Blog Viewer

Book Recs for Lawyers

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 12-07-2020 08:19

  

Like many lawyers who were once English majors, I’m an avid reader. And for all its faults, one thing 2020 has definitely given me is plenty of time to curl up with a good book. In anticipation of a largely homebound winter, I’ve already compiled a nice long to-read list based on New York Times and New Yorker favorites and my friends’ Goodreads recommendations. I’ve always been partial to fiction, but lately I’ve been trying to branch out and read more historical nonfiction (especially U.S. history) and memoirs. If, like me, you’re always on the hunt for your next great read (or if you’re just looking for a gift for a reader in your life) here are a few ideas.

For those interested in legal memoirs and autobiographies, Barack Obama’s much-anticipated A Promised Land will likely top the list. SCOTUS junkies may also be interested in My Beloved World, Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir, or Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, which tells the story of women who almost got appointed to the Supreme Court but never made the final cut.  Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers: Lives in the Law by Jill Norgren collects the oral history of 100 women lawyers who influenced the legal profession. And in Just Mercy (now also a movie), lawyer Bryan Stevenson recounts his activism against unfairness in the justice system.

For more journalistic or sociological nonfiction books, I personally recommend Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (which was an incredible window into the housing crisis), and The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom, a moving memoir and historical chronicle of 100 years of Broom’s family’s life in New Orleans. The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, an account of de jure segregation in America, is also on my list.

Of course, lawyers don’t only read nonfiction books by other lawyers or about law-related subjects. I’d argue that reading fiction gives everyone a broader—and more accurate—perspective in all aspects of our lives. (Why try to put it into words when Albert Camus said it best: “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”) So in this spirit, a few final recommendations: The Round House by Louise Erdrich is one of my favorite books, centering on the question of legal jurisdiction over a crime committed on Native American land. I just read Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, an exceptional and formally unique novel exploring Hollywood’s (and America’s) prejudiced and pigeonholing view of Asians and Asian-Americans. If you’re feeling brave (and a little on-the-nose), Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam are wonderful pandemic/disaster novels. And just for fun, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld tells the story of what might have happened to Hillary Rodham if she’d never married Bill.

Happy reading!

0 comments
28 views

Permalink