Book Blunder

I give up. The Reading Copy Book Blog reports that books by Agatha Christie are being "simplified" for people whose first language isn't English. Just get a load of this:

"'There’s a high awareness of Agatha Christie out there but a lot of non-English speakers would find the originals too difficult. The language is quite archaic, the plots are quite difficult, with loads of characters,' said publisher Catherine Whitaker. 'Her grammar is quite complex – which it would be – when you’re speculating you need to use more complex grammar.'"

As a lover of books, I find this to be setting a bad precedent. The language makes the book; if you change the words, then it's not the same book! Here's an idea: if you don't understand something you're reading, either ask someone, or look it up in the dictionary.