Another delivery from America, which is always fun. In this one we got 'Adverbs', the new novel for adults by Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket ('A Series of Unfortunate Events'). It's got a great comic strip cover, reminiscent of the McSwenney's graphic special, and once glance is all it takes to see that Handler hasn't toned down his sense of humour for so-called 'grown ups'. (I am thirty tomorrow and I'm not sure I've 'grown up' at all. Gradually, though, I do seem to be growing *out*.)

"Hello," reads the blurb on the inside jacket. "I am Daniel Handler, the author of this book. Did you know that authors often write the summaries that appear on their book's dust jacket? You might want to think about that the next time you read something like 'A dazzling page-turner, this novel shows an internationally acclaimed storyteller at the height of his astonishing powers'."

Quite.