Via Lee Beeman
I haven’t read anything on the list outside of the fiction section, but I have
read that entire section (save The Good Mother). I’m a huge Grisham fan and recently
became a fan of Michael Connely. (The Hipster in me wants you to know that I became
a fan of MC before Lincoln Lawyer became a movie.) I’d recommend his other books,
The Fifth Witness, and The Reversal that follow the same attorney from the Lincoln
Lawyer and the Brass Verdict.
Via Katie Dean
1. Reading books to “prepare” you (mentally) for law school seems wasteful. Nothing
can really prepare you for law school. My advice to first years: be kind to older
students. They will help you out the most.
2. Reading books to prepare you for the writing aspects of law school is a good idea.
3. Don’t commit to reading something that you won’t also enjoy.
Otherwise, for students who may be interested in trial advocacy and criminal law, I recommend Helter Skelter (not on the list). This book is about the Manson murders and is written by the prosecuting attorney who tried the case. If you aren’t familiar with Charles Manson and “the family,” you might want to Wikipedia them first, as the book goes into great detail about the gruesomeness of the murders. The book also goes through all the necessary pretrial steps, such as gathering evidence and obtaining and preparing witnesses. Finally, the book details every aspect of the trial from start to finish. The trial involved large amounts of witnesses and huge amounts of evidence. It included multiple defendants, all indigent, and was one of the most costly trials in history. It’s a lengthy read, but gripping for those interested in this type of law. And if you don’t already know, you’ll be shocked to learn what “helter skelter” means and where the idea originated.
Via Zak Kinnaird
Forget the list. Be cliche and read “One L” by Scott Turow and watch the movie
“Paper Chase.”
Via John Caro
I’ll be honest, the only book on the list I’ve read is To Kill A Mockingbird, and
that was in 7th or 8th grade. I heard Outliers was good (haven’t read it though),
but I don’t know if it will help “ease the transition to law school.” I’ve also
seen about 5 or 6 of the movies, and while they’re all fairly enjoyable views,
I again don’t really see how watching those movies would help “ease the transition.”
My suggestion for “easing the transition” would be to try and not psyche yourself
out and enjoy the summer. You will be doing plenty of reading for school, so enjoy
the last third of the summer while you can; there’ll be plenty of time to panic
and stress and read and highlight and take notes during the first year.
However, if you must read, brush up on grammar and writing. That seems like the
most important thing, along with getting a feel for “actively” reading as opposed
to “passively” reading.
Via Shannon Kiser
[Due to its length and excellent insight, Shannon’s will be broken into chunks
and posted separately]
