Both Sarah and I love to read, so when I saw there was a Read Across America day, I got very excited and knew I needed to share it. First, some history: Read Across America day began in 1997 as an initiative to encourage children to read. It is held on the nearest school day to March 2 every year because Thedor Geisel, or Dr. Suess, was born on March 2, 1904. Dr. Suess was a prolific author of children’s books that are beloved to this day.
In honor of Read Across America Day, we’ve got some recommendations for books for you:
I know, I know, I didn’t have to tell you to read this one. But it is THE quintessential book about the law and justice in America. I don’t know very many lawyers who haven’t read this book. And an aside, when students sign up to take the bar exam in Louisiana, they have to pick a pseudonym so the graders can’t identify whose exam they are reading and, well, cheat. The examiners advise students not to choose the name “Atticus Finch” because SO MANY people have done it in the past that they run the risk of not being able to identify their own results.
Continuing our theme of books made into movies, you could pick any of a very long list of Grisham novels, but this was his first, and was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. Another book that attempts to grapple with the issues of race and justice in America that we have yet to solve.
As someone who uses the phrase “Kafkaesque” much more often than is really justifiable, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to include this book. This is the story of a man struggling with the bureaucracies of a court system that will not tell him what crime he has been accused of nor will it allow him to defend himself. It is absurd and frustrating but worth a read.
This is a non-fiction book that gives a good background in the development of DNA forensics and then delves deeply into the issues with said forensic evidence. For anyone with an interest in DNA, science-based evidence, or how exactly courts began to accept DNA evidence, this book is fantastic!
We hope you found something here worth picking up on this National Read Across America day! Happy reading!
As always, if you or someone you know is accused of a crime, call us at (318) 459-9111 to schedule a consultation.