The Art of Fielding

I picked this up at the local bookstore because it was $6, and the cover looked vaguely familiar. After reading the blurb on the back, however, which gave the impression that it was just another riff on melodramatic college experiences, I was worried it was going to be like Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons (which...ugh). Or even worse, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot (because I love Eugenides and there is a unique sadness to reading a not-great novel written by someone whose writing you typically love). Instead, The Art of Fielding was perfectly charming. Every bit of it. Not earth-shattering, but wasn't trying to be. Nicely poignant, and felt like a treat to read.