Daniel Handler Reading Order

13 books (1999–2006)

Daniel Handler's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a thirteen-book young adult series published between 1999 and 2006, following the tragic adventures of three orphaned siblings as they encounter a series of increasingly dark and dangerous situations. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with The Bad Beginning and concluding with The End. Each standalone installment chronicles the Baudelaire orphans' struggles as they attempt to evade the villainous Count Olaf while uncovering mysteries surrounding their family's past and a shadowy organization called V.F.D.

Start with The Bad Beginning, the first of 13 books in the A Series Of Unfortunate Events series.

#	Title
1	The Bad Beginning 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Reptile Room 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Austere Academy 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Miserable Mill 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Wide Window 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Ersatz Elevator 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Hostile Hospital 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Vile Village 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Carnivorous Carnival 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Slippery Slope 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Grim Grotto 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Penultimate Peril 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The End 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2002–2007)

This six-book companion series to A Series of Unfortunate Events was published between 2002 and 2007 and is now complete. Written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket, these books should be read in publication order to fully appreciate the supplementary material and expanding universe. The companion volumes expand upon the mysterious world and characters introduced in the main series, offering additional context and documentation about the events surrounding the Baudelaire orphans.

Start with Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, the first of 6 books in the A Series Of Unfortunate Events Companion series.

#	Title
1	Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Behind the Scenes with Count Olaf 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Blank Book 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Beatrice Letters 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Notorious Notations 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Horseradish 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2014–2014)

#	Title
1	File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2012–2015)

The All the Wrong Questions series by Daniel Handler consists of four complete books published between 2012 and 2015, following a young apprentice detective named Lemony Snicket as he navigates mysterious cases in a shadowy world. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Who Could That Be at This Hour? and continuing through When Did You See Her Last?, Shouldn't You Be in School?, and concluding with Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?

Start with Who Could That Be at This Hour?, the first of 4 books in the All the Wrong Questions series.

#	Title
1	Who Could That Be at This Hour? 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	When Did You See Her Last? 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Shouldn't You Be in School? 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (2003–2021)

Daniel Handler edited 10 anthologies spanning from 2003 to 2021, with the series appearing to be complete. These collections should be read in publication order, beginning with It Was a Dark and Silly Night... Each anthology features various contributors and genres within the young adult category, showcasing work from multiple authors rather than a single narrative thread.

Start with It Was a Dark and Silly Night..., the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	It Was a Dark and Silly Night... 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Big Fat Little Lit 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Cabinet 24: Shadows 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2007 Edition 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Half-Minute Horrors 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Chronicles of Harris Burdick 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Radio Silence 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Who Done It? 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	One Minute till Bedtime 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Creativity Project 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The End of the Golden Gate 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2019–2019)

8 books (2007–2017)

The Lemony Snicket Picture series comprises eight standalone picture books for young readers, published between 2007 and 2017. Each book presents its own distinct story, though they share the distinctive narrative voice characteristic of author Daniel Handler's work under the Lemony Snicket pen name. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Baby in the Manger and concluding with The Bad Mood and the Stick.

Start with Baby in the Manger, the first of 8 books in the Lemony Snicket Picture series.

#	Title
1	Baby in the Manger 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Lump of Coal 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	13 Words 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Dark 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Goldfish Ghost 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Bad Mood and the Stick 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (2007–2017)

Daniel Handler's Picture series comprises seven standalone illustrated stories published between 2007 and 2017, with each book featuring distinctive artwork that complements its narrative. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Baby in the Manger and concluding with The Bad Mood and the Stick. These young adult books are designed to be experienced individually while maintaining thematic connections across the collection. The series blends Handler's characteristic storytelling style with visual artistry to create a unique reading experience for each entry.

Start with Baby in the Manger, the first of 7 books in the Picture series.

#	Title
1	Baby in the Manger 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Lump of Coal 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	13 Words 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Dark 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Bad Mood and the Stick 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1999–2024)

Daniel Handler has written nine standalone novels across young adult and general fiction from 1999 to 2024, with the series remaining ongoing. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Basic Eight and progressing through Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs, The Composer Is Dead, Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, All the Dirty Parts, Bottle Grove, and And Then? And Then? What Else? As standalone entries, each novel can be enjoyed independently, though reading them in the order they were published provides insight into Handler's evolving style and themes over his career.

Start with The Basic Eight, the first of 9 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Basic Eight 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Watch Your Mouth 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Adverbs 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Composer Is Dead(As: Lemony Snicket) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Why We Broke Up 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	We Are Pirates 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	All the Dirty Parts 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Bottle Grove 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	And Then? And Then? What Else? 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible