The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)

by Lemony Snicket

to be in one’s own room, in one’s own bed, can often make a bleak situation a little better,

They wondered how many other eyes were in Count Olaf’s house, and whether, for the rest of their lives, they would always feel as though Count Olaf were watching them even when he wasn’t nearby.

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong. You can look at a painting for the first time, for example, and not like it at all, but after looking at it a little longer you may find it very pleasing. The first time you try Gorgonzola cheese you may find it too strong, but when you are older you may want to eat nothing but Gorgonzola cheese. Klaus, when Sunny was born, did not like her at all, but by the time she was six weeks old the two of them were thick as thieves. Your initial opinion on just about anything may change over time.

And the only decoration on the peeling walls was a large and ugly painting of an eye, matching the one on Count Olaf’s ankle and all over the house.

the worst surroundings in the world can be tolerated if the people in them are interesting and kind.

Count Olaf would draw an eye at the bottom of the note.

Sometimes, just saying that you hate something, and having someone agree with you, can make you feel better about a terrible situation.

“We haven’t found any books in this house at all.”

it is a sad truth in life that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.

Al Funcoot.

There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and none of them wore any clothing.”

He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.

Count Olaf had taken out a bottle of wine to pour himself some breakfast,

Ha!

The particular knot she was using was called the Devil’s Tongue. A group of female Finnish pirates invented it back in the fifteenth century, and named it the Devil’s Tongue because it twisted this way and that, in a most complicated and eerie way.

I am certain that over the course of your own life, you have noticed that people’s rooms reflect their personalities.

a blurry photograph, taken a very long time ago, of a woman whose name is Beatrice.

the law is an odd thing.