And I'm back. My training has been completed, IT finally resolved my issue with logging into my profile on our system (it only took 2 1/2 weeks) so I can now do billing under my own user name, and we're back to 8 hour days, five days a week.

Books Read: 6

Why I March: I had to make a minor correction here. I previously had written that I had purchased this book from Amazon due to a review written by Grimlock ♥ Vision, but she pointed out in the comments that she hadn't read it yet, though she had written about it. So, I actually have Grimlock ♥ Vision to thank and Stacy Alesi, thank you so much both of you.There are so many powerful images packed into this book: men, women, children, the young, the old all marching for a cause. The royalties go to several nonprofit organizations. 5 stars

The Invention of Murder: This is one of my favorite non-fiction books. Judith Flanders walks the reader through some of the more well-known Victorian murders and the public's reaction to them; how people profited from them, how public opinion played a large role in the outcome of the trials, and the influence these murders had in the writings of some well-known authors including Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Wilkie Collins. 5 stars

The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, The End: And this wrap-ups of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The series itself is, as it's name suggests, rather dark, but book eight, The Slippery Slope, is where it pulls out all the stops. 4 1/2 stars.

❝He who hesitates is lost.❞

That's captain Widdershins's personal philosophy. In this very fast paced adventure the orphans will once again fate mortal dangers and try to overcome them the best way they can: together.

The Grim Grotto holds some terrible secrets for the unfortunate Baudelaires and for once the story closes on a positive note...

Off to the next one!!

Quote I really liked in this story:

❝The way sadness works is one of the strange riddles of the world. If you are stricken with a great sadness, you may feel as if you have been set aflame, not only because of the enormous pain, but also because your sadness may spread over your life, like smoke from an enormous fire.❞

"He who hesitates is lost."

This review can also be found at Goodreads.

Having discovered the ruins of the headquarters in the mountains the siblings are quite literally left drifting at sea. After being rescued by the crew of the Queequeg the Baudelaires join the quest for the mysterious sugar bowl and its contents.

As always we're left with plenty of questions, especially when it comes to the importance of the sugar bowl and at the insistence of Captain Widdershins that there are something too dark and upsetting in this world for young children like the Baudelaires to know. After using tidal charts Klaus tracks a possible location of bowl to location, the Gorgonian Grotto, and with the help of a fellow crew member Fiona they discover there's something deadly lurking in there.

As with all of these books everything and everyone is tied together, which means betrayal isn't far behind. It nice to finally see Klaus finally taking more of a spotlight role, so far the books have felt more Violet and Sunny driven with their skills proving more helpful.

More and more the children have been trying to do what's noble and help VFD, even if it means not always getting the answers they deserve and at times doing something bad for the greater good. With only one place to go, it's a race to the last safe place where both villains and volunteers all gather.

Happy reading.

xx