UW Law Reads: Summer Reading Recommendations

Now that finals are over and summer is upon us, how about some summer reading recommendations from UW Law faculty and staff?

Since 2015, we have added to a research guide that contains book recommendations from the UW Law community. Whether you prefer literary fiction or memoirs, prize-winning nonfiction or escapist fantasies, or are just looking for some new recipes for summer picnics and parties, there's likely something that suits your tastes on our reading list.

A new display in the entrance to the law library features some of these faculty and staff recommendations.

Research Services Librarian Mary Whisner recommends The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain by James Fallon.

A neuroscientist sees a brain scan from his control group stack and immediately sees that it should have been with the group of scans from prisoners who have been labeled psychopaths. He breaks the code to find out whose it is. Uh-oh: it's his. Both a memoir and an introduction to the psychology and physiology of psychopaths.

If you're in the mood for something a bit lighter, Prof. Kate O'Neill suggests Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper.

Part memoir and part fascinating analysis of the art of lexicography (look it up!), this oddball book is witty and wise. Great fun for anyone interested in the English language.

Be sure to check out all of the other recommendations on the display and in the research guide.

If you're a UW Law student or graduate who would like to contribute your picks, we'd be happy to add your recommendations too. Email us!

Whichever book you choose, we at the Gallagher Law Library hope you enjoy your summer reading!