Dickens on Screen (On Screen)

Book Description

Television and movies, not libraries or scholarship, have made Charles Dickens the most important unread novelist in English. In addition to the millions of people already deploying the word "Dickensian" to describe their own and others' lives, many more who have never read Dickens are familiar with the term. They know of him because they have access to over a century of adaptations of his works for movies and television. Including an exhaustive filmography, this work will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars.

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Television and film, not libraries or scholarship, have made Charles Dickens the most important unread novelist in English. It is not merely that millions of people feel comfortable deploying the word 'Dickensian' to describe their own and others' lives, but that many more people who have never read Dickens know what Dickensian means. They know about Dickens because they have access to over a century of adaptations for the big and small screen. Because Dickens has proven to be the most easily adapted of major novelists, he has become, somewhat ironically, one of the foremost novelists in the English canon. This is ironic because it was just this capacity to entertain that once confined him to the margins of the 'great tradition' in fiction. Dickens on Screen is an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike. It provides an exhaustive filmography and is well illustrated.

Customer Reviews:

Miscellanious Collection of Writings about Dickens on Screen.......2004-01-13

"Dickens on Screen" is a miscellanious collection of writings about the film/TV adaptations of Dickens, of which contents go as below:

INTRODUCTION: John Glavin
PART I
1 "Dickens, Psycoanalysis and film: a roundtable": Gerhard Joseph
PART II
2 "David Copperfield' home video": John Bowen
3 "David Lean's 'Great Expectations'": Regina Barreca
4 "'Great Expectations' on Aurtralian television": John O. Jordan
5 "Dickens' 'The Signalman' and Rubini's 'La Stazione'": Alesandro Vescovi
6 "Bill Murray's Christmas Carol": Murray Baumgarten
7 "Screen memories in Dickens and Woody Allen": Robert M. Polhemus
PART III
8 "Writing after Dickens: the television writer's art": John Romano
9 "Directing Dickens: Alfonso Cuaron's 1998 'Great Expectations'": Pam Katz
10 "Playing Dickens": Miriam Margoyles
PART IV
11 "Cinematic Dickens and uncinematic words": Kamilla Elliott
12 "Dickens, Eisenstein, film": Garrett Stewart
13 "Orson Wells and Charles Dickens 1938-1941": Marguerite Rippy
14 "'David Copperfield (1935)' and the US curriculum": Steve J. Wurtzler
15 "Dickens, Selznick, and 'Southpark'": Jeffrey Sconce
16 "Tiny Tim on screen: a diabilities perspective": Martin F. Norden
PART V "Dickens composed: film and television adaptations 1987-2001": Kate Charnell Watt and Kate Lonsdale

Because of the space, I do not write here any in-depth summery of each writing. I only add that:
1) PART I is a record of conversations by the people from three fields (film, Dickens, psychoanalysis), including contributors, done after their watching the clip of Lean's "Oliver Twist."
2) PART 2 and 4 cover the various topics about Dickens and films. The titles are, however, sometimes misleading (# 6 essay is actually not about this talented American actor). The final results vary from impressive to mediocre (the fate of any kind of essay collection). Some are quite insightful, but I am afraid some others indulge in academic theries (call it a sea of jargon). See the title, pick it, and give it a chance.

PART 3 is most interesting (to me), but, alas! not so long. In # 9 Pam Katz tells us the inside story of how Cuaron's modernized version came to be what it is now, with several comments from the director himself. It is quite fascinating to know that Ms Paltrow's Estella was supposed to have a job (what was it? Read and find it.) And the interview with the great Margoyles is not to be missed, who gives a quite frank (and often funny) accounts of her visions about Dickensian world, and her works (she is famous for playing one Dickensian character on stage, and you know who).

The last PART 5 is a filmography, but sadly, it is not perfect. I do not lament the loss of "Ms. Scrooge" ("A Chrismas Carol" of PC era). But I was shocked to see they omit 1922 Jackie Coogan version of "Oliver Twist" from the list when they use one of its stills on the book jacket! This must be remedied right now. And unaccountably, while # 16 essay refers to the 1935 version "Scrooge," the filmography again forget to record it. And please remember, the 1997 verions of "Oliver" stars Elijah Wood, one of the stars of "LOTR." (Haven't they seen this fantastic trilogy yet?) Michael Pointer's superb filmography (or IMDB) is still indispensable.

Book Description

Provides a critical commentary on the noteworthy Dickens dramatizations from 1897 to 1993. Contains a catalog of more than 130 movies and 220 TV presentations.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Introduction to the World of Filmed Dickens.......2003-03-21

Published in 1996, "Charles Dickens on the Screen" surveys the filmed works of Dickens from the silent era, including TV adaptaions. The book is rather silm in volume, and not so much a thorough discussion on the cinematic skills employed on the screen as an introduction to the vast field of Dickensian films (more than 100), but still Michael Pointer keeps his book always readable and immensely interesting.

After the brief introduction, the book begins with a discussion about "Dickensian" elements in original books, and their relations to visual media. The agrument at first is a bit too general and obvious, but you should just read on. After the third chapter the writer speeds up his discussion, giving well-researched comments on the films, backed up quotations from various materials. Though the materials might not look rare in the eyes of those who are already versed in film history -- autobiographical writings, comtemporary reviews, the synopsis, etc. -- they help those who do not have knowledge on movie history to gain the historical viewpoint to glance back the current of many films.

Chapters 2-4 are devoted to discussion on the silent films. It is now a nearly impossible thing to make a perfect survey about this era, because many of the films are lost forever (the reason is explained by the words of director Frank Llyod in the book), and considering that fact, Mr. Pointer did a very good job, even though the argument often seems to lack in power, relying on second-hand knowledge. But that cannot be helped.

After Chapter 5, the discussion is about "talkies," and the book gets better and better as you read. His discussion covers the films until the 1993 "Edwin Drood," and, instead of displaying tedious scene-to-scene analysis which might have done harm to the book by its slow tempo, he gives each film concise summery of its characteristics and his opinions about it, which may disagree with yours, but mostly fair and to the point. Mr. Pointer does not neglect the more recent TV products, and gives fair judgement on them. There is even a section where the author deals with parodies! (such as British cult TV series "Avengers" -- remember Mrs. Emma Peel?")

The book also contains a list of films (until BBC's "Martin Chuzzlewit"), which is now superceded by our internet source like imdb. Of more interest is the cluster of clear stills (21 in all) which includes a rare one that shows Charles Laughton as Mr. Micawber in the 1935 "David Copperfield." After one-week shooting, he left the film, and as you know, W.C. Fields took the part. Though not a perfect book, since so many have been released after its publication, "Charles Dickens on the Screen" is a good book to know more about the area of filmed classics, which should be given more attention from both academic and non-asademic people.

A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations : A Critical Examination of Dickens' Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television
Average customer rating:

Very Well Done

Excellent Reference Material

A Wonderful Treat

A Treat for "Carol" Lovers

EXCELLENT NEW BOOK

A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations : A Critical Examination of Dickens' Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television
Fred Guida
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adaptations | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Screenplays | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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General | Dickens, Charles | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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The Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose

ASIN: 0786407387

Book Description

Over 150 years after its original composition, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol continues to delight readers. The figure of Ebenezer Scrooge has become a cultural icon, and Tiny Tim's "God Bless Us Every One" is as familiar as "Merry Christmas." It is not surprising that Dickens' "ghostly little book," as he called it, has proven a popular choice for adaptation by playwrights and screenwriters. In everything from elegant literary treatments to animated musicals, the role of Scrooge has been essayed by actors from George C. Scott to Mr. Magoo. This critical account of the story's history and its various adaptations examines first, the original writing of the story, including its political, economic, and historical context. The major Carol interpretations are analyzed within their various media: stage, silent film, talkies, and television. Dickens' other, lesser known Christmas stories, like "The Cricket on the Hearth," are also examined and compared to the immortal Carol. Finally, a complete annotated filmography of all film and television productions based on A Christmas Carol is included, with commentary on each version's loyalty to the original text. The text includes a foreword by noted Dickensian scholar Edward Wagenknecht, and a bibliography and index.

Customer Reviews:

Very Well Done.......2003-12-17

Dickens dose a great job introducing this book. He has very high vocabulary and his words are sometimes very confusing. However, that should not cloud over the book because it is a great read. In my opinion it is a must read. I think if any Christmas hater reads this book they will love it. It certainly was interesting.

Excellent Reference Material.......2001-12-18

I've been a fan of the 1953 version of a the Carol for as long as I remember. It was family tradition every Christmas eve to watch it. I've looked at as many possible versions and have yet to find it's match. This book is an amazing resource of all the various interpretations of the Dicken's classic has gone through from early lantern projected pictures, through the silent era, talking films, television, and animated specials. The early version were fascinating and I found it a special bonus that the author made note of various television shows which featured a special Christmas episode inspired by A Christmas Carol. Who could ever forget the "Six Million Dollar Man" Christmas special using the ideas from the novel. This brought back a lot of great television special memories. I was even able to track down two hard to find T.V. animated specials shown in the early 1970's but not seen since. (I found them on Amazon). All in all a great read, especially for fans. I did not agree with all of the criticisms, and the text is a rather dry read, maybe a little too academic. But still great stuff!!

A Wonderful Treat.......2000-02-16

Fred Guida has presented an incredibly well researched and beautifully written book that blends the literary history of this story along with the history of its various screen presentations. Thank you for this unique presentation.

A Treat for "Carol" Lovers.......2000-01-16

Everyone has a favorite film or television version of Dickens beloved "A Christmas Carol." But few of us have any idea how very many adaptations there have been. Mr. Guida's wonderful book examines first the written "Carol," then goes on to detail some of the hundreds of adaptations and variations, from the early stage versions and magic lantern slides to modern made-for-television Carols. Mr. Guida discusses the major Carols with wit and humor as well as rare discernment: his love for his subject is evident. Minor Carols and variations are also covered, albeit more briefly. If you cannot find your favorite version in the text, you are sure to find it in the superb and very thorough filmography. The filmography is worth browsing in and of itself; did you know that there have been Western, country-western, rock-and-roll, and even science-fiction variations on "A Christmas Carol"? Or that actors as disparate as Cicely Tyson, Basil Rathbone, and Mr. Magoo have played Scrooge? If you love "A Christmas Carol" or simply dote on film trivia, I promise you will enjoy this book.

EXCELLENT NEW BOOK.......1999-12-19

This is not just a meticulously researched film historian's delight. It is thoughtfully written, and chock-full of information related to Dickens and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Excellent!

Dickens the dramatist, on stage, screen, and radio

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Dickens the dramatist, on stage, screen, and radio
F. Dubrez Fawcett
Manufacturer: Allen
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Adaptations | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Dickens the Dramatist: On Stage, Screen and Radio
Charles] Fawcett, F. Dubrez [Dickens
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Fiction and the screen,
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The Haunted Screen : Ghosts in Literature and Film

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The Haunted Screen : Ghosts in Literature and Film
Lee; Criticism on Emily Bronte, Stefan Zwaig, Robert Nathan, R.A. Dick, Charles Dickens, Dorothy McCardle, Ferenc Molnar, Thornton Wilder Kovacs
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A Guide to the Study of Scrooge, The Screen Version of Dickens` A Christmas Carol. Prepared by William F. Bauer; General Editor Max J. Herzberg (Photoplay Studies, vol. 1 no. 9)

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A Guide to the Study of Scrooge, The Screen Version of Dickens` A Christmas Carol. Prepared by William F. Bauer; General Editor Max J. Herzberg (Photoplay Studies, vol. 1 no. 9)
Charles Dickens
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--A guide to the study of Scrooge: The screen version of Dickens' A Christmas carol (Photoplay studies)

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--A guide to the study of Scrooge: The screen version of Dickens' A Christmas carol (Photoplay studies)
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A guide to the study of the screen version of Dickens' A tale of two cities (Photoplay studies)

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A guide to the study of the screen version of Dickens' A tale of two cities (Photoplay studies)
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Adaptations | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

Plagiarism and more.......2006-07-26

This hasn't improved much from previous editions and is still as bad as they come. Ever hear of the composer Grofe (Grand Canyon Suite, Mississippi Suite, etc.)? Well, you won't find him reviewed here. How about Gloria Coates? Surely they must cover Peter Maxwell Davies (the renown English composer)? Nope! William Bolcom, Kamra Ince, Henri Lazarof, Bo Linde, George McKay, Mieczyslaw Vainberg, Morton Feldman? None of these either. And the section on Charles Ives, Ernest Bloch and many others is pathetically small. The Rimsky-Korsakov orchestral masterpiece, Scheherazade gets several less-than-optimal recommendations (compared with over 40 in the Third Ear). The examples of this books failings go on and on.

I could go on but I'm getting tired of typing and I've embarrassed them enough so I'll stop. In summary, this book addresses the ho-hum standard stuff that most everyone knows already. Check Schnabel out for good mono recordings of the Beethoven sonatas, Gieseking did a great job on Debussy works in the 50's but the sound is not good by today's standards, etc, etc..

Not a good shopping guide--way too many gaps and you'll miss the good stuff if you use it. Worse, it's misleading. Oh, and did I mention the chubby, hard-to-use design of the book itself? The book has a lot of pages because of the small page dimensions; the Third Ear, by comparison, has 25% larger pages with almost as many pages (same sized print). The Gramophone Guide won't stay open and looks fat but really is skinny on recommendations and educational value.

Finally, to tie-in my title for this review. The Gramophone Guide and the Penguin Guide sometimes say, almost word-for-word, the exact same thing. I will cite just one example here but I've run into others. Read the review of DG's remastered release of Wilhelm Kempff's 50's cycle of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas in both the Penguin and Gramophone Guides. I quote, "Those who have cherished Kempff's later, stereo style for it's magical spontaneity will find this conveyed more intensively in his mono set, recorded between 1951 and 1956." With the exception of one word and the addition of an adjective, the same sentence appears in both books. So, there's no doubt that these people read each other's books and copy choice sentences and perhaps don't even listen actually to all of the music that they're reviewing.

So, who's copying from whom? Maybe it goes both ways or maybe just one way, it's impossible to tell. But with all of the other faults that this book has I wouldn't pay the postage to have it shipped to me if it were free. It may be worthwhile checking the Gramophone out of a library for occasional reference or to read an essay, but if you want a book worthy of purchase, get the Third Ear. It's not perfect, but much better written, honest and it covers almost every composer that you've ever heard of.

A nice updating of a standard guide to classical CDs.......2006-03-16

I recently decided to buy new editions of my increasingly bent and battered and out of date Gramophone and Penguin guides to classical CDs. With a limited budget for classical recordings, I find it essential to have a few guides around to guide me in my buying. And it truly is essential to have more than one. Anyone relying solely on the Penguin or Gramophone or any other classical guide is apt to be buying unknowingly into a particular set of biases. The Gramophone guide, like the publication upon which it is based, is irritatingly biased against American orchestras, for instance, a serious flaw for someone living in the U.S. as I do. If one spends time with a guide, one gets to know its biases and slants and shortcomings and strengths.

Both the strengths and many of the weaknesses of this guide are easy to discern. One thing to note of the Gramophone guide is that far more than the Penguin guide it doubles as a guide not merely to recordings, but to music. Each composer is introduced with a brief biography. These are quite informative and reach the same kind of length one sees in one-volume encyclopedias such as THE COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA. There is also a great deal of helpful prefatory matter, including a series of brief introductions to the history of music featuring a highlighting of some of the key recordings of pieces from each period. There is also a list of what they regard as among the greatest recordings ever committed to CD as well as a list of the basic works for a library of classical music. The latter does not recommend specific recordings, but compositions by specific composers. The two lists are both overlap and are exclusive of one another. Karajan's famous recording of Wagner's PARWIFAL, for instance, makes the former list but not the latter. Some people don't like guide to make stands. I do. I want them to be bold and say precisely what they recommend that I buy. I can learn when to trust and when to question their judgment.

Compared to the Penguin guide, the Gramophone lists vastly fewer CDs. That may seem odd given the thickness of the book, but it is true. Penguin tends to rate a vast number of discs but says a lot less about each one. Penguin also strives to review discs on all imaginable works by virtually every composer, while Gramophone skips many of the minor composers and typically reviews only two to four recordings of even major works. The one exception to the latter are the very helpful sidebars that compare seven or eight recordings of some of the most crucial pieces of classical music, such as the best recordings of Beethoven's late quartets or the finest recordings of Bruckner's 8th Symphony. Gramophone therefore is a much more in depth guide, but it lacks the Penguin guide's breadth.

One serious shortcoming of Gramophone's less-is-more approach is that it gives little guidance on the bulk of the recordings one is likely to encounter. For instance, if you hit used CD stores or otherwise come across classical CDs, you might want to know if this rogue CD is any good or not. Gramophone's help is apt to be very limited. Penguin is definitely the better guide in this regard. Still, Penguin is necessarily more limited in what it can say about each CD. But as I've recommended getting not one but both of the guides, each guide can help overcome the limitations of the other. Also, each one allows you to take the recommendations of the other with a grain of salt. I think this is especially necessary with the Gramophone guide. Over time I have found their recommendations--indeed, their passions--to be a bit on the quirky side. They are a bit more excited about period recordings, for instance, than I am.

Still and all, anyone buying more than a very few classical CDs definitely should plan on picking this up.

Fresh, updated and GOOD as ever.......2006-02-27

If you already have previous volumes of The Gramophone Guide and are wondering if there is anything new, the answer is YES. Most notable are the fresh-looking "quick reference" boxes that summarize the major, top recording choices in a verticle column for many major repertoire categories (like Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, Mozart's Piano Concertos, Chopin's Nocturnes, etc). This allows a quick, at-a-glance overview of the top choices without reading through each separate review. Also to note is the change from "Gramophone Award" to their new "Gold Star" Award - perhaps alligning closer to Penguin Guide's "Rosette" award citing and icon. I wouldn't doubt a new line of CD's featuring this bright cellestial logo gracing the cover. Other new things include hundreds of new CD recommendations, an expanded DVD section, a nifty guide to Mozart's 250th anniversary and a primer to downloading classical music (yes, it will finally happen).

For those new to the many classical music guides, perhaps I can offer some insights into finding the one best suited to your interests based on several years of using all of them. The first step is to determine if you want a "buying guide" that reviews, critiques and compares in detail the many CD/DVD choices - or more a guide to explore the major composers and their most notable works with just a couple recording recommendations. For buying guides, there are three main ones, each offering something unique and valuable: THE GRAMOPHONE, THE PENGUIN GUIDE and THE THIRD EAR GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC. By contrast, the many other guides referenced later are more guides to the history of classical music (major composers, works, eras) and give only 1-3 recording recommendations without much comment, critique or comparison.

The most comprehensive of the buying guides is THE PENGUIN GUIDE which lists by far the most recordings available and gives quality, in-depth reviews. To many collectors, it is the indisputable first choice reference, mainly for its sheer number of listings and completeness of repertoire. Additionally, their "Key Recordings" and "Rosette Award" citings are also helpful to note the truly exceptional and legendary recordings. Their ratings are on a three-star system. However, most recordings below two stars do not make the cut - as it is impracticle to list all recordings ever produced or in the catalog.

Next, THE GRAMOPHONE also only lists the "creme" with recommendations that are even more "distilled" than Penguin Guide's listings. For example, where Penguin lists some 10 recordings for a given work, Gramophone will often only list their top 1-3 choices. Many of these will be historic recordings (Schnabel, Casels ...), which unfortunately leaves less room for some of the newer talents and budget releases which often are excellent. Some will value this narrowing of choices, others will feel cheated of options. Personally, I've acquired many superb recordings not mentioned at all in Gramophone that other guides strongly recommended. But, Gramophone is indispensible to the serious collector for their expert opinion and very well-written, enlightening reviews (many which can be had off their website too). Also, occassionally in either of these two British guides there are prominant recordings not listed (often American or non-EU artists/labels). One example are the fine Chopin recordings by American Garrick Ohlsson on the Arabesque label.

However, omissions such as Ohlsson will often be listed in the THIRD EAR GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC - the American answer to Penguin. The Third Ear Guide gives more opinionated (and often less-polite) critiques as well as excellent background info on the composers, compositions and performers that the British one's do not have. However, it is often inconsistent and woefully incomplete in its listings of some parts of the repertoire. Nevertheless, it is really delightful and fascinating to read for its level of detail (like the several-page review the many recordings of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas).

The next several guides do NOT compare and contrast recordings, but offer different facets of discovery of the classical music repertoire. If your interest is to learn about the music in detail, then The ALL MUSIC GUIDE is an excellent choice, giving detailed descriptions of the major repertoire (program notes). Their CD recommendations are up-to-date and fairly reliable, but the extremely tiny print might be a limitation to some readers. A similar encyclopedia-type guide to consider is the OMNIBUS GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC which is more a broad-brush overview of the MAJOR repertoire works, their history and a few recording recommendations in a plain format. If you like spicy, outright opinionated guides, then JIM SVEJDA'S GUIDE stands alone. His reviews are entertaining, witty and often irreverant. But, it is not a comprensive review guide as it covers only a smattering of the MAJOR repertoire and his favorites of several decades of radio experience.

Last, if your interest is mainly learning the history of classical music and merely to get a couple reliable CD recommendations in a reasonably sized book... then three great choices stand out: "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC," the witty "NPR GUIDE TO BUILDING A COLLECTION" or David Dubal's "ESSENTIAL CANNON OF CLASSICAL MUSIC." The last is the most musically and historically in-depth (my favorite) with marvelously detailed biographies of the major and minor composers and main music eras (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern). The Rough Guide gets kudos though for its excellent CD recommendations (one or two per work) and colorful layout.

Serious collectors will have at least the first three major CD Guides mentioned as each brings something unique and valuable to the research process. There is a lot to be said about multiple opinions to get at the full truth of the matter (as music is a highly subjective topic). I use them all regularly and wouldn't be without one.

Gramophone Film Music Good Cd Guide (CD Guide)

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Gramophone Film Music Good Cd Guide (CD Guide)

Manufacturer: Music Sales Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Not perfect but useful and enjoyable

The Gramophone Musical Good CD Guide

Manufacturer: Music Sales Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Not perfect but useful and enjoyable.......2000-04-01

Among my prides and joys is my collection of Broadway shows and operettas on CD. Therefore I very much like the (Gramophone Publications Limited, 1998) with its 264 pages of comments about just about every Broadway show ever committed to CDs. Where there are several versions, the editors have selected either all or some, in the latter case referring us to a list of "Also available" recordings. Therefore this guide makes no pretense to being complete in any sense.

Nevertheless it is quite valuable for what it does review. There remains the question of what is not. Although I debate the inclusion of Gilbert & Sullivan into "musicals," I do think that as long as they are included, more of the available recordings should get full treatment and not merely listed as "also available." Another problem is that many CDs available only in Great Britain are included and given glowing reviews, increasing my frustration level greatly.

On the positive side, the guide is organized by composer in alphabetical order with a short biography before the reviews proper; and there is an index of shows in alphabetical order to make life easier. (How many musicals are there with composers whose names spring to mind?) I also appreciate having the timings for each CD, which allows us to pass up an expensive import that runs (say) only 35 minutes. I like reading about the concert entries such as the "Kiri Sings ..." series and the soundtracks such as that of the 1946 "Ziegfeld Follies." Yes, their use of "musicals" is not limited to stage presentations, and includes screen versions of musicals as well as compilations such as "Lullaby of Broadway" that offers up selections from Busby Berkeley films.And for those who already own earlier editions, each new review is labeled as such.

So like its big brother, "The Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide," this is not a perfect but a very useful tool for the collector. I even find it fun to read! But to each his own.

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