Dear reader,

There is nothing to find in Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" except misery and despair. However, if you insist on discovering the unpleasant adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, then proceed with caution…

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are clever children. They are charming, resourceful, and have pleasant features. Unfortunately, they are extremely unlucky.

In “The Slippery Slope”, the siblings face a secret message, a toboggan, a treacherous trap, a swarm of snow gnats, and an ambitious villain.

In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exceptionally dark comedy that is both literary and anarchic, funny and artistically crafted.

Despite their objectionable content, "A Series of Unfortunate Events" has sold 60 million copies worldwide and has been made into a Hollywood movie starring Jim Carrey. And in the future, things promise to get even worse, thanks to the new Netflix series starring Neil Patrick Harris. You have been warned.

Are you unlucky enough to own all 13 adventures?

• The Bad Beginning
• The Reptile Room
• The Wide Window
• The Miserable Mill
• The Austere Academy
• The Ersatz Elevator
• The Vile Village
• The Hostile Hospital
• The Carnivorous Carnival
• The Slippery Slope
• The Grim Grotto
• The Penultimate Peril
• The End

And how about “All the Wrong Questions”? In this four-book series, the 13-year-old Lemony records his dangerous and mysterious apprenticeship in an organization that nobody knows anything about:

• ‘Who Could That Be at This Hour?’
• ‘When Did You Last See Her?’
• ‘Shouldn't You Be in School?’
• ‘Why is This Night Different from All Other Nights?’

Lemony Snicket was born before you and will probably die before you too. He was born in a small town where the residents were suspicious and prone to rioting. He grew up near the sea and now lives beneath it. Until recently, he lived somewhere else.

Brett Helquist was born in Ganado, Arizona, grew up in Orem, Utah, and now lives in New York City. He received a degree in Fine Arts from Brigham Young University and has been illustrating ever since. His art has appeared in numerous publications, including Cricket magazine and the New York Times.