When I was a kid, my parents had a collection of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. They looked so important and sophisticated – and boasting that I had already read “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by fourth grade made me feel oh-so-worldly.

Imagine how my ego was dashed when I picked up an unabridged copy several years later and realized I’d been duped! The Digest version was nothing like Victor Hugo’s actual story! What else had I been missing?

I devoured all the required books in high school and college, but my reading list abruptly reloaded when I became a mom. I started applying the techniques I’d learned in a Literary Criticism class to the picture books we brought home from the library. I’ll challenge anyone to a spirited discussion on the theme of the protagonist’s quest for identity in P.D. Eastman’s “Are You My Mother?”

These days, my favorite method of catching up on the books I’ll never have time to read is the Book-A-Minute page at www.rinkworks.com. Here you’ll find ultra-condensed versions of classics, sci-fi/fantasy and bedtime books, guaranteed to make you smile. Here’s a sample:

“The Old Man and the Sea,” by Ernest Hemingway

An old man catches a fish that’s too big for his boat. The fish gets eaten by sharks. Then he goes home and DIES.

THE END

Now that’s a good read.