Books in 140 Seconds: The Art of Fielding

By , on January 12th, 2012

Hello, sports fans, time for another edition of your adrenaline-laced literary sprint, Books in 140 Seconds. Last week we pontificated on Brian Brett’s Trauma Farm, and this week we’re reentering the fictional world with one of our favourite books of 2011, Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding. Here’s the play by play of our reactions to this extraordinary book:

Read it. You won’t regret it. Erin and I both agree it’s one of our favourite books of 2011.

So a new year, and a new Books in 140 Seconds. We’re not going anywhere, but after almost 50 videos we may be around a little less often to ensure that we still make great videos about great books. Keep tuning in for all the critical commentary, yelling, and, of course, laughing at our own jokes you’ve come to expect. Look for our next video at the beginning of February. See you then.

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Books in 140 Seconds: Girls in White Dresses

By , on July 1st, 2011

So you could say this video is a day late . . . or that we wanted to give you a Canada Day present! (with a video about an American author . . . okay, it’s just late. I will dock myself 10% for this post.) Last time we did champion a book by a Canuck, Stuart Ross’s Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew, but this time we’re headed to the big apple (NYC, not the one off the highway in Colborne, ON) for some decidedly lighter fare (less childhood trauma & Holocaust reverberations, more problems with boys and finding an apartment). That said, this book is decidedly more appropriate for for a long weekend, and if you’re perched lakeside, Jennifer Close’s Girls in White Dresses could be just the ticket:

We like to keep you on your toes, so next week we’re switching gears again, embracing our inner pioneer with what will be an undoubtedly yelly discussion of The City Homesteader. Happy Canada Day (and an early 4th of July to our American pals). Basically, happy BBQs and fireworks to all!

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Books in 140 Seconds: Prep

By , on March 25th, 2010

As we announced a couple weeks ago, Erin Balser and I have decided to run a book club in a mere 140 seconds, and we’re taping it for your viewing pleasure. Just watch the video and then join in the conversation here. Books in 140 Seconds runs every second Thursday, and we’ll give you a heads up on the next fortnight’s book at the end of every post, so the overachievers among you can get reading.

For our first foray into digi-micro-bookclubbing, we decided to go with the frequently recommended boarding school classic, Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. We read the book, I donned my pearls, and here’s what happened:

140 seconds isn’t much. We still had a lot to say, and we’d love to discuss it here. There are a lot of big ticket issues at play in Prep — including race, class, sexuality, some fascinating characters, and Lee exposes herself to the same dissection she applies to others. I’ll be posting a review next week, but this is a great place to discuss ideas and reactions as well.

A quick note on the method to our madness when it comes to selecting our next book: like at the KIRBC, there isn’t really [...]

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