Boley Blog

Boley Blog: L&C Law School Faculty & Staff Book Recommendations for Winter Break Reading

One of our favorite Boley traditions returns. Every year we ask the faculty and staff of the Law School to share a favorite book or two for your winter break reading enjoyment. This year we have 20 titles to add to your TBR list and hope it contributes to a most literate and relaxing break!

Links are provided to titles available in the Boley and Watzek Libraries of Lewis & Clark, or our partner Summit libraries. As a reminder, if you place a Summit request, it usually takes two to three business days for your book to arrive at Boley. Once the book arrives, it will be available on the hold shelf and you will receive an email notifying you that the book is available to pick up. If your book isn't available in our libraries we are happy to request titles for our L&C community members via Interlibrary Loan.

Good luck with your exams and happy reading! If you end up reading anything from this list, we'd love to know!

American War by Omar El Akkad
Recommended by Nicky Blumm, Directory of Employer Relations & Recruitment
Envisioning an America where new divides overwhelm old, this book forecasts the danger of divisive policy, environmental ignorance, and patriotism.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
Recommended by Danielle Lopez, Program Coordinator, Center for Animal Law Studies
Even with absolutely no knowledge of baseball going in, I was floored by the honesty of this book and its take on the pressures of both external and internal expectations.
 

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution by R.F Kuang
Recommended by Hira Jaleel, Animal Law Teaching Fellow
Dark academia, fantasy, and a scathing critique of colonization in one delicious read.
 

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld 
Recommended by Lydia Ruiz-Hom, Legal Specialist
Rene is a local author who was a chief investigator at the public defender's office while I worked there. The Child Finder is a suspenseful and haunting book about an investigator looking for a missing girl in the deep, dark Oregon forest.

The Crimean War: A History by Orlando Figes 
Recommended by Jim Kite, Research, Instruction, and Law Practice Librarian
This gripping history provides essential background for the current war in Ukraine and the complex relations between Western Europe and Russia by exploring the origins, events, and outcomes of the titular conflict.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Recommended by Sarah Hunsberger, Acquisitions and Circulation Specialist
It's everything that good historical fiction should be. 
 

The Husbands by Chandler Baker
Recommended by Mari Cheney, Associate Director of Research Instruction
A feminist take on the Stepford Wives, what does life look like when a neighborhood is filled with perfect husbands? Come along for the ride.

Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel by Rebecca Goldstein
Recommended by Bill Chin, Professor of Lawyering
Encounter paradoxes, self-referentiality, and metamathematics in this exploration of the brilliant logician, Kurt Gödel, who walked daily with Einstein and published his two incompleteness theorems that are considered among the world's greatest intellectual achievements. 

Kosher Soul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty
Recommended by David Schraub, Assistant Professor of Law
Twitty's last book, The Cooking Gene, won him a James Beard award. Kosher Soul is, in my opinion, even more engaging, engrossing, and sensitive in talking through what it means to be Jewish, African American, and an African American Jew -- all through the lens of food.

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
Recommended by Elaine E Sutherland, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Law
Published this year in a volume authorized by the Christie estate, 12 acclaimed authors revisit Agatha Christie’s beloved Miss Marple, confronting her with new mysteries to be solved. Does she do it? What do you think?

Once I was you: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America by Maria Hinojosa
Recommended by Hira Jaleel, Animal Law Teaching Fellow
Horrifying, inspiring and thought-provoking memoir on immigration and America.

The Overstory by Richard Powers
Recommended by Nicky Blumm, Directory of Employer Relations & Recruitment
Tree-loving renegades form the center of a plot so rich its stories weave together like roots crisscrossing in the soil.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Recommended by Natasha Richmond, Director of Alumni Relations
How did our species, homo sapiens, come to rule the planet? Author and historian Yuval Noah Harari gives us a peek into our fascinating history and highlights key processes that changed the way we lived. 
 

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
Recommended by Kerry Rowand, Executive Assistant to Dean Johnson
Did I read this in 2022? 2021? Who can remember? But the illustrations are exceptional and I rate it all the stars! 

A Terrible Thing Happened by Margaret Holmes
Recommended by Lexie Zirschky, Director of Equity, Inclusion & Academic Resources
Published by the American Psychological Association's children's press, this is a really good book to help kids navigate big feelings around loss, disaster, trauma, etc. 
 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Recommended by Ben Skaggs, Computing Services Technician
This book is about two people who meet in childhood and grow up to make video games together. A fantastic exploration of love, fame, friendship, tragedy, and collaboration. Cannot recommend it enough!
 

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Recommended by Lucy Brehm, Associate Director, Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program
This beautifully written book follows the amazing journey of three black individuals (and their families) from the Southern U.S. to the Northern U.S. as part of the "great migration" between the years of 1915 -1975. It is long, but you will get caught up in the stories of these hard-working, dream-following, people looking for a better life in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. This should be required reading in every high school in America.

When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman
Recommended by Jim Oleske, Professor of Law
For those who enjoy historical fiction, this is an engaging visit to 12th Century England and Wales, where an epic power struggle plays out between competing heirs to the English throne, Empress Maude (Matilda) and King Stephen.

What If? 2 by Randall Munroe
Recommended by Tung Yin, Professor of Law
The subtitle to the book is "additional serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions," which sums it up. For example, if you've ever wondered how many people a T. rex would have to eat per day to get its nutritional intake, you'll get the answer in here. Highly recommended for science nerds and parents with middle school kids.

The Window Seat by Aminatta Forna
Recommended by Rita Martinez, Director, Faculty Services
This book, by Aminatta Forna (the daughter of a Sierra Leonean father and Scottish mother), is a collection of insightful essays about displacement, migration and immigration, travel, race, love, civil war, insomnia, and more.