Lemony Snicket ... and more!

Greetings, Gate!

Let's dig this: "On September 21, 2004, The Grim Grotto, Book the Eleventh in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, will become available for sale despite widespread protest. The book will almost certainly be filled with dampness, darkness, and displeasing incidents in the sad lives of the Baudelaire orphans, and the good folks at Author Tracker fervently suggest you avoid bookstores on that day unless you are wearing a lifejacket."

I was never that interested in the Harry Potter books although several of my friends, and the world at large, are hooked. A series of books about a kid going off to wizard school doesn't appeal to me. But a thirteen-book series about three orphaned siblings pursued by a nefarious villain, his stylish girlfriend, a gaggle of odd ball henchmen and a mysterious secret society ... well, that appeals to me. Especially if the series is loaded with literary and obscure cultural references and puns. Especially if the author is not only influenced by children's writers like Judy Blume and E.B. White but J.D. Salinger and Haruki Murakami as well.

Unfortunately, the soon-to-be released film adaptation looks like it will truly suck. I mean, seriously suck. That's sad. And, frankly, I'd rather not talk any more about the film adaptation.

Another children's author I've been digging lately is John Bellairs and his Johnny Dixon series. I discovered Bellairs's books a few years ago in a used book store ... hardback first editions with dust jackets and frontispiece illustrations by Edward Gorey. I snapped them up immediately. The stories feature thirteen year old Johnny Dixon, his older friend Fergie and their adult friends, grumpy Professor Childermass and Father Higgins and their numerous encounters with the occult. In a way they remind me of a junior level H.P. Lovecraft. While not particularly deep, I appreciate a book where the children are not precocious miniature adults, yet not utterly helpless and the adults don't patronize the children.

Hardback first editions of Bellairs's books are becoming quite collectible, but for the most part the books you find are ex-library editions with the concommitant flaws of such books ... rubberstamped library markings and library card pockets ... occasionally you'll find someone selling a complete, unmarked set on eBay.