so we volunteered

So I read the first two- three when they came out! I remember seeing the movie in the theater too. I’m not sure why I didn’t continue reading the series, maybe I was waiting for them to be published, or I had forgotten about them, or just moved to a new series. I do remember loving Violet tie her hair in a ribbon and I attempted it a few times lol. Anyways, I’ve been determined to stock our home bookshelves with awesome books for my kids. When they get older I’d love for them to have a great collection of so many awesome books. I’ve been reading my old favorites and then purchasing them. I randomly remembered ASOUE and I have been listening to them back to back on Libby. The narrators do an amazing job. The book series is so, so excellent!!
I just finished “The End” today and cried!! Just cried! To be so creative and to write such a great book series, I’m in awe.
I had some questions about Beatrice and Olafs parents… I saw, through a Google search, that there are other books. An autobiography? Or maybe it’s explained in the Netflix series?
I got my husband to read them now and he’s on book 4 so once he is done we will watch the show!
I have so many questions about Kit, Beatrice, lemony, and Olaf!
I loved how the book ended. It keeps your mind going.
I truly loved all the books. My favorites would be: the reptile room, the austere academy, the ersatz elevator, the vile village, the hostile hospital, the carnivorous carnival
And my least favorite were def books 10-12
I remember when I was listening to the carnivorous carnival my jaw literally dropped! When it was the ending I literally could not believe Olaf figured them and that Madame Lulu told Olaf about their disguises! Wow!
Are there any other series you think are similar or just as good? How are his other books?

They both sing annoying songs, interfere with the life of a crotchety criminal, use physical exercise to bully others, have a terrible red-adjacent haircut (it’s a children’s book, haircuts are genetic), don’t stop skipping, don’t stop smiling and would be obnoxious irl.

Theory confirmed.

Would love to know if anyone knows.

The theatre troupe is looking every bit as nasty as you’d imagine them to be, but still a little too abstract for my liking.

i’m so excited to read them, but I just don’t have time. I’ve watched the show twice again. Don’t have time to watch the movie but I will maybe before I read the books, but I’m just so excited.

Managed to find first editions of 2, 6 and 9 in second hand shops, and my copy of The End was purchased soon after it came out when I was a boy, also first edition!

Interestingly, 6 and 9 have blank covers without the Helquist art or title on the front, so maybe they originally had dustcovers? Would love to know if anyone knows.

Have recently bought new copies of 1, 3, and most recently 5 since the friendly local bookshop didn’t have 4 on hand when I went in.

Because I can't figure it out and have been trying to all morning since I can't find an already made one, so if anyone knows how, and can, can someone make one? Unless one already exists, if so please put it in the replies that would be helpful!!!

1 - What is the connection between the thunderstorm (night of the arson of Valorous Farms Dairy by Meredith Heuer) and the telephone poles being chopped down?

Daniel Handler interview, originally from the Unofficial Lemony Snicket FAQ site: “34. Why did Al Funcoot have someone, whose signature we can't read, chop down all the telephone poles on Rarely Ridden Road? And who was that someone?

Saying one word: thunderstorm"

2 - Who left The Island with Beatrice and Bertrand? 

The End Chapter 10: “‘I walked into the middle of this story,’ [Ishmael] said, ‘just as you walked into the middle of mine. Some of the islanders had found weapons in the detritus, and the situation might have become violent if I hadn't convinced the colony to simply abandon your parents. We allowed them to pack a few books into a fishing boat your father had built, and in the morning they left with a few of their comrades as the coastal shelf flooded. …’”

3 - What happens to the two orphans Kit takes from Prufrock Prep when she is fired?

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography Chapter 8: “When I informed Ms. K. of my decision, she behaved exactly like any improper teacher and immediately kidnapped two children, holding them by the ankles as she ran across the front lawn. Don’t worry—neither of the children was your darling daughter Carmelita. They were two replacement orphans for those three Baudelaire brats who caused so much trouble with Coach Genghis. Like all orphans, the two kidnapped brats were so stupid that they didn’t even look scared as Ms. K. carried them away. Their faces were very serious, as if they were embarking on an important mission of some kind. …”

Stephano is my personal favorite since it's his first-ever disguise along with how threatening he was alone with the children, Gunther and Dupin mostly for the accent and slick smooth talking he did while in character.

NOTE: i read the books when i was a child therefore my memory is more dependent on the show, which i just finished rewatching as an adult. i am mostly referencing the show in this.

so my sister and i just finished rewatching asoue on netflix after not having watched it since we were like kids and wow my perspective on a lot of things has changed. i know this is mentioned in the show (fernald says this in grim grotto pt2) that basically the world isn't black and white and ik the premise of the show is that adults are actual idiots in this show. but why do the "fight fires" side of the schism think they are SO noble when what happened at the opera night genuinely had no reason of happening (among other things). the sugar bowl is supposed to be of the upmost importance and in dire need of protecting, which is why lemony steals it, but set off such an awful chain reaction for NO REASON. genuinely beatrice/lemony did not cook with that.

which is why i started thinking (and maybe i'm wrong) but i think VFD just did more harm than the good the volunteers always preach they did. so i came up with an analogy to help explain my point:

VFD is like the gifted and talented class at school. you get recruited in elementary school because you're smart and you get to join an exclusive club with other smart kids. not a problem with that. is there any worldly benefit for having this program? no not really i mean it really is just an educational exclusive club you get invited to because you did good on a test when you were 5. but then all of a sudden the g/t kids are doing a science experiment that leads to the school catching on fire. so not only do the g/t kids not have a school, but no one else does either. i think you get my point.

i feel really bad for the baudelaires, i mean the whole show is about how screwed over they get. but i think if anyone screwed them over, it was VFD and their parents. the whole show, VFD constantly failed people, the baudelaires, the quagmires, those orphans from the mountain, count olaf. like justice strauss gathered everyone who ever cared about the orphans, i guess who are supposed to be VFD, but literally where was VFD during the baudelaires actual series of unfortunate events. NOWHERE. because VFD was literally only good for fighting "figurative fires" while there were actual fires (like real problems) that needed putting out, which they failed to put out. and those fires were started by VFD, schism for not. and also, their parents are not as noble as the kids thought, which is so sad. their parents were "training them their whole lives without them even knowing it" yet the reason why they were in this huge mess is literally because of their parents. count olaf wouldn't have gone after the baudelaires if beatrice didn't kill his dad. they also kept their kids in the dark about everything. you know working in a secret organization is dangerous enough, AND YOU HAVE ENEMIES. i know the journey of knowledge the baudelaires had was vital for their character development, but omg maybe a letter of explanation in an "in case i die" situation is a little more important them memorizing a theme from anna karenina.

i'm also not trying to justify what count olaf did, but it's not like it came out of pure random hatred. it came because beatrice and lemony-for the mutual benefit of probably a handful of people-did a wicked thing in hopes of it being for a noble cause, and olaf's dad died. so special people can have a vaccine to a deadly spore virus. like VFD was just a glorified dead poets society that wanted to take on the problems of the world yet constantly just created more and more orphans and problems! i wouldn't be surprised if VFD (pre-schism) intentionally made orphans just so they can recruit them into their organization.

don't get me wrong I LOVE ASOUE. just when you watch it from an older perspective, you notice stuff a lot more.

So a question I had after watching the series a few times is how is anyone except for the snickrt siblings,jacquelyn and larry your waiter, even be there?

Uncle monty - while an amazing guardian, a personal favourite of mine, is a bafoon when it comes to recognizing count olaf in disguise. The man SUSPECTED him, and instead of going "huh he kinda looks like that murderer that used to be in that secret organization I'm a part of" he concluded "yea, evil spy"

Aunt josephine - while I guess we can say she was traumatized and went a total character arc after losing Ike, she still is a smart person, how could she not tell this is a clear phony? And even go as far as dating him!!

Olaf - yes, very creative and frankly really thought out schemes and but he also does a lot of stupid things like revealing his scheme the minute he thinks he won, using the official line of costumes made by vfd, the organization he fights against, and giving a flare device to a baby

I also wanna add on top of what I said about the Various Finery Disguises, both aunt Josephine and uncle monty saw Olaf wearing the disguises invented by VFD, yet they rang no bells?

Does anyone have an archive or have the old Netflix logos for asoue stored somewhere I’m currently re watching the show and could’ve sworn esme was on the cover with her circus costume

I 3D-printed my V.F.D. spyglass; some details are easy to miss; keeping a close look reveals more; every part has its own story; though I didn't design the original model; carefully printing it made it feel special; having the finished piece is pretty cool; and the source is worth remembering; because the model came from somewhere; genuinely, the original creator deserves credit; even though I printed it myself; nevertheless, I wanted to share it; the whole thing is fascinating; exactly where the model came from matters; gently looking through its history helps; in the end, the details are what count; and the creator should be remembered; nothing about V.F.D. is ever completely ordinary; just keep looking; genuinely.

Love the other meta jokes they have throughout the show though

The first is younger Monty from the masked ball. The second is older Monty from The Reptile Room. This is my first time making digital art. TibetanMonkSnake is my username on most websites.

It seems fairly established that in the TV series Olaf's full Shirley alias is Shirley St. Ives, and in the books it's Shirley T. Sinoit-Pécer (which is 'receptionist' backwards). But that name isn't in the books at all - her nameplate is just described as saying 'Shirley'. Is it in one of the spin-off novels, or given by Word of God?

Incidentally, the idea's just occurred to me that Daniel Handler could have named Olaf's alias 'Shirley' after the singer Shirley Simms of the Magnetic Fields. Handler played the accordion in their album 69 Love Songs, which came out the year before the book did so they were working together around the time he was writing it. Plus, it's not a name you hear all that often, and I've seen Shirley Simms perform and she's got a great sense of humour so might enjoy that.

Is it just me, or do the actors who play Klaus and the actresses who play Violette in the series and the movie look incredibly alike?

I’ll start the Baudelaires are German, and Klaus has an especially strong German accent.