Back from Break with Book Reviews

I took what I thought would be a short break from blogging, but didn’t realize it would last for years. My big plans, to write a play or a book instead of a blog, are still that, plans, so I’m back, hoping to make a habit out of this once again. I’ve done a lot of reading too, in the meantime, mostly in those hours I spend in the car every day, driving to courthouses in different counties, if you can call an audiobook reading, that is.

Because most people don’t spend nearly as much time in the car as I do, here, over the next few days, are the top five audiobooks I’ve found over the past year. Some are law related and some aren’t, but they’re all good.

Matterhorn, by Carl Marlantes: It’s described as “A novel of the Viet Nam war” and to me it was like listening in on the actual conversations and adventures of Marines, most of whom were still teenagers, around the time I was born. Marlantes, who later became a Rhodes Scholar after serving as a Marine officer in Viet Nam, has been working on this novel for 40 years. It’s his first, as he’s rewritten and reworked it since he initially put it on paper shortly after coming home from Viet Nam. Thus, it combines the authentic dialogue that only a witness with a fresh memory could record with the wisdom that comes from forty years of looking back. I enjoyed the descriptions of battle, the adventures, but also was intrigued by the soldiers’ dialogue about the changes taking place back at home, particularly race relations, in the 60’s. I was born in 1967, so it was valuable to hear what was “in the air” at that time. I’ve always sort of regretted not joining the military, and this book made me both more regretful about missing out on that opportunity as well as very thankful that I didn’t end up being commanded by some of the officers he portrays. Bronson Pinchot, of Perfect Strangers, does an amazing job reading as well.

Next, Dublin cops and their drunken families. (I haven’t actually finished this one yet, but unless the ending greatly disappoints, it’s a great book.) I have a long trip tomorrow morning and a motion to suppress in Omaha in the afternoon, so I’ll finish it up. It’s nice to be back, if there’s anybody out there...