Poison for Breakfast
Lemony Snicket
For more than twenty years, Lemony Snicket has led millions of young readers through a mysterious world of bewildering questions and unfortunate events. With this latest book—a love letter to readers young and old about the vagaries of real life—longtime fans and new readers alike will experience Snicket’s distinctive voice in a new way. This true story—as true as Lemony Snicket himself—begins with a puzzling note under his door: You had poison for breakfast. more
158 pages, Hardcover
First published Liveright
3.86
Rating
15522
Ratings
2807
Reviews
Lemony Snicket
221 books 24755 followers
Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com
For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com
Community reviews
If you like the following:- secrecy- words - wordplay- espionage- problem-solving- puzzles- codes- witticismsYou're in luck, because you are both a cool person and alive in the time that Lemony Snicket is publishing books. This was not quite as good as A Series of Unfortunate Events, but a) nothing ever is and b) it came pretty close and c) I liked the ending quite a bit, which is not something people say very often about A Series of Unfortunate Events. Bottom line: I love to read, and I love a book that reminds me I love to. --------------pre-reviewlemony snicket books are chicken soup for the reading slump. review to come / 4ish stars--------------tbr reviewNEW LEMONY SNICKET THIS IS NOT A DRILL. more
This book is written by a bibliophile that's for sure. The references are so nerdy and reader-world-like. And I liked it. "All good writing is like this. It's why a favorite book feels like an old friend and a new acquaintance at the same time, amd the reason a favorite author can be a familiar figure and a mysterious stranger all at once. more
There's nothing greater than Snicket's sass and sarcasm. It always makes for a solid good time. I didn't find myself caring so much for what was going on in the plot, but there were a lot of interesting discussions brought up surrounding death, philosophy, bewilderment. just to name a few. . more
I'm not sure what I was expecting this book to be but to be bewildered is definitely not the plan. Having Poison for Breakfast is the note Snicket came to encounter, which was an unfortunate event of his own as he finished his morning meal. And now, he had to discover where the poison is originated before his demise. Despite what the plot implies, Poison for Breakfast isn't really about figuring out who poisoned Snicket. Instead, he employs the narrative to explore several larger concepts where he discusses his philosophical convictions, death, and all the literature's delights. more
Lemony Snicket strikes again with another *bewildering* and brilliant book. more
4. 5 🌟When you die you will have something in common with a vast majority of human population. SUMMARY The author has his usual breakfast. Then he finds a note. “You just had poison for breakfast” the note says. more
My review before reading:it's Lemony Snicket. When he comes out with a new book, it's immediately on my read list. End of story. My review after reading:If you feel like a book that's saturated with Lemony Snicket writing, this is the book for you. It's better than Series of Unfortunate Events imo, just because it's funnier, more philosophical, and more engaging. more
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC—an acronym which here means electronic advanced reader copy—in exchange for an honest review. It's been years since I read anything by Lemony Snicket—a word which here means the real man behind the fictional persona Daniel Handler—and I was really worried I'd be let down since he's the second monumental author from my childhood I've revisited this month, but oh my god am I glad I read this. I can't say much plot wise (wouldn't want to ruin the surprise), but Snicket mentions how books feel like a conversation with an author and no more does that ever feel true than in his writing. He manages to turn a relatable messy stream of thought into such a cohesive, funny, and thought provoking story and I'm still in absolute awe of how he does it. There's something eternally comforting about reading something with a narrator just as openly messy as your own thoughts. more
4. 5When I was finally able to check my email after Hurricane Ida, I realized this book had become available to me through the library (appropriate for a Lemony Snicket book). We had to get my stepson to an airport (ours was closed for the somewhat unforeseeable future) and decided to stay in that city until our power was restored. The hotel didn’t have strong enough Wi-Fi for me to download the book to my Kindle, so for the first time I used the app on my phone. (My phone is tiny. more
Piffle – a word which here means "meandering nonsense getting nowhere fast in the least interesting way possible". DNF @ 25% - symbols which mean, oh shut up. more
Lemony Snicket has a very peculiar way of writing, which I used to love when reading "A Series of Unfortunate Events" while growing up, but somehow it just seems tedious nowadays. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's the fact that his style of writing is always the same. Maybe it's because quirky writing needs to be more of a surprise in the book, than having it all the time. I have no idea. more
I don't care if I'm too old, this is my childhood hero and I will read everything he writes lol. more
This book is amazing. Unlike any other book I have ever read. It is not very similar to Lemony Snicket's other books and does not have any particular tie ins (though it's clearly in the same story world), however, his characteristic writing style shines in this book. Poison for Breakfast could not have been written by anyone other than Lemony Snicket. This was a delightful, whimsical, quirky book, with deep questions, very thought-provoking, and definitely one I will want to read again and again and again. more
Let's take a trip down memory lane. 16 years ago (Woah i am OLD. ) when i was reading Nancy Drew and Malory Towers. I was looking for a change and came across A Series of Unfortunate Events. WHAT A DIFFERENT BOOK. more
Do you teach writing. Are you an irredeemable book nerd. Then this one may be for you. The Venn Diagram of people who ought to love this book definitely includes those two categories, but is not solely limited to them either. For instance, you may enjoy puzzles, or be a fan of the author's other notable works, or simply enjoy a good ramble sprinkled with philosophy and literary references. more
I am such a huge fan of Lemony Snicket's other writings that of course when I discovered this I dove right into it. I have to say it is of typical Snicket fashion and style. The wordplay is fun, bizarre, wild, funny, and out there. His wit throughout the story is ever sharp. But this book did fall a little flat for me. more
Poison For Breakfast is a compelling and singular 176-page stand-alone adventure in which protagonist Lemony Snicket finds himself searching for the culprit who seemingly laced his food with poison. Snicket begins his morning the same way every day: with a breakfast of tea with honey, a piece of toast with cheese, one sliced pear, and an egg perfectly prepared. But one morning, after finishing his meal, he finds a note on a slip of paper under his door: You had poison for breakfast. With that, one of the most famous narrators in contemporary middle-grade fiction (and chronicler of other people's mysteries) finds himself in a race against the clock to solve the mystery of his own demise. Certainly, Mr Snicket didn’t relish the dreadful task of solving it, but he had no choice. more
This book was bewildering, a word which means mysterious and gloomy, as you'd expect of a Snicket book, but also filled with whimsy and philosophy, and even a dash of hope. This book was a satisfying and strange wall down nostalgia lane, and as someone who grew up on the Series of Unfortunate Events books, it felt like finding a particularly comfortable reading chair, in your favorite section of the library. You Had Poison for Breakfast is a book that will surprise you, even if you happen to be the author, and this notion is a good taste of what you'll find inside. more
I love Snicket but this was just rambling awfulness. Total let down . more
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. more
Oh Lemony Snicket. You are so silly sometimes. Check out the opening paragraph for exhibit A:“This book is about bewilderment, a word which here means ‘the feeling of being bewildered’ and ‘bewildered’ is a word which here means ‘you don’t have any idea what is happening, and ‘you’ is a word which doesn’t just mean you. It means everyone. You have no idea what is happening, and nobody you know has any idea what is happening, and of course there are all the people you don’t know, which is most of the people in the world, and they don’t know what is happening either, and of course I don’t know what is happening or I wouldn’t have eaten poison for breakfast. more
Who poisoned Lemony's breakfast. How would you spend your last day or hours knowing that you would die at some point. Ponder these questions in Poison for Breakfast. If you have devoured reading all 13 books in A Series of Unfortunate Events and are looking for more books like them, this latest book by Lemony Snicket is for you. With its use of expansive vocabulary meaning big words and meandering sidetracked tone, it will remind you of the former. more
Stream of consciousness type storytelling is often difficult to pull off and I just don’t think that Snicket did. I found it hard to stay engaged with what I was reading. *Disclaimer* I received an eARC from Penguin Random House Canada on NetGalley. An honest review was provided. more
I've read a little from Lemony Snicket before but this was the first in a long time. The audiobook experience was superb, really enjoyed the narrator. Had either a great voice overall or just the perfect for this story. more
was like a talk with a very good friend. i have so many new books/movies/etc to look up after reading this, so i can come back and read it again with those in mind. . more
A truly delightful little book. If you love books, you will love this book. If you love whimsy, you will love this book. This is my first Lemony Snicket book, and it definitely won't be the last. . more
lemony snicket books are just like coming home after a long busy week and then sitting under a blanket with tea and your favorite food and reading your comfort book 🥹 this book was so fun and nostalgic and so much like lemony snicket’s usual writing and I loved it so much ✨✨. more
“Remember what you learned, years ago: You're never sorry you brought a book. ”Reading this book, it really feels like the author wrote it for himself, just because he felt like it. And if you don't like it, it's your problem. I mean that this was definitely not written with a public in mind, but just out of pure need to write from the author, and I love him for it. Plus, a book about books is always a treat. more