Anyone who knew Violet well could tell she was thinking hard, because her long hair was tied up in a ribbon to keep it out of her eyes. Violet had a real knack for inventing and building strange devices, so her brain was often filled with images of pulleys, levers, and gears, and she never wanted to be distracted by something as trivial as her hair.

Occasionally there are parents who say, "I brought my child so he or she could learn what the career of a writer is like, and you did this long theatrical performance instead, and I'm very disappointed."

Bad circumstances have a way of ruining things that would otherwise be pleasant.

It doesn't take courage to kill someone,' Klaus said. 'It takes a severe lack of moral stamina.

I am certain that over the course of your own life, you have noticed that people's rooms reflect their personalities. In my room, for instance, I have gathered a collection of objects that are important to me, including a dusty accordion on which I can play a few sad songs, a large bundle of notes on the activities of the Baudelaire orphans, and a blurry photograph, taken a very long time ago, of a woman whose name is Beatrice. These are items that are very precious and dear to me.

...you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.

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.