Busy December…

…as usual. Finally caught up with Nova Swing and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union; both excellent. Saw the film No Country for Old Men, and in this case I had not read the novel (though I will soon), and am just as glad I had not, since the film surprises in its development in several ways, and ends in a decidedly un-Hollywood , obviously literary, fashion. Is it better to read the book before seeing the film? Reading the book before can make the film, however excellent, seem rather predictable (as with Atonement); reading it afterwards unavoidably colors the reader’s impression of the characters and, of course, removes some of the suspense of the plot development. Perhaps there is no single preferred policy…