Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Defector Reads A Book

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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

Arts And Culture

Patrick Redford

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Kelsey McKinney

The Queen Of Writing The Beautiful Mundane

Felix Kent

American actress Dagmar (1921 - 2001) reading a book of 'Comic Characters of Shakespeare' by John Palmer, circa 1950. (Photo by Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Reading Is Easy, TV Is Hard

This Is So Stupid

To Stop The Creeping Liberalism Of Books, You Must Destroy The Cloud

Zillowing Out

A $900,000 (Maybe?) Home That Someone Loved Very Much

A group of teenagers having fun in a convertible car in the 1950's. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

Life Lessons

This Is Not Actually An Endorsement Of Ditching Your Childhood Friends

No Wonder Left In World Now That Mysterious Book Thief Has Been Arrested

Defector Staff

Year In Review

The Best Things We Read In 2021

Barry Petchesky

This ‘Dune’ Has No Ideas

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Pro Wrestling

These Are The Books Wrestling Fans Want Philadelphia Children To Read

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

‘The Glassy, Burning Floor Of Hell’ Is A Horror Collection That Will Validate Your Misery

David Roth

Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals is inspected on the mound by umpire Tim Timmons during a June game.

Podcasts

Frisk Max Scherzer If You Dare, With Kelsey McKinney

Charles Farrell has spent his professional life moving between music and boxing, with occasional detours. He has managed five world champions, and has played and recorded with many of the musicians he most admires&#8211;Evan Parker and Ornette Coleman among them. Farrell currently resides in the Boston, Massachusetts area.



His new book, <a href="https://hamilcarpubs.com/books/lowlife-a-memoir-of-jazz-fight-fixing-and-the-mob/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(Low)life: A Memoir of Jazz, Fight-Fixing, and The Mob</a>, will be published June 29.

Charles Farrell

on October 14, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“My Friend Is Here To See The Girls”

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

Announcements

‘The Night The Lights Went Out’ Will Be A Book

Giri Nathan

Bill Bradley of the Princeton Tigers attempts a free throw.

Senators Week

In ‘A Sense Of Where You Are,’ Bill Bradley Was A Bucket

<a href="http://www.ddavisla.com">David Davis </a>is the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation and Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. He lives in Los Angeles.
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David Davis

Mil Máscaras finishes Professor Toru Tanaka with a flying body press.

Pro Wrestling’s Finest Down-And-Dirty Chronicle Is Getting Even Better

Nick Greene

A Couples Therapist Explains Wilt Chamberlain’s Most Impressive Record (No, Not That One)

Maitreyi Anantharaman

I Love The Sports Chapter Of The Aeneid

Lauren Theisen

A baseball player is silhouetted as he follows through while practicing in the batting cages

Lost And Found In The Batting Cage

Kelly Conaboy

A Day At The “Largest Festival For Dogs In North America” Where My Dog Was, Quite Frankly, Robbed Of His Accolades

The Best Things We Read In 2020

Three men share a table as they read in the South Reading Room at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York City, New York, 1953.

Defector Reads A Book Is Back For December

Introducing: Defector Reads A Book

Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson

On the right is a photo of Toni Smith-Thompson. On the left is an image of the book Loving Sports When They Dont Love You Back

Before There Was Colin Kaepernick, There Was Toni Smith-Thompson