The Whistler


John Grisham - 2016
    Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial


Rabia Chaudry - 2016
    Syed has maintained his innocence, and Rabia Chaudry, a family friend, has always believed him. By 2013, after almost all appeals had been exhausted, Rabia contacted Sarah Koenig, a producer at This American Life, in hopes of finding a journalist who could shed light on Adnan’s story. In 2014, Koenig's investigation turned into Serial, a Peabody Award-winning podcast with more than 500 million international listenersBut Serial did not tell the whole story. In this compelling narrative, Rabia Chaudry presents new key evidence that she maintains dismantles the State's case: a potential new suspect, forensics indicating Hae was killed and kept somewhere for almost half a day, and documentation withheld by the State that destroys the cell phone evidence -- among many other points -- and she shows how fans of Serial joined a crowd-sourced investigation into a case riddled with errors and strange twists. Adnan's Story also shares Adnan’s life in prison, and weaves in his personal reflections, including never-before-seen letters. Chaudry, who is committed to exonerating Adnan, makes it clear that justice is yet to be achieved in this much examined case.

Of Love and Life: 31 Dream Street / Hidden / The Two Mrs Robinsons


Lisa Jewell - 2007
    But when a quiet tragedy and an unwelcome letter interrupt Toby's sedate existence, he needs his housemates to find some direction in their lives. Leah Pilgrim has watched the tenants of the house over the road for several years, and when the owner of 31 Silversmith Road asks her for advice, he opens the door not only to the eccentric building across the street - but to five lives in various stages of turmoil. Can Toby and Leah help these misfits to grow up, move on and move out? And in doing so, can they make their own dreams come true? Hidden : A trail of blood winding through a squalid flat in Margate leads DCI Dave Gosworth to the body of Jacqui Jennings, her skull smashed with a chisel. For Dave it is just the start of a long and puzzling case...Forty miles away in South London a young single mother named Melanie Stenning is blissfully unaware of Jacqui's life and death. But that trail of blood will one day lead straight to her door - with terrifying repercussions. For Melanie is about to fall in love with a stranger...Fourteen months later, Melanie has a new husband, a new baby and a new home on the isolated Kent coast. But when her seven-year-old daughter Poppy disappears, she is forced to question everything in her new life, including the man she loves. Because DCI Dave Goswrth has come knocking - with some chilling questions... The Two Mrs Robinsons: Anna lives with Oliver Robinson and their 3-year-old son Charlie. They met when she worked as a waitress at his restaurant; he had recently separated and she was a shoulder to cry on. But friendship turned to love. Now she juggles motherhood with part-time work and she couldn't be happier. Or perhaps she could? Oliver has never divorced his first wife Eve who is everything Anna is not. Eve insists on making herself part of their lives and her demands soak up much of their time and income. Anna understands that Oliver needs to support his two teenage children, but why should they keep Eve too? The situation looks set to grumble on indefinitely unless someone or something shakes it up. And something does - it's called Fate. Oliver is killed in a car crash, leaving both women shattered. How will they react to this appalling tragedy? Will it drive them further apart, or force them to cut their losses and pull together for the sake of their children and their futures?

The Art of War and other Laws of Power


Sun Tzu
    In this newest translation of The Art of War readers will benefit from the interpretations from other translators and strategist, as well as the 50 strategic rules, including: -- How to look for strategic turns to meet the competition-- How to attain strategic superiority and crush the competition-- How to plan surprise and stay ahead of the game-- And more timeless wisdom that will allow you to compete and win in the dynamic business environment!Business managers around the world have tapped into this ancient wisdom; it is time to master The Art of War for Manager for the existence and growth of your business!

Painted Lives


Charlotte Vale Allen - 1990
    Mattie Sylvester, a widow of one of America's most celebrated painters, reveals the sordid truth of the past, and of her husband, to her secretary.

One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School


Scott Turow - 1977
    But before he became a worldwide sensation, Scott Turow wrote a book that is entirely true, the account of his own searing indoctrination into the field of law called... The first year of law school is an intellectual and emotional ordeal so grueling that it ensures only the fittest survive. Now Scott Turow takes you inside the oldest and most prestigious law school in the country when he becomes a "One L," as entering students are known at Harvard Law School. In a book that became a national bestseller, a law school primer, and a classic autobiography, he brings to life the fascinating, shocking reality of that first year. Provocative and riveting, One L reveals the experience directly from the combat zone: the humiliations, triumphs, hazings, betrayals, and challenges that will make him a lawyer-and forever change Turow's mind, test his principles, and expose his heart.

You Can't Spell Truth Without Ruth: An Unauthorized Collection of Witty Wise Quotes from the Queen of Supreme, Ruth Bader Ginsburg


Mary Zaia - 2018
    An octogenarian who has proven that disagreeing does not make one disagreeable, Ginsburg is well-known for her pithy observations as well as her strongly argued dissents. Beloved by many - including her ideological opposition, former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was her dear friend - Ginsburg's wisdom has never been more relevant or more important to American democracy.Sample quotes: "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made...it shouldn't be that women are the exception.""Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.""People ask me sometimes...When will there be enough women on the Court? And I say, 'When there are nine.' People are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.""My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady and the other was to be independent. For most girls growing up in the '40s, the most important degree was not your B.A. but your M.R.S.""We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, 'We, the people.'"

Skyfall


Saba Karim Khan - 2020
    Despite the worst of humanity every day – her madrassa running father selling her mother's body and beating her sister – Rania remains the 'Troublemaker', unable to give up on her dreams.When an Indian filmmaker encourages her to enrol in a music contest that can take her to New York, her dreams take flight. But even as she wins the hearts of her listeners, a family secret threatens to bring her life in Heera Mandi back in sharp relief, upending the new life she has built for herself.From the oppressive walls of religious hypocrisy to the orange jumpsuits of American prisons, Skyfall is a tender, piercing debut that teaches us the strength of human endeavour and our desire for love in a time of hate.

No More Pain


Paige Green - 2015
    At just the tender age of fifteen, she's experienced a life filled with agony. After being viciously raped and abused by her mother and step-father for years, Novel becomes withdrawn from life. She didn't think life could get more cruel until she becomes pregnant with her rapist's child. After being placed in foster care, Novel thought she was safe until she discovers the foster care's deepest, darkest secret. Jaded and wanting to be delivered out of the dark life she's been given, Novel started to give up until she then meets a man by the name of Lance, who becomes the real father-figure that she's never had. After being a victim for so many years, will Novel finally break free of the shackles of pain or will she let it torment her for the rest of her life?

The Children Act


Ian McEwan - 2014
    She is fiercely intelligent, well respected, and deeply immersed in the nuances of her particular field of law. Often the outcome of a case seems simple from the outside, the course of action to ensure a child's welfare obvious. But the law requires more rigor than mere pragmatism, and Fiona is an expert in considering the sensitivities of culture and religion when handing down her verdicts. But Fiona's professional success belies domestic strife. Her husband, Jack, asks her to consider an open marriage and, after an argument, moves out of their house. His departure leaves her adrift, wondering whether it was not love she had lost so much as a modern form of respectability; whether it was not contempt and ostracism she really fears. She decides to throw herself into her work, especially a complex case involving a seventeen-year-old boy whose parents will not permit a lifesaving blood transfusion because it conflicts with their beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses. But Jack doesn't leave her thoughts, and the pressure to resolve the case - as well as her crumbling marriage - tests Fiona in ways that will keep readers thoroughly enthralled until the last stunning page.

A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law


Antonin Scalia - 1997
    According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a judge like this can maneuver through earlier cases to achieve the desired aim--distinguishing one prior case on his left, straight-arming another one on his right, high-stepping away from another precedent about to tackle him from the rear, until (bravo!) he reaches the goal--good law. But is this common-law mindset, which is appropriate in its place, suitable also in statutory and constitutional interpretation? In a witty and trenchant essay, Justice Scalia answers this question with a resounding negative.In exploring the neglected art of statutory interpretation, Scalia urges that judges resist the temptation to use legislative intention and legislative history. In his view, it is incompatible with democratic government to allow the meaning of a statute to be determined by what the judges think the lawgivers meant rather than by what the legislature actually promulgated. Eschewing the judicial lawmaking that is the essence of common law, judges should interpret statutes and regulations by focusing on the text itself. Scalia then extends this principle to constitutional law. He proposes that we abandon the notion of an everchanging Constitution and pay attention to the Constitution's original meaning. Although not subscribing to the strict constructionism that would prevent applying the Constitution to modern circumstances, Scalia emphatically rejects the idea that judges can properly smuggle in new rights or deny old rights by using the Due Process Clause, for instance. In fact, such judicial discretion might lead to the destruction of the Bill of Rights if a majority of the judges ever wished to reach that most undesirable of goals.This essay is followed by four commentaries by Professors Gordon Wood, Laurence Tribe, Mary Ann Glendon, and Ronald Dworkin, who engage Justice Scalia's ideas about judicial interpretation from varying standpoints. In the spirit of debate, Justice Scalia responds to these critics.

Guitar Lessons: A Life's Journey Turning Passion Into Business


Bob Taylor - 2011
    From the "a-ha" moment in junior high school that inspired his very first guitar, Taylor has been living the American dream, crafting quality products with his own hands and building a successful, sustainable business. In Guitar Lessons, he shares the values that he lives by and that have provided the foundation for the company's success. Be inspired by a story of guts and gumption, an unwavering commitment to quality, and the hard lessons that made Taylor Guitars the company it is today.

Heart of the Raincoast: A Life Story


Alexandra Morton - 1998
    Proctor has always done the time-honoured work of generations of upcoast men—hand-logging, fishing, clam digging, repairing boats, beachcombing.But Billy eventually began to notice that the thriving runs of Pacific salmon, oolichans, and herring that he remembers from his early years were vanishing—some to near extinction—and he understood that it was time to take action.Heart of the Raincoast is the fascinating story of Billy Proctor’s life, and the wealth of knowledge and understanding that can only be gained from living in such close proximity to nature. The writing is funny, touching and honest—and offers an engaging insider’s view not only of the salmon, whales, eagles and independent people who populate Canada’s wild and lovely coastal rainforest, but on what we need to do to keep it as nature intended.

The Awesome Guide to Life: Get Fit, Get Laid, Get Your Sh*t Together


Jason Ellis - 2014
    Whatever the case may be, Jason believes it's all about getting off your ass and maximizing the opportunities that life has to offer. It's about remembering that you are alive, right now, and that won't always be the case. So do something. Anything. Enjoy the ride. go outside and get naked.Jason can tell you how to handle every situation life throws at you and play it like a champ: how to look, how to act, how to pick up a stripper--you name it.But that's just for starters. Jason believes that to get what you really want out of life, you have to have confidence. And true confidence is something you have to earn, by deciding what you want from life and then pursuing you passion until you make your dreams a reality.This book will show you how to develop the positive attitude that will allow you to truly make things happen.

Courageous Joy: Delight in God through Every Season


(in)Courage - 2021
    This six-session study helps you see why joy is important, move into the woman God calls you to be, and find joy even in the tough times"--