By Sharon Harris

Daniel Handler! In Toronto! You may know him better as children’s writer Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame, but he has written three books for adults not as Snicket’s “Handler,” but quite wonderfully as himself. He’ll be talking to charming local writer Jason McBride (who Torontoist may have seen in The Annex last week–belated hullo, Jason! If you weren’t Jason, greetings to the gent who is passing himself off as Jason quite successfully).
Maybe Daniel will talk Immediately, Obviously, Arguably, Particularly, Briefly, Soundly, Frigidly, Collectively, Symbolically, Clearly, Naturally, Wrongly, Truly, Not Not Particularly, Often, Barely and Judgmentally about his latest book, Adverbs.
Torontoist Briskly charged through the novel over two nights, and though we may be Characteristically prone to hyperbole due to our extraordinary exuberance for life-in-general (it’s spring!), Adverbs, along with a handful of other novels we’ve read this year, has restored our faith in the form. Read this book under a flowering tree. It’s about love if you like love like this: “Love was in the air, so both of us walked through love on our way to the corner.” It’s also about magpies, Snow Queens, miracles, saltwater taffy, and San Francisco.
But first, a contest courtesy of HarperCollins and UKULA: send your name and favourite adverb to poetry at torontoist dot com for free tickets to hear Daniel and Jason talk about life after Lemony. The first five emailers will get on the guest list.
Also featured are bands Kill the Lights and Madrid. The event begins at 9:30 p.m., May 16th, at Andy Pool Hall (489 College Street). Tickets are five bucks. Watch for a full report of the event and a review of Adverbs later this week.
Invite courtesy of HarperCollins.