BOOK RECCOMENDATIONS Niamh Kelly During these trying times, many people are turning to the worlds of fiction in an effort to escape our own. In a world and a time when simply leaving your front door is unsafe, books allow us to escape our narrowing worlds and explore ones we couldn’t even imagine. Below I’ve compiled some of my favourite worlds to escape to in the hopes that at least one of them will provide you with that same escapism and adventure that we all need.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket I’m sorry to say that the book you’re holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing. The first book in a series of 13, this read will keep you hooked for a long time. If you’re not in the mood for that much commitment, however, this could certainly be read as a standalone. In writing this book Snicket does something other authors seem to neglect - taking kids seriously. His use of mystery and witty literary references appeal to precocious children toeing the line between child and adult fiction, and searching for a darker alternative to the fairy-tales and happy endings that are forced on them.
