I'd never actually read A Christmas Carol, so this year I decided to do it. After finishing it, I have to tell you that only now do I realize how bizarrely, meticulously faithful the Muppet Christmas Carol is to its source material. That movie has Kermit the Frog and Gonzo speaking lines from this book verbatim. It takes cues from the descriptions of scenes and costumes to a degree that is frankly amazing. It was impossible to read the book after growing up with that adaptation and not picture Miss Piggy and Michael Caine, especially when the dialogue they were delivering was literally what was on the page.

It was a nice read, if a bit moralizing—but that's the entire point, and the moral in question is being kind to other people instead of focusing on hoarding money, so I'm fine with it (and really, I can think of some CEOs I wish could have the bejeezus scared out of them by a few visits from the spirit world).