Horseradish, Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket

I've never been a fan of remixes. You buy an album thinking your favorite band has produced something new, and instead you find that they've just added a techno beat to some of their "greatest" hits. As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief."

It's too bad that this slim little hardcover is really mostly quotes from Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. When I picked up my copy in the bargain basement of the largest bookstore I've seen in Australia (Two storeys!), I figured that the marked down price was another result of an American author not making it in the Australian market. It is likely, however, that the book is marked down in America as well, because it seems the general public shares my distaste for remixes.

Even considering all of the above, however, I am pleased that I purchased and read this book, as the sheer randomness of Snicket's philosophies is enough to make me chuckle, especially during the days when I take myself too seriously. If you're an honest fan of Snicket's excellent wordsmithing, you wouldn't be disappointed by a closer look at some of his more clever observations, especially as it's possible that you missed the full brilliance of them because you were too busy worrying what troublesome event would plague the Baudelaire children next.

Unlike A Series of Unfortunate Events, this is not a read aloud book. I've tried to do so several times with a variety of audiences and have not had favorable responses (I'm sure Snicket refers to this scenario in the opening chapters). This is a bedside table (or bathroom) book, for when you only have a short amount of time, and need humor and irony in concentrated quantities. Since I fully admit to an addiction to both humor and irony, I am glad that I had added this book to my personal library.