book in the series, The Carnivorous Carnival . Although it's declared "unauthorized," it is in fact officially and takes us on a journey to learn about our ever-vigilant author and the mysterious VFD organization. Made of compiled facsimile documents, clippings, and blurry photographs, this book does answer some questions ASOUE series readers would have. Unfortunately, the book also brings up a whole new medley of questions. We get glimpses of events in the pasts of several adults in the series, and some explanations for actions they took that were previously incomprehensible. The autobiography also explains the eye tattoo, so wel...

This is the thirteenth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. The Baudelaires and Olaf shipwreck on an island, where the siblings are welcomed by a girl named Friday; Olaf is shunned. Island facilitator Ishmael takes in the Baudelaires and introduces them to the island's strangely oppressive customs, which the siblings secretly defy. Kit Snicket and the Incredibly Deadly Viper also wash up on the shore, and Olaf attempts to pass himself off as Kit to the islanders. For the first time in the entire series, the adults see right through his terrible disguise. Eventually, the children (for holding "contraband" items) and Olaf are kicked out of the community. However, the Baudelaires discover Ishmael's hypocrisy, in addition to his corruption an...

This is the twelfth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. This is the second-to-last Baudelaire adventure our melancholy author writes for us. Here, with some introduction from Kit Snicket, the Baudelaires begin work as concierges at the enigmatic Hotel Denouement, just as the intriguing VFD meeting brings together several familiar characters from the Baudelaires' story. Tasked with discovering if J.S. is villain or volunteer, the Baudelaires must also contend with identical twin managers - one who is a villain named Ernest and the other who is a volunteer named Frank. Violet completes a task for Esme Squalor and Carmelita Spats, involving a harpoon gun, and discovers J.S. might spoil Esme's party; she also overhears that Esme's unusual glasses ...

This is the eleventh post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. The submarine "Queequeg" saves the Baudelaires from the river, and they meet eccentric Captain Widdershins, his aspiring mycologist stepdaughter Fiona, and the ship's cook, Phil, whose optimism you may recall from The Miserable Mill. Sailing under the motto "He (or she) who hesitates is lost," the Queequeg crew are searching for the mysterious sugar bowl. Thanks to Klaus' interpretive work with some tidal charts, he determines it to be in the Gorgonian Grotto. Count Olaf is still in pursuit, with his own octopus-shaped submarine, but there is also a suspicious question-mark-shaped sub that continually drives the villain off. Fiona discovers, in her mycological textboo...

This is the tenth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. With Sunny held hostage by Olaf and Esme, Klaus and Violet must make their way up Mortmain Mountain, surviving the cold and the rather odd group of Snow Scouts. This makes the return of Carmelita Spats and the introduction of someone working with VFD. Olaf's troupe grows as two unknown villains, whom Olaf seems afraid of, arrive and begin dispensing advice and "in" cigarettes. A story of fire and ice, The Slippery Slope leads the way to deeper, darker secrets. This time the disguise is worn by Quigley Quagmire, the missing and presumed dead Quagmire triplet. The codes, usually abbreviating to VFD, are used by nearly everyone from each direction. Through the Vertical Flame Diversion ...

This is the ninth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. Hiding in the trunk of Olaf's car leads the Baudelaires to the Caligari Carnival, where he and Esme seek the mysterious Madame Lulu, owner of the carnival and a fortune-teller who might know the whereabouts of the Snicket files. The Baudelaires try their hands at disguises again, they learn something more about VFD, and more people tragically die. In addition to the cruelty surrounding the 'freaks' and abused lions, the Baudelaires discover the cruelty of the truth that no person is truly noble or good. With limited disguise resources, the siblings still manage convincing 'freaks' costumes: Violet and Klaus become two-headed Beverly and Elliot, while Sunny becomes Chabo the ...

This is the eighth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. On their first misadventure entirely on their own, the Baudelaires travel to the Heimlich Hospital, home of a Library of Records that might hold clues about VFD and the Baudelaires themselves. Unfortunately, Olaf and Esme know all about the records and are intent on destroying any incriminating them. When Violet is captured, Klaus and Sunny use anagrams and amateur disguises to help her escape from a deadly craniectomy. Although they escape the hospital, they aren't yet much closer to discovering the truth. The dynamics of the Baudelaire story have clearly changed at the start of this eighth installment. Instead of Olaf fiendishly following the Baudelaires, the Baudelaires have struck out on...

This is the seventh post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. In a take on the well-known saying, "It takes a village," the Baudelaires are to be cared for by the village of VFD, provided they do several daily chores and do not break any of the multitude of rules. The siblings, with the help of handyman Hector, begin discovering a series of couplets, clues that could lead them to the Quagmires. When a captured man named Jacques Snicket is declared to be Count Olaf, sentenced to death by fire at the stake, and then found dead in his cell, the entire village proves itself to be just as frustrating and inept as the rest of the adults in the series. Utilizing mob psychology and the last in a series of bad disguises, Count Olaf manages to execute a Sn...

This is the sixth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. Orphans are in this season. Esme Squalor, and her husband Jerome, are the Baudelaires' new guardians. Life at 666 Dark Avenue means a penthouse apartment, an affinity for fashionable fads, and dining out at places with waiters dressed like fish. Unfortunately, this building hides a secret passage in an elevator shaft, a cage with two triplets, and a questionable auction with Lot VFD. Bizarrely, The Ersatz Elevator is the most normal book of the series. There is a steady home, a disorganized but generally interested adoptive couple, new clothes, and a generally non-stressful environment. Of course, that changes. But the point is that this was a promising home until Esme Squalor's true natu...

This is the fifth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. In terms of child care, The Austere Academy is almost a redemptive misadventure for Mr. Poe, as he's endeavoring to get the kids back into some sort of regular life by attending school again. However, the school puts the Baudelaires, as orphans, at a complete disadvantage throughout the entire book. With the self-absorbed violin-playing Principal Nero, the oblivious and ridiculous teachers, and the cruel Carmelita Spats, the children are destined for a terrible educational experience. Aside from the oppressive nature of The Austere Academy , this book is unique in one important regard: The Austere Academy introduces friendship for the Baudelaires. Here, among crab-infested shacks and night se...

This is the fourth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. The Miserable Mill , compared to the rest of the series, seems a bit out of place. The children are taken to live and work at a logging mill. Aside from the clear child labor and general labor law violations that follow, it's not really clear why Mr. Poe brings the children here, allows them to work here, or is so incredibly oblivious to the obvious child abuse. Supposedly it has to do with a "fair deal," wherein the dubious Sir "protects" the children from Count Olaf as long as the siblings work there. This is the first book in the series in which Count Olaf pulled in some outside help. Dr. Orwell, an optician who specializes in hypnotism, works with Olaf to sabotage the ...

Happy Halloween! If you are anything like me, we'll all be binge-watching classic movies like Hocus Pocus , The Nightmare Before Christmas , Young Frankenstein , or even Rocky Horror Picture Show . But if you're looking for some binge-reading, try out the fantasy section - witches and magic may not be spooky or creepy, but they add even more fun to a holiday based on giving away free candy. Check out these 13 Whimsical Witches: Mary Poppins from Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers Illustrated by Mary Shepard It may be a stretch to call Mary Poppins a witch, considering her magic is subtle and she denies all magical events anyway. If anything, she's the kind of witch that tries not to use very much of their magic and that's the kind of witch we're more likely to come across in real life. We meet some of her magically inclined relatives through the series, like the giggly Uncle Albert; this only proves that she's a witch who chose to be incredibly responsible...

Let's be honest: there is an endless list of horror stories you could find in any bookstore that could give you the required Halloween chills. But if you care to step outside of the horror genre just a bit, you'll find some classic fiction, some science fiction, some mystery, and even some fantasy. Check out these eight fiction stories for your Halloween weekend: The Vampyre "It happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon a London winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman, more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank." "His character was dreadfully vicious, for that the possession of irresistible powers of seduction, rendered his licentious habits more dangerous to society." Frankenstein "Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change." "The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turni...