If asked, I’d say I was a casual fan of Prince—I thought he had charisma and talent in spades, and loved all the songs that made it to the radio, but I never owned one of his albums, and I’ve never seen Purple Rain. As for Dickens, I think I read Great Expectations at some point but I’m not positive, and other than that, my only exposure to his works is via the ubiquitous Christmas Carol adaptations. But I am a fan of Nick Hornby’s nonfiction writing, and the premise of this book intrigued me. It’s a quick look at the prodigious creative output by both men, and how they both basically worked themselves to early graves. However, I’m still not interested in reading Dickens—but I may watch the BBC adaptation of Bleak House that is supposedly top notch.