My first discussion thread! I’ll be responding in real time to your comments throughout the day.
Bol Coop inside Creative Grounds, in Washington, D.C.
These days, my mind has been fully taken up with that most odious of hurdles that every lawyer has to leap past: taking the bar exam. It’s coming up in less than two weeks (!), and it has challenged me in ways I never expected. For about 12 hours each day, I sit down and do nothing but read, read, read—something that would delight me otherwise, except all these books seem to want to tell me about is mortgages and security interests and the dormant commerce clause of the Constitution. Also, arson!
I’m looking forward to being done, traveling, and sitting outside somewhere just reading books that make me feel free. I love generally all nonfiction, from essay collections (TRICK MIRROR by Jia Tolentino and THICK by Tressie McMillan Cottom) to the academic (WE REFUSE TO FORGET by Caleb Gayle, who is fantastic). But I’ve been known to enjoy short story collections, too (currently reading AYITI by Roxane Gay). And I’m shamelessly promiscuous—two or three books at once is not uncommon for me. Dislikes: beach reads.
So, help me build my post-bar exam reading list!
What is your most favorite recent read—whether you’ve finished it or not—and why?
(If any lawyers have advice on how to get through the last of bar prep, I’ll gladly take it in the comments. 🥲)
This is a short story collection but "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower is incredible. I came across one of his stories in a Pushcart Collection years ago and was blown away by his writing. I sought out more of his stuff and found his collection. It's only recently that I revisited. It's fiction, but it's grounded. A lot of family stuff.
"The Five" by Hallie Rubenhold is fantastic. It's historical nonfiction. It's about the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, but it has nothing to do with the murders. It's all about the lives of the women, delving into the social ills that pushed these women into the fringes of society. It's a compelling read. Rubenhold is a historian, but she writes like a novelist. It's so clear that she cares deeply for these women.
Oooooh, I did like SAY NOTHING, the 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe about a missing mother in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The Rubenhold sounds kinda similar.
If you read in Spanish, I highly recommend ”El Diente Roto,” a short story by Pedro Emilio Coll, a Venezuelan author. It's kind of childish, but it also has something quite nostalgic about it? You might like it!
The suggestions you have received are amazing- I am making a list from them,. I love non fiction but don't get to it as much as I would like to being a solid fervent fiction reader. Though one I loved, which was published several years ago, I recommend every chance I get is Susan Orlean's The Library Book http://www.susanorlean.com/author/books/the-library-book/ This may not be as hard hitting as the majority of recommendations you have received so far but it is a fascinating journey of an unsolved fire with an unbeknownst romance for libraries. So, if you need a little lighter fare but still intriguing and pleasing you may want to give it a try. There is also an Olympics Book coming out soon that is so rich in history that it dazzles, I couldn't put it down and I am not even a sports person. Women and the Olympic Dream by Maria Kaj https://kajmeister.com/kaj-books-in-print
Thanks for this Shawn!! And yeah, that's exactly what I hoped for too, that people would use these recommendations to build their own reading lists. Always love a light fare. Will check out that Olympics book too!
Last night I finished Mother to Mother by Sindiwe Magona. I actually snagged this book off Luke years ago before he was going to donate it. It was a good read about a mother trying to come to grips with and explain her son's violence that resulted in the death of a white Fulbright scholar in South Africa.
Absolutely! The way she described her rural township, from daily life to the physical setup, resonated with my experience there. Earlier this year I read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and I loved that book. It was fun to read it in his voice since his writing is so similar to the way he speaks. I also read the entire Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. I am enjoying exploring the world of science fiction as I have often pigeonholed myself in nonfiction.
I recently re-read John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed and I’m currently working through both The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin and The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas since I too am a “multiple books at a time” kinda person.
As for bar prep from a practicing attorney who was literally in the depths of prep last February: you are SO close to the finish line to stop the long days now. However, I would also listen to my body and mind and take breaks as needed. I would also highly recommend *not* studying (I know, possibly controversial advice) the last day or two before the actual exam. You have been through it and anything you haven’t already committed to the memory/repetition cycle won’t happen in the last day or two. Plus your mind and body will probably appreciate the break to bounce back to their full potential.
Best of luck with the bar exam - it’s a beast and it is so worth it because we need more Latine attorneys in the field!! (Take it from someone who was just called the interpreter a few days ago…I’m clearly still salty!) And before you start the exam, don’t forget to take a deep breath or two! Wishing you all the best and more on the end of the journey!
Among recent reads, I really loved Perpetual West! Then I read Go Home, Ricky!, which was not bad. The only conclusion to draw from this n=2 sample is that novels with wrestlers are gonna be enjoyable!
Also I totally hear you about disliking beach reads. Nonetheless, want to recommend the Inspector Montalbano series, which is set in Sicily and features a grumpy detective constantly faced with his own anxiety about aging. They're formulaic but I found them a nice alternative to beach reads (full disclosure: I don't actually read the series, just listen to the audiobooks).
Love your writing, and go kick ass at the bar exam! I had to do the 12-hour daily reading for my grad school comprehensive exams, and this is not going to be any comfort to you, but nowadays I look back and think - "I wish I could just sit and read dry academic literature for 12 hours!" That is just to say, you'll do great!
Angst-filled European detective and existential dread? SIGN ME UP. I do like Camus, and this makes me think of that, so I'll put that one and your other recs on my list!
Jesus! So one of my favorite books that I've read in the past few years is A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraquib. He is also re-releasing They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us with 3 "new" essays in November, which I'm very excited for. Have you read anything by Ted Chiang? I've been low-key wanting to read more science fiction and I feel like Ted Chiang and N.K. Jemisin have been two writers I keep wanting to go back to. I inhaled The City We Became last summer, and just started N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy.
Can you believe I haven't read anything by Hanif?? I just saw the re-release announcement and I think this might be my moment. I haven't read Ted Chiang! I honestly find sci-fi a little hard to get into because part of me still stereotypes it (wrongly) as all about space and aliens. I love when sci-fi has a kind of dystopian/government intersection, though, strangely. I have THE IMMORTAL KING RAO on my reading list... maybe that can be my gateway to Chiang and Jemisin.
I think I've felt similarly about sci-fi too, but I have a lot of friends who love it and recommended those authors to me. I think Exhalation by Ted Chiang hits a lot of different philosophical/speculative sweets spots outside of typical sci-fi tropes. And I also have the IMMORTAL KING RAO on my reading list! (Thanks to my new literary influencer friend Noah.)
i also like nonfiction. my father left this book on my bed (ISBN 978-0199739349) the other day just for fun. it's about this thing called the antikythera mechanism, basically the first known piece of technology that uses algorithms to do stuff. it was made to help people use the stars to navigate. i'm no expert; i've only skimmed through the first chapter. i'm taking summer AP computer science right now, and he saw i was interested in it. there are all these interesting things (not in the book) about pascal's calculator and things i read in my textbook that make for really wonderful wikipedia spirals.
i'm also reading amanda gorman's call us what we carry. she's a damn good poet (ISBN 978-0199739349)
since you like short stories, aeon and psyche also have some interesting articles if you're into the bite-sized reading type of thing like i am. wikipedia is also 10/10. if you need inspiration, follow @depthsofwikipedia on instagram. there's nothing like learning from experience though- i'm volunteering with my neurosurgeon uncle, and i've made a game out of guessing what all the words mean. checking my guesses has led to some cool neurology trivia i found online.
good luck on your exams. i love your writing, it's great to meet you!!
Wait A Portable Cosmos looks incredible. I’m definitely going to check it out!! And Wikipedia is so underrated as a place to satisfy curiosity cravings. My very limited attention span loves flash fiction too.
Poetry wise, I’m trying to get into CUSTOMS by Solmaz Sharif and FLOATERS by Martín Espada. Heavy, but you might like them.
This is a short story collection but "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower is incredible. I came across one of his stories in a Pushcart Collection years ago and was blown away by his writing. I sought out more of his stuff and found his collection. It's only recently that I revisited. It's fiction, but it's grounded. A lot of family stuff.
"The Five" by Hallie Rubenhold is fantastic. It's historical nonfiction. It's about the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, but it has nothing to do with the murders. It's all about the lives of the women, delving into the social ills that pushed these women into the fringes of society. It's a compelling read. Rubenhold is a historian, but she writes like a novelist. It's so clear that she cares deeply for these women.
Good luck with the bar, Jesus!
Oooooh, I did like SAY NOTHING, the 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe about a missing mother in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The Rubenhold sounds kinda similar.
If you read in Spanish, I highly recommend ”El Diente Roto,” a short story by Pedro Emilio Coll, a Venezuelan author. It's kind of childish, but it also has something quite nostalgic about it? You might like it!
If you haven't read The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, do it!
The suggestions you have received are amazing- I am making a list from them,. I love non fiction but don't get to it as much as I would like to being a solid fervent fiction reader. Though one I loved, which was published several years ago, I recommend every chance I get is Susan Orlean's The Library Book http://www.susanorlean.com/author/books/the-library-book/ This may not be as hard hitting as the majority of recommendations you have received so far but it is a fascinating journey of an unsolved fire with an unbeknownst romance for libraries. So, if you need a little lighter fare but still intriguing and pleasing you may want to give it a try. There is also an Olympics Book coming out soon that is so rich in history that it dazzles, I couldn't put it down and I am not even a sports person. Women and the Olympic Dream by Maria Kaj https://kajmeister.com/kaj-books-in-print
Best of fortune on the bar!
Thanks for this Shawn!! And yeah, that's exactly what I hoped for too, that people would use these recommendations to build their own reading lists. Always love a light fare. Will check out that Olympics book too!
Last night I finished Mother to Mother by Sindiwe Magona. I actually snagged this book off Luke years ago before he was going to donate it. It was a good read about a mother trying to come to grips with and explain her son's violence that resulted in the death of a white Fulbright scholar in South Africa.
Hey Zach! That looks pretty interesting. Did you feel familiarity with any of the places in South Africa?
Absolutely! The way she described her rural township, from daily life to the physical setup, resonated with my experience there. Earlier this year I read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and I loved that book. It was fun to read it in his voice since his writing is so similar to the way he speaks. I also read the entire Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. I am enjoying exploring the world of science fiction as I have often pigeonholed myself in nonfiction.
I recently re-read John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed and I’m currently working through both The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin and The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas since I too am a “multiple books at a time” kinda person.
As for bar prep from a practicing attorney who was literally in the depths of prep last February: you are SO close to the finish line to stop the long days now. However, I would also listen to my body and mind and take breaks as needed. I would also highly recommend *not* studying (I know, possibly controversial advice) the last day or two before the actual exam. You have been through it and anything you haven’t already committed to the memory/repetition cycle won’t happen in the last day or two. Plus your mind and body will probably appreciate the break to bounce back to their full potential.
Best of luck with the bar exam - it’s a beast and it is so worth it because we need more Latine attorneys in the field!! (Take it from someone who was just called the interpreter a few days ago…I’m clearly still salty!) And before you start the exam, don’t forget to take a deep breath or two! Wishing you all the best and more on the end of the journey!
😭😭 I needed to hear this, thank you so much. I'll add these to my list. And ugh, the microaggressions never stop, do they? Pa'lante I guess!
Currently reading some great nonfiction like Pilgrim at tinker creek and Atlas of the heart
There's a lot of new good nonfiction, so I appreciate a recommendation from pre-2000. What do you like about it??
Among recent reads, I really loved Perpetual West! Then I read Go Home, Ricky!, which was not bad. The only conclusion to draw from this n=2 sample is that novels with wrestlers are gonna be enjoyable!
Also I totally hear you about disliking beach reads. Nonetheless, want to recommend the Inspector Montalbano series, which is set in Sicily and features a grumpy detective constantly faced with his own anxiety about aging. They're formulaic but I found them a nice alternative to beach reads (full disclosure: I don't actually read the series, just listen to the audiobooks).
Love your writing, and go kick ass at the bar exam! I had to do the 12-hour daily reading for my grad school comprehensive exams, and this is not going to be any comfort to you, but nowadays I look back and think - "I wish I could just sit and read dry academic literature for 12 hours!" That is just to say, you'll do great!
Angst-filled European detective and existential dread? SIGN ME UP. I do like Camus, and this makes me think of that, so I'll put that one and your other recs on my list!
Jesus! So one of my favorite books that I've read in the past few years is A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraquib. He is also re-releasing They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us with 3 "new" essays in November, which I'm very excited for. Have you read anything by Ted Chiang? I've been low-key wanting to read more science fiction and I feel like Ted Chiang and N.K. Jemisin have been two writers I keep wanting to go back to. I inhaled The City We Became last summer, and just started N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy.
Can you believe I haven't read anything by Hanif?? I just saw the re-release announcement and I think this might be my moment. I haven't read Ted Chiang! I honestly find sci-fi a little hard to get into because part of me still stereotypes it (wrongly) as all about space and aliens. I love when sci-fi has a kind of dystopian/government intersection, though, strangely. I have THE IMMORTAL KING RAO on my reading list... maybe that can be my gateway to Chiang and Jemisin.
And thank you! <3
I think I've felt similarly about sci-fi too, but I have a lot of friends who love it and recommended those authors to me. I think Exhalation by Ted Chiang hits a lot of different philosophical/speculative sweets spots outside of typical sci-fi tropes. And I also have the IMMORTAL KING RAO on my reading list! (Thanks to my new literary influencer friend Noah.)
Also good luck on bar prep! You got this.
i also like nonfiction. my father left this book on my bed (ISBN 978-0199739349) the other day just for fun. it's about this thing called the antikythera mechanism, basically the first known piece of technology that uses algorithms to do stuff. it was made to help people use the stars to navigate. i'm no expert; i've only skimmed through the first chapter. i'm taking summer AP computer science right now, and he saw i was interested in it. there are all these interesting things (not in the book) about pascal's calculator and things i read in my textbook that make for really wonderful wikipedia spirals.
i'm also reading amanda gorman's call us what we carry. she's a damn good poet (ISBN 978-0199739349)
since you like short stories, aeon and psyche also have some interesting articles if you're into the bite-sized reading type of thing like i am. wikipedia is also 10/10. if you need inspiration, follow @depthsofwikipedia on instagram. there's nothing like learning from experience though- i'm volunteering with my neurosurgeon uncle, and i've made a game out of guessing what all the words mean. checking my guesses has led to some cool neurology trivia i found online.
good luck on your exams. i love your writing, it's great to meet you!!
woops amanda gorman's is 978-0593465066
Wait A Portable Cosmos looks incredible. I’m definitely going to check it out!! And Wikipedia is so underrated as a place to satisfy curiosity cravings. My very limited attention span loves flash fiction too.
Poetry wise, I’m trying to get into CUSTOMS by Solmaz Sharif and FLOATERS by Martín Espada. Heavy, but you might like them.
And it’s nice to meet you, as well ☺️