I want to start reading a series of unfortunate events but don't know whether I need to read the first 3 books...

I want to start reading a series of unfortunate events but don't know whether I need to read the first 3 books. I heard the film covers the first 3 books but how can the books be stretched out that much? Or are there events that are missing from the film?

I haven't seen the movie since it came out and I was pretty young but I remember certain stuff being cut. It's not hard to stretch out something like that for childrens books though.

you may as well read them, look at how short they are.

read all of them– they're short and funny. the movie is sort of bad and doesn't really cover anything. lemony snicket is awesome

this

they are insanely fast to read. honestly all 13 of them is probably a faster read than half the books people suggest on this board. it's like way watered down literature

I mean, it's for 8-10 year olds.

Baby Pynchon

Don't do it

i'm not sure 8-10 is the right number. i was 9 when book 13 came out and i remember being really mad at the ending because it didn't explain everything.

i remember in the second book fucker spends literally two pages warning about running around with scissors or some kiddie shit.
its not like he goes into detail about it, it is just: "you should 100*never do x"
also guys plz believe it stuff became so annoying

read them anyway - the film is terrible. the netflix adaptation is looking decent so far though.

asoue is babby's first babby's first pynchon in a really good way. there are lots of callbacks and asides. aunt josephine is terrified of realtors, is, for instance because they were involved with selling out one of the few remaining headquarters left before the last safe place, the Hotel (see either slippery slope or penultimate peril).
fiona a best girl

>reading for plot

Honestly this.

Probably a shitpost, but does anyone else genuinely love these books for the way that they capture postmodern techniques in a Zen sort of simplicity? The new series sucks ass and no one I know understands how much I love these books.

I should say here that I dislike asking for solidarity on a website, especially an anonymous messaging board, but I feel like these are honestly great lit, as great as any Shakespeare, Pynchon, Dickens, or elsewise that I have read, and everyone treats them like YA garbage.

Are there any other series like this which have that weird and wacky story?

H..Harry Potter

No

OP here. I don't know whether I want to read them if they're for kids. I don't want to come across as some special needs guy to the people in the shop

Act like you're getting them for a young relative, or go to a library with self check out. Or Amazon. Or don't give a shit, Netflix just released an adaption and so a bunch of people are going to be buying them

mysterious benedict society is the closest to this, if you're looking for YA.

You could read most of them in a day....

I remember completely losing track of what was going on towards the end, there was so much lore.
What was the deal with the sugar bowl they were trying to find? Was it ever explained why that was so important? Was the truth about the house fire/their parents ever made known?

>everyone treats them like YA garbage
Anyone who dismisses YA purely on the basis that it's YA is clearly intellectual bankrupt and their opinion isn't worth anything anyway.

YA is garbage, children's literature is not

What is YA?

Young Adult, aka John Green and Twilight

You're wrong about two things: he was talking about never tampering with an electrical outlet AND the series is great

you kind of have to read them consecutively to really understand them. baby's first pynchon is actually a super good comparison, reading all of them together is like a really easy pynchon book.

the sugar bowl and the fire never get hard resolutions though. most other things do though

What would sex with Violet be like?

Young Adult. Which is a marketing term for particularly stupid teenagers.