i-rant

Not everyone loves to read – or perhaps the things they have been asked have not been what they love. As is the case for me growing up and my son today. As a kid, I did love to read – books about lizards and science and nature and mechanical things. I spent hours with my dog and a flashlight in her doghouse reading How and Why Wonder books (a series of books written back in 1965) comparable to today’s DK books without the nice photographs. I said it was to get Rags used to her new dog-house but it was really an escape for me – to a place where I was a scientist and inventor. Then came history and math and other things where I read dry text books that recanted dates and names that I had to memorize. I lost interest, moved towards reward and business, that was it.
Then came Michener and his book Chesapeake. Historical novels – why couldn’t the teachers have taught history like this? Through people, that mattered but were human and relevant!
Such is the difference with Daniel. He resisted reading – for reading’s sake. His sister discovered books of interest early – devouring Laura Ingalls Wilder series early on. She reads novels in a few days and he watched saying it wasn’t for him. It was boring and annoying. Then came Lemony Snickett. A mediocre screenwriter named Daniel Handler created the perfect book for Daniel under the pen name Lemony Snickett. Dark and depressing yet witty and demanding both intellectually and creatively. Have you ever heard of the movies Kill the Poor or Rick? I didn’t think so. But you have heard of the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Here is an interesting fact about Daniel/Lemony – he is Jewish. In an interview with him by Something Jewish I learned that his first few books were Adult books about adult themes. The Basic Eight is a darkly funny comedy about a nice Jewish high school student who is seriously unhinged, while Watch Your Mouth features a dysfunctional Jewish family being terrorised by a Golem.

So he is a good writer and now interesting to me – and he has captured Daniel’s imagination and desire. As James Michener did for me, and today David McCullogh has with John Adams and the book Stephanie just gave me for Father’s Day – 1776. It is amazing what a good author can do!