This is a very strange book that I found delightful, but as I read it I thought most people probably won't like it. Even Series of Unfortunate Events fans might not like it. You have to be in the center of a Venn diagram where you're both a Lemony Snicket fan and someone who can enjoy a philosophical, theoretical, referential pseudo-mystery.

Anyway, my library system shelves this as adult nonfiction (813.54 American Literature) but not because it's inappropriate for children (SLJ says grades 4 and up). It's clearly fiction (it says so in the subject headings), so I'm not sure why KCLS has it in nonfiction (Seattle Public Library put it in Teen Fiction). I suppose it is self-referential enough to be fiction about fiction (meta-fiction) and therefore more of a book about literature than a true novel. But it seems fitting somehow that now I feel pretty confused about something I'm meant to know a lot about. I suppose this is why I'm a children's librarian and not a cataloger.

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Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket is a quirky, unique read that brings back one fantabulous writer to the reading circuit.

I grew up reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, so naturally I would want to pick up more by Lemony Snicket. Lemony's writing style is so unique and out there, it was only natural to want to dive into another work. And it's safe to say, the book was rather quirky. It has sass and attitude, which is why I enjoy reading these books. It's wild, out there and just something different.

I wasn't totally encapsulated by this book. It was okay, but it didn't hold my full attention. That being said, I really liked the style this book had. It's very funky and odd, in all the best ways. The repeated comments over and over (like the little breakfast poem) drove me insane though.

Overall, this is a nice, quick read that has a lot of spunk in it. It's like peeking into someone's mind instead of reading a story. There's lots of twists, turns and oddities to read through.

Two out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

I would thoroughly recommend the audiobook for the reading experience. Patrick Warburton's dulcet voice is so enjoyable to listen to. ( )

Not one of my favourites of his, but I just love the way Lemony Snicket writes! ( )

A peculiar little book, in which the author, in first person, tells the story of a day on which he discovers a note, just after breakfast, reading "You had poison for breakfast." Mr. Snicket (as he prefers to be called) follows a stranger, visits a tea shop and a beekeeper, goes to the library, goes for a swim, walks in the park and has an imaginary conversation with another author and a translator, visits a grocery store, and at last realizes (spoiler alert) that the note is in his own handwriting - a fragment of a story idea. Throughout, he meditates on storytelling and philosophy, but because the book is so slim, and the author has a particular sense of humor and aesthetic, it moves along quickly.

See also: Cat Out Of Hell by Lynne Truss, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Quotes

And if it's not a joke, then it's an emergency. (14)

This is philosophy, more or less - the use of one's own thoughts to figure something out - and it occurred to me that philosophy might be the best way to solve the problem of my own poisoning. Not many people think of calling on a philosopher in an emergency, yet the most exciting and useful things in the world have been born simply by someone thinking about them. (16)

There are some librarians so trustworthy and so interesting that you know any book they recommend will be worth your time... (34)

But something happens when you think about these enormous questions....your mind wanders as if on a voyage, and as with any voyage, you are likely to discover something along the way. It is almost as if enormous philosophical questions are not designed to be answered at all, but just to make you think. (122)

We do not understand anything but we should try our best to understand each other. (151) ( )