The fondest memories I have of reading books as a child were of reading Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. This series of books follows the lives of three orphans seeking answers about the mysterious death of their parents while being sent to live with various distant relatives and experiencing quite a bit of bad luck. Lemony Snicket packs these books with action, surprise, and suspense, while teaching the reader and taking him on a journey with the characters. I remember being captivated by Snicket’s unique writing style and constantly delving for answers to the enrapturing puzzles—Snicket sure knows how to keep a seven-year-old interested.
I remember waking up one morning around six—I was always the first to wake in my household. Being the considerate child that I was, I did not want to make noise and wake my family, so I snatched The Wide Window from my brother’s bookshelf and silently tiptoed away to the living room. I sat on the couch and began reading. I flipped through the purposefully torn pages of the third book of the series, the words taking me on an adventure to the peaks of slippery slopes, the sites of murders, and the ruins of burnt down mansions. I remember picturing each character, painting emotions on each face, illustrating every scene, drawing the flames bursting from building tops, and sketching a setting in my head in which three lost orphans resided. I was a painter with a blank canvas, free to create my own story, my own vision, with the help of Snicket’s words. I discovered reading to be an art.
Memories of reading these books are significant to me because they transport me to a period in my life when I had time to read freely and enjoy books, while, at the same time, learning from them. Snicket taught me words and phrases, and introduced me to new cultural aspects. I remember learning the term “déjà vu,” discovering the difference between the words “figuratively” and “literally,” and being introduced to the phrase “meanwhile back at the ranch.” Snicket thoroughly explains these various words and phrases, helping his readers to truly understand these sophisticated terms. I remember reading the recipe for spaghetti putanesca as my mouth watered and asking my mom to make it, while learning that wasabi could be used in the place of horseradish. I learned various things that, evidently, made an impact on me and stuck with me for years.
Reading is an art that created fond memories for me from an early age from the very first books I read, including A Series of Unfortunate Events. These memories were, clearly, quite significant, having stayed with me until now, as they caused me to develop a love of reading and a love of learning.