{"product_id":"2940013420199","title":"A Christmas Carol","description":"One evening, just before Christmas, I started to read “A Christmas Carol” to my young daughter. “I’m bored,” she cried, after five minutes, so I stopped. I wasn’t mad at her. She was right --- “A Christmas Carol” wasn’t fun to listen to.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe problem was time. Dickens wrote the story in 1843, and viewed from the distance of more than 160 years, his language is dense and over-wrought. And long? 28,000 words long.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause I really wanted my daughter to hear this story, I sat down and started cutting the text. Nothing important is gone. I added only a few words of my own, just to make some connections.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis version of “A Christmas Carol” comes in at 13,000 words. As much as possible, it’s pure story. I’m going to read it to my daughter at Christmas, and I bet --- this time --- she’ll like it. It’s my hope that many other kids and their parents will agree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--- Jesse Kornbluth","brand":"Head Butler Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069975511280,"sku":"2940013420199","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013420199_p0.jpg?v=1763581202","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013420199","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}