Recommended (and not so recommended) Books to read before School Starts

One thing I've noticed about law school is its tendency to turn people into sheep. People tend to do things just because those who went before did them without too much thought as to the benefit. So much as law students have done before me, I will be offering a series of blog posts with my advice for getting through first year. **I hope my humble thoughts will help someone. Baaaah**

Anyway, I am the type of person who likes to do a little research before I do anything, so I read a few books on lawschool before starting. This post contains my thoughts on those books.

1. Law School Confidential
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312318812/qid=1150927457/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I would say that 99% of the people in my class read this one before starting school. I was no exception. The book includes advice on all aspects of law school from how to prepare for class to how to find a summer job. I thought the section on class preparation was especially helpful. I adopted a modified version of the highlighting system with great success and used the time I saved by not having to brief to do my outlines and catch up on my TV watching schedule. I have also gone back to the book for advice now that I am starting to prepare for OCI.

2. Law School for Dummies

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764525484/qid=1150927556/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155">

This book contains much the same information as Law School Confidential except it was written by a aw student who attended a lower-ranked school. What I should have done was buy Law School Confidential and leave this book at the store. I wouldn't say reading it was a waste of time, but I didn't get anything new from it.

3. Slaying the Law School Dragon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471542989/qid=1150927605/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Here's a book written by someone who attended law school before World War II. I get the impression that it was one of the first books on surviving law school ever written. It contains some interesting stories on practicing law back in the day and some random facts about writs, where case names come from, etc. I consider it more of a novelty item than a must-have guide. If you have some spare time and your library has a copy, it's not a bad book to read. I wouldnt' call it a must have though.

4. Law 101

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195132653/qid=1150927645/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

This book provides an overview of the courses taught during first year in every law school. It's intended as the non-lawyers guide to the basics of law. Each chapter goes through an area of law and provides explanations of some of the topics that are covered. I found having a big picture overview of the law very helpful because most of first year is spent bogged down in the details of individual cases.

5. One-L

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446673781/sr=8-1/qid=1150927409/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1219677-9061562?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Probably the most famous book on law school ever written. One-L details the author's experiences as a first year at Harvard Law in the 70's. I'm told that some people find reading this book too stressful; if it's any consolation, I found law school to be less stressful than described in the book, but then again I didn't go to Harvard. Apparently, not too much has changed about law school since the 70's except inflation. As I recall, Turow paid less than $5,000 for a full year at Harvard and he mentions that big firms were paying around $30,000 a year back then.

6. A Civil Action

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679772677/qid=1150927683/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Perfect for those who want to lose faith in the legal system before even beginning law school. This book tells the true story of an attorney who agrees to represent a group of people whose family members became sick due to polluted drinking water. The book takes place in Massachusetts just North of where I was living at the time I read it, which added interest for me. This is probably one of the most depressing books I've ever read. My civil procedure professor recommends it as a way of learning about the civil trial process from start to finish.

7. The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0159003237/qid=1150927939/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1219677-9061562?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I received a copy of this book for free through a BarBri presentation on campus where Professor Whitebread came to speak to us on the topic of lawschool exams. I consider it a must read. Although much of the advice seems obvious, I was suprised how many people did not follow it. For example, the book points out that you can't get an A unless you finish the exam. It also helped to have someone remind me to outline before writing. As the book points out, it's hard to stick to outlining when those around you are furiously typing away, but good organization really paid off for me so I'm thankful I followed that advice.