The Next Ten

48. The Wide Window, Lemony Snicket
49. My Secret, Frank Warren
50. The Miserable Mill, Lemony Snicket
51. Th Austere Academy, Lemony Snicket
52. The Ersatz Elevator, Lemony Snicket
53. The Vile Village, Lemony Snicket
54. The Hostile Hospital, Lemony Snicket
55. The Carnivorous Carnival, Lemony Snicket
56. Gathering Blue, Lois Lowry
57. The Slippery Slope, Lemony Snicket

I'm sure you've noticed the recurring theme -- I am in fact going through the entire Series of Unfotunate Events. The thirteenth and final installment came out earlier this month, and I am not letting myself open it until I have re-read the first twelve. The curiosity has been a good motivator -- will Snicket/Handler manage to wrap up the series as promised without falling into formulaic story resolution? He's actually in a fairly difficult situation as far as I'm concerned: a truly bad finale will not be satisfying for those like myself who have developed any kind of fondness for the Baudelaire characters but anything other than a miserable wrap-up will be a huge cop out. Not sure how the author's going to get out of that one, but I'll keep you posted. Even if The End turns out to be a disappointment, at least my list will be thirteen books longer, which isn't too shabby for less than a month's worth of reading.