Dear Reader,

For many years, I have chronicled the lives of the Baudelaire orphans in a sequence of miserable and upsetting books entitled A Series of Unfortunate Events. Rather than reading such depressing stories, you may prefer this Blank Book, in which you can write down your own miserable and upsetting research.

You may use this volume to record many dreadful things:

The Blank Book also offers the following helpful features:

But I must warn you that once you begin using this book, you must guard it with your life -- or with the life of another allegedly trustworthy person.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket