Currently Reading
How come I never finish books? Because I'm always reading several at a time. (Un)fortunately, that's just how my brain works these days. Do I have undiagnosed ADHD? Maybe?
"Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law" by Preet Bharara
I started this book a few months ago, but I still haven't gotten around to finishing it. Not because it's not interesting - it is actually. Very. Especially in my line of work as a lawyer. But I guess because it is about the life of a lawyer (well, a former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, to be exact), that I sometimes grow tired of it. Not that our jobs are identical. But still, it's so close to my work. So it feels like work. I generally want to relax and step away from work.
That said, stepping away from the book for a while gave me a renewed interest in it. I guess I started reading it at a more turbulent time of the year for me; it coincided with litigation and pleadings I had to work on, so I was not in the right headspace to appreciate it at the time. Now that work is at a relatively milder pace, I feel like I will be going through this like a breeze.
Like I said, our work is not necessarily identical. While I do litigation and handle some criminal cases, they are nothing on the scale of what Bharara has dealt with. No terrorists, no murderers, no mafias. That’s why I find it so interesting to read about this kind of work and see how legal principles are applied (or sometimes sidestepped) depending on the seriousness of the situation and the sensitivity of the information at stake.
I'm not even at the halfway mark, but I have a feeling I will breeze through this in the next few days. Something to keep me going and inspired in order to get myself mentally in the zone to actually finish my goddamn book.
"Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I thoroughly enjoyed the TJR novels I've read in the past, so I'm excited to dig my teeth into this, especially because it's about space! Which I've always been particularly giddy about.
I've always thought that everyone carries a secret dream, the kind we recognize as impossible even in childhood, yet never quite let go of. It's not the dream we mention when asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" because even as kids, we know those answers have to sound realistic, at least once we're old enough to understand where we are in life and what opportunities are actually within reach. But, beneath all that, there's this dream we keep close to our chest, an impossible dream that lingers as an interest or maybe a hobby, and still sparks that little rush of excitement, asking a lingering "What if?" For me, that secret impossible dream was to be an astronaut.
(Honestly. The best part of my US 2022 trip was visiting the Air and Space Museum in Virginia and seeing a Space Shuttle in person!!!)
This book interestingly coincides with me attempting to watch For All Mankind (I say "attempting" because I haven't really gone on a marathon for it; my interest is piqued, but I'm not quite invested in it yet). So far, I'm in the early stages of Season 1, where a big part of the plot is integrating female astronauts into the NASA space program. But that is set in the 1960s.
The book, meanwhile, is set in the 1980s. It already sets up a big tragedy at the start, so yes, I'm already very intrigued. I'm thinking that among these 4 books that I'm currently reading, I might finish this one first.
"Drawn That Way" by Elissa Sussman
It's been a while since I read a YA novel. I miss the easy read and the fun, idealistic lens of fiction targeted towards younger audiences. Not that reading YA feels "casual" or "easy." Not at all. But there's something more earnest and sincere about YA sometimes. It feels as if YA novels embrace emotions and wide-eyed ambition a little more freely, and it doesn't invite its readers to be as jaded about the world (even if the narrative or the plot may or may not be about serious, heavy topics).
Anyway, I was drawn to this novel because it tells the story of a young girl trying to get her big break in the creative industry - in particular, the world of animation. Once upon a time, I dared to dream that that was going to be my future. I was a creative writing major, after all. And despite my goal (well, my parents' goal) of getting into law school, I of course allowed myself to consider the possibility of not being a lawyer at all. What if I could work in the literary space? Or in movies? In animation? The possibility for creativity seemed endless, even despite the reality of very small opportunities locally for writers. Even if I wasn't a generational talent, for a time, it felt nice to imagine cool, creative, literary pursuits.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be. But, like in the astronaut book, I'm sure I'll enjoy just taking a peek and allowing myself to enjoy this YA ride, and all the raging, teenage hormonal emotions that might come with it.
"How To Build A Car" by Adrian Newey
I'm on a "finish a seminal F1 book" mission this year, in anticipation of next year's Suzuka trip. Initially, I started with Mark Webber's autobiography, which I haven't finished yet because I felt a little iffy about how he got together with his wife (she kinda took advantage of him as a young teen???? She was his manager; they met when he was 17???) So I took a break from that and decided I should jump right ahead to the most recommended F1 book on most blogs and subreddits. After all, it concerns the great Adrian Newey.
I'm fascinated by how things work behind the scenes. As much as I got into this sport because of the drivers (hehe), the more I learned about F1, the more I appreciated the teamwork - and the ingenuity that goes on outside of the circuits. I super loved the Brawn documentary. I enjoy podcasts of team principals and engineers, like James Vowles and Jonathan Wheatley. I like hearing about people's background, their stories, their motivations, and everything they did to get to where they are.
Obviously, I'm also eager to know about how one engineer shaped the sport through not just one, but several race-winning cars. He made 14-championship winning cars, from Williams, to McLaren, to Red Bull. He made champions out of Alain bloody Prost and Max freaking Verstappen. Not to mention, Mansell, Hill, Hakkinen, and Vettel.
Although, the book is quite long, and I'm not too sure if I'm as invested in it as the other books on here. But let's see. There's a two-week break from now until the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I'm thinking I might squeeze in a few chapters here and there just to get myself more hyped. (Or maybe it'll just make me more depressed? Seeing where Alonso is now... ay, ay, ay. Newey, do your magic soon.)