Books in 140 Seconds: Prep

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 one. We’ll aim for a variety of formats from a variety of publishers, but those are the only rules. So basically, anything’s fair game.

On that note, the next book to receive the book club blitz is: Leanne Shapton’s Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including, Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry. As an intro to the book, check out my review, and by all means, pick up the book itself — cause like all of the ephemera the book so lovingly catalogues, I think this one’s a keeper.