April 26th, 2005
summer reading
I’ve been hearing a lot of noise from 0Ls (from some fellow bloggers as well as from board posters) about what they’re reading this summer to prepare for 1L.
I feel like a slacker saying this, but I’m not planning to read anything law related. We’re about to move into a tiny apartment that is in every way worse than our home—except that it has a pool. I am not going to drag One-L, Law School Confidential, or Planet Law School II out to the water with my pitcher of screwdrivers (or vodka tonics) when I can read fiction instead! Just not going to happen.
Part of me understands the fear—the feeling of, “I must be prepared! I must be ready!”—but I just can’t muster up that urgency in myself. I want to spend the summer reading books that are good, not books that I picked up only because they’re on the Barnes & Noble legal shelf.
And I kind of feel like a slacker for it. I am excited for the academic rigor of law school, for the mental exercise and the learning of that “new vocabulary.” But I don’t feel like I need to start trying to learn all that stuff on my own before I start. I want to enjoy this summer as much as I can and start school refreshed. I’ll be reading, yes, but I don’t want to burn myself out before I start. After all, do I really need to read stuff like this now? Stress I don’t need in my life, that’s what that is. Besides, sitting by the pool, I seriously doubt I’m going to absorb any of the “tips and tricks” these authors will provide—especially since I’m not actually in law school yet and everything I read will be confusing out of context!
So I’m taking summer reading suggestions. I will entertain legal suggestions, as long as they are actually interesting and not written to help me game a system I’m not yet in. I’ll also take fiction recommendations, even cheesy ones. I don’t want to feel out of place at the pool, after all.
comments
Actually, I would read One L, or more importantly, I would have Mr. Angst read One L. It’s less about preparing for law school as it is preparing for the emotional demands of law school. And it’s a pretty good read.
But a law professor summed it up best when I asked what I should read to prep when I was a wee 0L: “As much fiction as you can, because you won’t have any time for it for another three years.”
Not to stress you out but rather as a “heads up” — many law schools have required summer reading in addition to the class assignments that must be done prior to the first day of classes. I had to read “Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment” by Anthony Lewis (author of Gideon’s Trumpet) during my 0L summer. Then, I also had pre-assignments for all of my classes, which I didn’t realize until a few weeks before they began. Ugh. Never had homework before school started before!
So I recommend that you check your school’s website for summer reading assignments and pre-assignments. They probably won’t be up for a while, but ya’ never know!
Otherwise, how about a Grisham book? Perfect pool reading for a 0L!
P.S. Otherwise, ditto -Dave!’s comment.
I recently read and loved The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
I think in general books about what you’re about to experience are not useful. My experience in law school is going to be different than some standard guide-writer’s experience in law school. Besides, advice can’t really be absorbed properly until you’re in the situation. You won’t really get what it’s like.
However, I do think a good prep might be to read the new Supreme Court opinions that come out within the next month or so (I think the term ends in early June), especially if you don’t have much experience with reading court opinions. They’re not indecipherable or anything, but they do take some getting used to before you can get into the swing of understanding what the justices are talking about and how they make their arguments. Best to do that beforehand than while in class. You can find the opinions on the Supreme Court website: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/opinions.html
Kristine: Of course, if my school has required reading, I will be doing that. (I don’t think they do, though.) Once I receive my Orientation packet, I’ll know more.
Hanah: I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife, too! And it’s set in my future city! Good idea on the court opinions, though. I agree that I will probably want to at least familiarize myself with the format.
I second “The Time-Traveler’s Wife” — one of the first books I have really loved in a long time.
If you haven’t read any Nick Hornby, “About a Boy” is my favorite book of his.
The next Harry Potter is coming out soon. I don’t know if you like that kind of book, but if so, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (starting with “The Golden Compass”) is great.
I loved the Pullman books! I will be ordering the British edition of Harry Potter (I bought the first five when I was over there a few years ago), so that will definitely be on my summer list.
I’ll look into About a Boy.
Here’s a list of several books you won’t want to read this summer.
But I do think OneL is worthwhile, and Brush w/the Law is just plain fun (or I thought so, anyway). But yeah, indulging in just whatever makes you happy is a great idea; you’ll have plenty of time to focus on law reading later.
screw reading law-related books. in my opinion, they only serve to freak you out. though a few are funny, including barman and 1L. my reccommendation is, as said above, read as much fiction as possible. you really won’t have time to when you’re in lawschool and I really miss that kind of book. I don’t even know what’s out there, since I haven’t been doing much reading. but fiction is totally the way to go!
OK, not fiction, and definitley not light reading, but Under the Banner of Heaven was the best book I’ve read in a long, long time.
P.S. I’m glad you posted this. As an 0L myself (and a former Austinite), I was getting a little freaked out about all this pseudo-required reading. Hey, I was even freaked out that I would have assignments BEFORE the first day of class. Hello?? I thought the first day of class was supposed to be about getting your syllabus and meeting your prof. Guess I have a lot to learn — maybe I should read the prep books.
I read One-L the summer after my 1L year. I thought it was good because it did explain exactly how I felt a lot of the time, but I don’t know if I would recommend it before school starts.
All I did the summer before law school was work a fun crappy job and lay out by the pool. The only thing I read was a ton of chick lit and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Do the same and don’t worry about reading for school. Even assignments for the first day of class weren’t posted until a week before classes started, so you will have plenty of time to relax and get the assignments done.
Ditto what emily said. Relax and enjoy.
I tried to read law school prep stuff before I got here; I wish I hadn’t. I think your plan is the far more reasonable plan. Truthfully, if I had to do it over again, I would do no reading except for fun fiction. Enjoy your summer! (you know, after the packing and the moving and the unpacking and the settling in and…well, enjoy your week off!).
Maybe…maybe…One L, but even that might be a little much. If you do read it, treat it more as a work of fiction than an actual accounting of your first year at law school (unless, of course, you are travelling back in time and going to Harvard some 20 or so years ago). Definitely none of the law school prep books. They are a waste of time and you are going to find out on your own what works for you in terms of studying and such. I might even be hesitant about Grisham if he is someone you normally wouldn’t read. I brought a bunch of his books here to read over breaks and I can’t even force myself to touch one of them right now. I think the best thing is to avoid law as much as you can - you are going to be getting enough of it in a few months.
Book Review: Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law
As part of her (I think her; so hard to keep track of genders sometimesCM at Magic Cookie reviews Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law, a Nutshell book by Professor Kenney Hegland…. Instead, Hegland tries to explain the fundamentals of stud…
OK, this angle of things may come as a shock to many pre-laws, but, don’t read anything. At all. Blank slate is the best thing possible for law school. I had the fortune of only having one legal class before law school, and I was also fortunate that I recognized it for the garbage it was when I took it and promptly forgot everything it tried to teach me. Most pre-law classes are wrong, if because they were too generalized, or just stated things blatantly erroneously. If you learn EXACTLY what your law school professors tell you to learn, you cannot be better prepared for taking exams, scoring well, and getting taken out to dinner by the big firms to lure you to a large paycheck where they will treat you like the the bottom rung of the ladder you are after you agree to go to work for them. But seriously, read NOTHING law-related until they tell you to and you will do awesome in law school.
p.s. AFTER you do start law school, buy Glannon’s Civil Procedure and cherish it for the bible it is on federal civil procedure - there is no other resource which will help you more your first year.
I agree with all above who’ve said not to read anything law related. Don’t stress yourself out. Have fun, get a rockin’ tan at the pool, and read Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle”. He’s amazing, a bit in the style of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, only difference is that Murakami is readable. heresy, i know. Good luck with law school (though you don’t need it)!