diff --git a/inspector.py b/inspector.py
index 120fe23..620ec92 100644
--- a/inspector.py
+++ b/inspector.py
@@ -116,6 +116,11 @@ def sorted_naturally(iterable, reverse=False):
     return sorted(iterable, key=natural, reverse=reverse)
 
 def is_good_entry(k, v):
+#    #TODO: completely ignore objects with errors here? or use error as value (see format_value below)
+#     try:
+#         str(v) # have to be able to create a string representation for the object
+#     except Exception:
+#         return False
     ignore_types = (VariableInspector, types.ModuleType, type) # hide modules and classes
     return not k.startswith("_") and k not in IGNORE_NAMES and not isinstance(v, ignore_types)
 
@@ -138,7 +143,15 @@ def format_size(obj):
             return ""
 
 def format_value(obj): #TODO: make magic numbers configurable
-    res = str(obj)
+    # if string representation cannot be created, use error as value
+    #TODO: cf. is_good_entry for alternative way of dealing with this
+    try:
+        res = str(obj)
+    except Exception as e:
+        tn = typename(e)
+        res = f"caused a {tn}"
+        if str(e): # e has a message
+            res += f": {e}"
     # try if separate lines can be used to shorten
     splitted = res.split("\n")
     if len(splitted) > 4: