Post by Christmas Chief on Jun 15, 2011 6:47:11 GMT -5
journalstar.com/news/local/education/article_0f3c24ab-9ae3-5c00-a85a-90cda50ad9e1.html
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The man in the tan linen suit and white shoes with the graying hair isn't Lemony Snicket, according to the man standing before you being advertised as Lemony Snicket.
No, the man standing before you is Daniel Handler, and he's talking to about 300 kids, parents and college students in the Nebraska Union Bookstore Tuesday night.
"Lemony Snicket is somewhere in Lincoln," Handler said with a dry, monotonous, yet engaging voice. "I hear he is wearing a linen suit. Fantastic taste in clothing, if I do say so myself."
In reality, the man standing before you is an eccentric, silly mix of himself and his alterego, Lemony Snicket.
He's the author of "Series of Unfortunate Events" a popular young adult book series that began in 1999 and flourished throughout the 2000s with 13 books and a movie.
He spent nearly two-and-a-half hours in the basement of the Union for a book reading, signing and Q&A session with fans, and he had the crowd laughing with jokes at the audience's expense.
The author didn't speak much about the "Unfortunate Events" series. Instead, he read from his recent works: a picture book, called Thirteen Words, and a novel about the breakup between a man and a woman.
He may have caused parents to cringe when dropping an "F" bomb during his reading or when talking about more adult themes of drinking in high school and "how babys are made" -- all the while encouraging kids not to use the words or drink.
More about the Lemony Snicket series came out during the question-and-answer period.
The name Lemony Snicket originally came from research he did for his first book, he told the crowd during the Q&A. He wanted to receive material from right-wing political organizations but did not want to use his real name, so he told them "Lemony Snicket."
Asked about when he first was interested in writing, he told the crowd about reading a book by Marilyn Sachs and returning the book to the library when she happened to be visting.
"I never thought about the name on the book. It didn't mean a thing to me," Handler said. "I thought it appeared on a shelf, and it was there and then you read it -- and I was OK with that."
After that, "author" became the only thing he wanted to do, and he didn't have a backup plan. He said he struggled to get published but never quit.
"Good thing. I mean what if I wanted to become Spiderman?" he joked. "I'd probably be living under a bridge near a river or something."
He kept the dry, monotonous voice all night, but had fun with the crowd. One little girl asked him if he liked writing.
He responded: "I do. What do you like?" To which she responded,
"None of your business."
"I think, arguably, it is," he came back snarkily. "In fact, you are a very sound sleeper, by the way. And your room is a mess."
To which the crowd responded with raucous laughter.
Before the reading, kids and families had the opportunity to play "Unfortunate Event" related games.
Bailey Larson, a young reader of the series, said she was excited to attend the event because she has read all the books.
"I really love them all," she said. "I love how you're never going to know what's happened next."
Handler said he is writing a new series of book that will be out next year.
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~~~~
The man in the tan linen suit and white shoes with the graying hair isn't Lemony Snicket, according to the man standing before you being advertised as Lemony Snicket.
No, the man standing before you is Daniel Handler, and he's talking to about 300 kids, parents and college students in the Nebraska Union Bookstore Tuesday night.
"Lemony Snicket is somewhere in Lincoln," Handler said with a dry, monotonous, yet engaging voice. "I hear he is wearing a linen suit. Fantastic taste in clothing, if I do say so myself."
In reality, the man standing before you is an eccentric, silly mix of himself and his alterego, Lemony Snicket.
He's the author of "Series of Unfortunate Events" a popular young adult book series that began in 1999 and flourished throughout the 2000s with 13 books and a movie.
He spent nearly two-and-a-half hours in the basement of the Union for a book reading, signing and Q&A session with fans, and he had the crowd laughing with jokes at the audience's expense.
The author didn't speak much about the "Unfortunate Events" series. Instead, he read from his recent works: a picture book, called Thirteen Words, and a novel about the breakup between a man and a woman.
He may have caused parents to cringe when dropping an "F" bomb during his reading or when talking about more adult themes of drinking in high school and "how babys are made" -- all the while encouraging kids not to use the words or drink.
More about the Lemony Snicket series came out during the question-and-answer period.
The name Lemony Snicket originally came from research he did for his first book, he told the crowd during the Q&A. He wanted to receive material from right-wing political organizations but did not want to use his real name, so he told them "Lemony Snicket."
Asked about when he first was interested in writing, he told the crowd about reading a book by Marilyn Sachs and returning the book to the library when she happened to be visting.
"I never thought about the name on the book. It didn't mean a thing to me," Handler said. "I thought it appeared on a shelf, and it was there and then you read it -- and I was OK with that."
After that, "author" became the only thing he wanted to do, and he didn't have a backup plan. He said he struggled to get published but never quit.
"Good thing. I mean what if I wanted to become Spiderman?" he joked. "I'd probably be living under a bridge near a river or something."
He kept the dry, monotonous voice all night, but had fun with the crowd. One little girl asked him if he liked writing.
He responded: "I do. What do you like?" To which she responded,
"None of your business."
"I think, arguably, it is," he came back snarkily. "In fact, you are a very sound sleeper, by the way. And your room is a mess."
To which the crowd responded with raucous laughter.
Before the reading, kids and families had the opportunity to play "Unfortunate Event" related games.
Bailey Larson, a young reader of the series, said she was excited to attend the event because she has read all the books.
"I really love them all," she said. "I love how you're never going to know what's happened next."
Handler said he is writing a new series of book that will be out next year.
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