"60 Second Recap" Pipes Classic Literature Directly to Teens

At one point or another, even the most scholarly among us has turned to Cliffs or Spark Notes to summarize or clarify a class reading assignment. As good as these resources are at clearing up the confusing plots and characters of the books we've all been forced to read, they are too often resorted to out of laziness. Jenny Sawyer's new site, 60 Second Recap, has found a way to clarify books while making them more appealing to teens, not less.


On the surface, it's exactly what it sounds like: 60-second videos summarizing the most dreaded high school reading assignments, from Great Expectations to The Catcher in the Rye. There are about ten videos for each book, covering the old Cliffs Notes basics: characters, plot, themes, etc.

The X-factor is Jenny herself. She speaks directly to teens on their own terms, holding nothing back about the good and bad of the books she explains. She doesn't mind telling you that Hamlet's plot is a hodgepodge of borrowed tropes, or that there are really only two important characters in Catcher. She does it all with an energy and enthusiasm that gets the important stuff across in a way that makes teens want to go read the books after watching.

The genius of these short bursts of information is that, unlike Cliffs or Spark Notes, there isn't enough in them to skip the book itself. The videos are like teaser trailers: just enough to clear up a point and make the viewer want to return to the book for the whole story. For kids who swear they "don't read," this site has the potential to turn them around.

The project is still in Alpha, so the number of books covered is currently limited. But Jenny has already gotten some positive feedback in the form of user-generated response videos. The only feature the site is really missing is embed codes for the videos, so they can be shared across the web. All in all, this site has incredible potential as a teaching and reviewing tool. If you're a teacher or student of any age, we encourage you to take these recaps for a spin.