Lemony Snicket’s advice: ‘Stay indoors and read’

Lemony Snicket has a suggestion for your summer plans.

“Mr. Snicket believes that summertime is such a dangerous season, what with sunburn and melted ice cream and the possibility of summer camp, that it’s best to stay indoors and read,” said Snicket’s “representative,” Daniel Handler, who still denies the overwhelming evidence that he is in fact the author of the million-selling Snicket books, “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Handler, of San Francisco, was speaking in support of Barnes & Noble’s 10th annual Summer Reading Program, which began Tuesday. Barnes & Noble will be handing out Snicket-related “activity kits and journals, each containing four student activities, to educators nationwide,” according to a statement.

“Students who read any eight books of their own choosing, list them and record their favorite part of the book in their ‘A Summer of Unfortunate Events’ journal, can receive a Barnes & Noble coupon for a free book from a list of bestselling paperback titles,” the superstore chain said.

Kim Brown, vice president of merchandising for Barnes & Noble Inc., said children would be able to choose from 30 books, most of them fiction. Asked why only bestsellers were being offered, Brown said, “We want to make sure we have all the books in stock that we promote.”

Handler was asked if Mr. Snicket, a known supporter of independent booksellers, was worried about his affiliation with Barnes & Noble. “Absolutely, he’s concerned,” Handler said. “But one of the nice things about the Summer Reading Program is that Barnes & Noble is giving away books for free. You can read books from a library or an independent store and then they’ll give you a book.

“So, in fact, they’re reversing the capitalist scheme of which they’re often accused,” he said.