Edgar and Ellen are really Rare Beasts

Rare Beasts by Charles Ogden

You know you're in for a delightfully decrepit story when you open a book and the main characters live in a house called Schadenfreude (which is a German word that basically means that you get a rush from watching other people suffer. Think CBS's Survivor). I have to admit, I kind of enjoy seeing how the bad people devise their master plans. My mind just can't bend that way, so seeing their plans in motion sets my nerve on edge. That's why I love 24.

This series had me jumpy from the get go. Have you ever read the Lemony Snicket books? Think about an entire series based around the villainous relatives that the Baudelaire children are forced to live with. Pure, delightful evil. In Ogden's books, Edgar and Ellen are twins whose sole purpose is to find new and ingenious ways to torment their neighbors. They make you're worst enemy seem as sweet as candy. You have to experience their horror for yourself. Without giving too much away, all I can say is you do not want to be in a game of hide-and-seek them!

Watching the downfall of these siblings is unbelievably entertaining. Who said schadenfreude was a bad thing?