The burning of a book is a sad, sad sight, for even though a book is nothing but ink and paper, it feels as if the ideas contained in the book are disappearing as the pages turn to ashes and the cover and binding blacken and curl as the flames do their wicked work.
She wouldn’t have to be lying to be wrong.
Remember, sometimes something might seem like bad news, but it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
I’m not smart, Snicket. I don’t ask the right questions and I never find the right answers.
Any age was a difficult age for someone needing to get through that window.
It is likely your own eyes were closed when you were born, so that you left the safe place of your mother’s womb – or, if you are a seahorse, your father’s yolk sac – and joined the treachery of the world without seeing exactly where you were going.
Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear. Some people say that a sunrise is a miracle, because it is somewhat mysterious and often very beautiful, but other people say it is simply a fact of life, because it happens every day and far too early in the morning.
I once threw myself down a flight of stairs rather than face even one moment with a milliner, at whose shop I quit working after discovering the sinister truth about her berets, only to find that the paramedic who repaired my fractured arm was a man who had fired me from a job playing accordion in his orchestra after only two and half performances of a certain opera.
All of life is just shadows.
Like an envelope, a hollow figurine, and a coffin, a refrigerator can hold all sorts of things, and they may turn out to be very important depending on what kind of day you are having.
Oh, no,” he said. “We don’t read the newspaper. It’s too depressing. Our motto is ‘No news is good news.
I wasn’t sad the way a spider isn’t an insect.
Those two Quagmires will whisk and whisk until they are simply whisked away.
We’re an invincible army, but not a victorious one.
Aunt Josephine had been so careful to avoid anything that she thought might harm her, but harm had still come her way.
A wonderful laugh is no excuse for villainous behavior!
The difference between the two sides of the schism, is that one side puts out fires, and the other starts them.
Being noble enough is all we can ask for in this world.
Sooner or later, everyone’s story has an unfortunate event or two – a schism or a death, a fire or a mutiny, the loss of a home or the destruction of a tea set. The only solution, of course, is to stay as far away from the world as possible and lead a safe, simple life.
Duncan kept his hand on Violet’s and talked to her about terrible concerts he had attended back when the Quagmire parents were alive, and she was happy to hear his stories. Isadora began working on a poem about libraries and showed Klaus what she had written in her notebook, and Klaus was happy to offer suggestions. And Sunny snuggled down in Violet’s lap and chewed on the armrest of her seat, happy to bite something that was so sturdy.