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Best of

[…] it is a sad truth in life that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.
—  Bad Beginning (Page 34)

The Rest

The Reptile Room

Chapter 9

“What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet. You can wash it, and wash it, and still never forget what has transpired […].
“Chapter 9 [Page 123-124].” A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room

Chapter 7

“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.”

— “Chapter 7 [Page 96-97].” A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room

The Bad Beginning

Chapter 2

[…] to be in one’s own room, in one’s own bed, can often make a bleak situation a little better.

— Bad Beginning (Page 12)

Chapter 3Sometimes, just saying that you hate something, and having someone agree with you, can make you feel better about a terrible situation.

— Bad Beginning (Page 32)

[…] it is a sad truth in life that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.

—  Bad Beginning (Page 34)

Chapter 5

It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between ‘literally’ and ‘figuratively.’ If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it’s happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, it means you are leaping in the air because you are very happy. If you are figuratively jumping for joy, it means you are so happy that you could jump for joy, but are saving your energy for other matters.

— The Bad Beginning (Page 68)