Bibliophilia: the reading list for book lovers.
This week, we’re focused on genre variety from absurd humor to anthropology, we hope there’s something in here for you.
Bibliophilia is a weekly post of recommended reading for law students and lawyers. The list will comprise both fiction and non-fiction books with as much variety as possible. We’re also happy to take reader submissions from you so get reading!
Title: Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Survive
Author: Jared Diamond
Genre: Non-fiction, history, science, anthropology
“…Why did societies that were as powerful as the Khmer Empire, and as brilliantly creative as the Maya, abandon the sites into which they had invested such enormous effort for so many centuries?…Finally, no modern reader would be satisfied with a book that discussed only the successes and failures of past societies, and that failed to discuss how our modern societies are dealing with similar problems today. Our motive for being fascinated by collapses in ancient societies isn’t just curiosity about romantic mysteries. We also want to know whether past collapses hold lessons for us, that might help us deal with our own problems and avoid collapse…” [source]
Title: Pygmy
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Genre: Fiction, humor, contemporary
“…Pygmy is a member of a teenage terrorist group from an unnamed country posing as foreign exchange students to infiltrate American households. Their final goal is to take over and destroy the country. With a pre-made agenda, fierce military-esque training, and very poor English-speaking skills, Pygmy sets out to impregnate his host family sister, all part of the plan to take over and destroy. An awkward existence and lack of typical American social skills hinders his ability to carry out the plan.
The plans start coming together and everything is in place. But it’s a group of teenagers – extremely violent highly trained teenagers, but still teenagers. It can’t possibly go as planned, can it?…” [source]
Title: On Being A Happy, Healthy And Ethical Member Of An Unhappy, Unhealthy, And Unethical Profession
Author: Patrick J. Schiltz
Genre: Non-fiction, legal industry, review
“Dear Law Student:
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the profession that you are about to enter is one of the most unhappy and unhealthy on the face of the earth–and, in the view of many, one of the most unethical. The good news is that you can join this profession and still be happy, healthy, and ethical. I am writing to tell you how.” [read it here]
Title: The Elephant Vanishes
Author: Murakami Haruki
Genre: Fiction, Anthology, Short Story, Surrealism
“….Haruki Murakami makes this collection of stories a determined assault on the normal. A man sees his favorite elephant vanish into thin air; a newlywed couple suffers attacks of hunger that drive them to hold up a McDonald’s in the middle of the night; and a young woman discovers that she has become irresistible to a little green monster who burrows up through her backyard.
By turns haunting and hilarious, The Elephant Vanishes is further proof of Murakami’s ability to cross the border between separate realities — and to come back bearing treasure.” [source]
Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The story unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations and more.
Everything, Everything is about the thrill and heartbreak that happens when we break out of our shell to do crazy, sometimes death-defying things for love. [source]
Title: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Author: Mary Roach
Genre: Non-fiction, science, medical, humor
“For 2,000 years, cadavers — some willingly, some unwittingly — have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.” [source]
Title: War Of The Whales
Author: Joshua Horwitz
Genre: Non-fiction, science, animals, environment
“…War of the Whales is the gripping tale of a crusading attorney who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches….When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. Waged in secret military labs and the nation’s highest court, War of the Whales is a real-life thriller that combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue.” [source]
Title: The Fountainhead
Author: Ayn Rand
Genre: Fiction, philosophy
“Howard Roark, is an individualistic young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision. The book follows his battle to practice what the public sees as modern architecture, which he believes to be superior, despite an establishment centered on tradition-worship.” [source]
