What’s On Your Reading List?

Question of the Week

Posted Dec 3, 2008, 10:34 am CST
By Molly McDonough

Recently we heard about a group of law profs at the University of Chicago who are sharing their reading recommendations, just in time for the holidays. And in the December issue of the ABA Journal, ABA President Tommy Wells shared a couple of books he likes to read and gift (no surprise that they're published by the ABA).

Personally, we can't wait for the late January release of John Grisham's new book, The Associate.

All this talk about books got us to wondering about what's on your reading list. So tell us ...

Which books are you reading or recommend reading for professional reasons? And what about just for fun?

Answer in the comments below.

Read last week's question and answers about working the day after Thanksgiving.

Our favorite answer:

Posted by Steve Gardner: "After getting up at 4 a.m. to go to a store for Black Friday, I figure I might as well go into the office, since I can put in a full day by lunchtime. Well, not a full day, but 8 hours."

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Posted by JMH - 1 month, 3 days, 19 hours, 32 minutes ago

I’m reading Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China by Peter Hessler. The Wall Street Journal called it a “page turner with great insight into Chinese society,” and so far I have to agree. I’m reading it for pleasure, but also because I think some understanding of Chinese society will be critical for most if not all professionals in the near future.
Posted by Victoria - 1 month, 3 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes ago

If you want to be a better lawyer, you should read the classics. You will learn how to craft words in such a way as to move people for centuries. Think it may be too erudite for you? Try Don Quixote by Cervantes, to learn how to rationalize, try Dr. Zhivago by Pasternak to learn how to survive in any political or economic situation (are you more of a Kamorovsky or a Zhivago?) or learn how to argue for your cause by Portia’s speech in The Merchant of Venice or Marc Anthony’s in Julius Caesar, both classics of Shakespeare. I read Dante’s Inferno during my first year of law school and realized that I had to be in one of the levels of hell.

Reading for fun? I have a 13 year old who hates to read and is not very introspective; in desperation, I told him we would read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch together. The chapters are short and easily understandable. Each day we’d read a chapter or 2 at bedtime, talk about the message and come back the next day with an example from our own lives. (Example the talk about having a “Dutch uncle” someone who will tell you your faults in a constructive manner, we each came the next day with 2 things the other could do to improve). He actually likes the time we have together. Next we’re doing Einstein’s Dreams.

Final Suggestion: During your commute listen to books on CD. Don’t try to improve yourself in traffic, make it fun. Then when you are sitting there, instead of fuming, you may actually enjoy yourself.
Posted by silencedogood - 1 month, 3 days, 19 hours, 7 minutes ago

The Ancestors Tale by Richard Dawkins—an excellent and surprisingly easy and fun read which walks you back through evolution as humans join up with other species. Inspired by the cantebury tales it uses current species similar to our ancestors as a tool to unlock the secrets of life as we know it. Very cool.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond—an interesting theory on why some societies were able advance and dominate others throughout history. It grabs you from the start with diary excepts recounting a battle between spanish conquistadors and the inca.

The Stand by Stephen King—pure end of the world fun. If you haven’t read it or if you have only seen the TV version you are missing out.
Posted by Bill Lowe - 1 month, 3 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes ago

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer - an account of the Battle of Samar during WWII.
re-reading “Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879” by Noel Perrin
Posted by Alabama - 1 month, 3 days, 18 hours, 40 minutes ago

I like to read the obituaries every morning to see who accomplished something with their life verse those who billed 2250 hours and had no life.
Posted by Einstein - 1 month, 3 days, 18 hours, 20 minutes ago

3, I just read The Ancestor’s Tale also. Great book. I picked it up after reading The God Delusion. Dawkins is a smart guy. Read GG&S a while back and loved it. If you want to be purely entertained by a great writer read anything by Bill Bryson. He is a true American artist (despite having lived in England for a long time). BTW, judging from your reading material you are most likely too smart to be wasting your time practicing law.
Posted by Thomas Sawyer - 1 month, 3 days, 18 hours, 17 minutes ago

Bill Bryson is the funniest active American writer.
Posted by J - 1 month, 3 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes ago

Death in the Afternoon, by Hemingway. I think it is the only treatise on bullfighting. Awesome book.
Posted by Shenea - 1 month, 3 days, 17 hours, 59 minutes ago

Recently read The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t by Robert Sutton. A must read for this profession.
Posted by CRM - 1 month, 3 days, 17 hours, 56 minutes ago

I only wish I had time to read a book. Sigh.

Note to 3 & 6: Genome, by Matt Ridley, is also a great book (nonfiction).
Posted by maa - 1 month, 3 days, 17 hours, 36 minutes ago

“Under the Net” by Iris Murdoch. Ms. Murdoch’s novel about trying to find a direction in life while being true to yourself is beautifully written and funny.
Posted by Dierdre Berson - 1 month, 3 days, 17 hours, 18 minutes ago

Full disclosure, I am related to the author but I have to say if you are a new lawyer, read “The Model Rules of Personal Finance for Professionals” (Berson ABA). It prepares you for what the professors don’t in terms of the financial life of a lawyer.
Posted by rm - 1 month, 3 days, 17 hours, 14 minutes ago

For airplanes,commuting, or the beach, try “Shadow Divers” by Kurson-non-fiction. The author quit practing law at a good size firm in Chicago to devote his full attention to this tale. Deep water scuba diving[>120’] is just the platform to tell this story.
Posted by Mike - 1 month, 3 days, 16 hours, 55 minutes ago

I’m currently reading “Becoming Human” by Jean Vanier. With all of the storm and stress of law school finals and ever-worsening job prospects, it is incredibly invigorating to read a book speaking to the inmost needs of the heart.
Posted by John E Campion - 1 month, 3 days, 16 hours, 39 minutes ago

I am reading “War and Peace” for the second time, only it is one of the new translations. I read the Garnett translation first. It deserves its reputation as perhaps the greatest novel ever written and it is a fun read to boot.

I just finished Alter’s “The Defining Moment: about FDR’s first 100 days. With circumstances as they are, much can be learned from history. Santayana was right.
Posted by Cliff - 1 month, 3 days, 16 hours, 37 minutes ago

Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. Leadership without yelling and throwing tantrums.
Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-194 by Evan Thomas. This is a fascinating story about about the key American and Japanese commanders involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. It sheds light on Admiral “Bull” Halsey, showing that he was not necessarily the hero depicted by the media.
Posted by ACasey - 1 month, 3 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes ago

Just finished Striver’s Row by Kevin Baker. The last in a trilogy, the settng is WWII NYC. A young Malcom X (still Malcolm Little) is pulling hustles in NY—and confronting his own racial identity—while uptown in Harlem, a black preacher is struggling with the same isses of race and class from the standpoint of a black elite. It’s got jazz, race riots, zoot suits, Adam Clayton Powell, Hizzoner, the Mayor—the historical texture is incredibly complex (quick quiz: who were the Collyer brothers?) and the juxtapositon with current history makes this fascinating and relevant. Now I’m going back to Einstein?..or Team of Rivals?
(BTW—don’t forget to read to your kids—even if they are “too big”—now’s the time for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Goodness knows, we all need a laugh now and the Herdmans will do it!)
Posted by lawyerfrank - 1 month, 3 days, 14 hours, 43 minutes ago

I’m share the interest of silemcedogood: just finished Guns, Germs and Steel. By happenstancs, my adult Sunday School class is studying The Book of Creation: An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality by J. Philip Newell, a good parallel to the chapter on the rise of politics an religion and a good counterpoint to the orthodox Christian dogma that justifies the conquest of hunter-gaatherer societies by organized industrial societies.
Also, justfinished How the Scots Invented the Modern World, which traces political, religious, industrial, economic principles now dominant in the civilized world to the development of Scotish thinkers.
On a lighter note, now ito The New Blue Media, byTheodoare Hamm, which traces the rise of liberal trash media as a counterpoint to conserviative trash media, ad developed primarily through Fox New.
Posted by lawyerfrank - 1 month, 3 days, 14 hours, 41 minutes ago

please forgive all the typos. I’m not that bad a speller.
Posted by Italophile - 1 month, 3 days, 12 hours, 55 minutes ago

Il Deserto dei Tartari (by Dino Buzzati)
Posted by Bryan - 1 month, 3 days, 12 hours, 24 minutes ago

The Innocence Project by Barry Shreck
Posted by Diamond Jim - 1 month, 3 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes ago

21-After you read about the “Innocence Project” read the story of Steven Avery who was sprung from prison in Wisconsin and 23 months later raped, tortured and murdered an innocent 25 year old woman. That vermin is thankfully back in prison where he belongs. Unfortunately for the dead young lady the “innodence project” can’t help her.
Posted by Diamond Jim - 1 month, 3 days, 11 hours, 5 minutes ago

I neglected to mention that Avery was released from prison due to the efforts of the “Innocence Project”
Posted by Noell - 1 month, 2 days, 8 hours, 30 minutes ago

The Outliers by Gladwell. An excellent theory on how and why people become successful. He paints an interesting perspective.
Posted by Andy the Lawyer - 1 month, 9 hours, 49 minutes ago

Diamond Jim—As I understand your take on American justice, if someone is wrongly convicted for a rape he could not have commiited because his DNA is not found within the victim and someone else’s is, he still should serve out his sentence because, gee gosh, he might commit an actual rape if he’s let out. Right?

If that’s justice, then the terrorists have already won.
Posted by George Sly - 4 weeks, 1 day, 15 hours, 42 minutes ago

The most recent books I have read are “Armageddon” and “Retribution” by the British historian Max Hastings which detail the last year of the Second World War against Germany and Japan respectively. Also John Luzader’s book “Saratoga” on the Revolutionary War campaign that destroyed Burgoyne’s army and brought France into the war as America’s ally. Also “The Few” by Alex Kershaw which describes the sacrifices of the Americans who served with the RAF in the Battle of Britain, only one survived the war. For lighter reading I’d recommend Robert Parker’s “Night Passage” or any of his Spenser novels.
Posted by Phil - 4 weeks, 19 hours, 5 minutes ago

For the historian who also likes a good yarn, read Jeff Shaara’s books (recently finished “The Rising Tide” - about the North African campaign in WWII - and “The Steel Wave” about the D-Day invasion. Great history, engagingly told, with a writing perspective that was perfected by Shaara’s father, Michael, who won the pulitzer prize for the story of the 4 day battle of Gettysburg, entitled “The Killer Angels” (also a great read).

Of course, never to be overlooked are: author Barbara Tuckman (The Zimmerman Telegram—about the Kaiser’s attempt to forment a Mexican - American war to keep the U.S. out of WW I—a plan that resulted in actual warfare between the US and Mexico (General Pershing fought there before going to Europe); and “The Guns of August” about the month the engulfed the world in war in August 1918.

Finally, if great historical biography is a passion, not be missed: “The Last Lion” and “Alone” - by William Manchester - which chronicles the life of the indefatigable Winston Churchill up through the moment he is appointed Prime Minister—on the day Hitler invades western europe.
Posted by Andy the Lawyer - 4 weeks, 1 hour, 43 minutes ago

The pile by my bedside includes:

1) Three spy novels by Dame Stella Rimington, who rose through the ranks to become the first woman to head MI-5.

2) “The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower”—a nonideological, realpolitick look at what makes Iran tick and the limits on the USA’s ability to effect meaningful political change there without blowback.

3) “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy—the saddest book ever written and a reminder in these troubled times that as bad as things are and are becoming, they could be a lot worse.

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