Piddington Summer Reading Guide
Summer reading suggestions from the bench and profession.
With summer upon us, we are looking forward to spending more time at the beach, by the pool and away from work. Seeking some escapism, we are pleased to provide you with the 2022 edition of the Piddington Summer Reading Guide.
For the second year, we have asked judicial officers and lawyers from across the profession for book recommendations for the Piddington Summer Reading Guide.
They have provided a wide range of texts for your summer reading that will provoke thought on law, life and everything else.
Please enjoy the Piddington Summer Reading Guide for 2022!
The Hon Justice Darren Jackson
Judge, Federal Court of Australia
‘Train Dreams’ by Denis Johnson
If you don’t have the time for a bumper beach read these holidays, then you may want to seek this book out. It will take an afternoon to read but will stay with you for a lifetime. Train Dreams is an ordinary life told as a kind of fever dream; the story of Robert Grainier, a labourer working, loving and losing everything in the American West. In a little over 100 pages of compressed, restrained prose, it somehow manages to take in the sweep of the American century. It’s one of those books where every sentence is perfectly as it should be, and it’s beautiful, haunting, and very moving.
The Hon Justice Larissa Strk
Judge, Supreme Court of Western Australia
‘Apeirogon’ by Colum McCann
I devoured this book last summer. It was the book that I gave to friends at Christmas. It is extraordinary and on my ‘must read again’ list for this January. But be warned, it is a powerful account of grief and forgiveness — not a light read.
An apeirogon is a polygon with an infinite yet countable number of sides. Apeirogon tells the story of two fathers. Bassam Aramin is a Palestinian Muslim, and Rami Elhanan is an Israeli Jew. Both lose daughters to violence.
Like ‘Arabian Nights’, Apeirogon has 1001 short chapters. Some chapters are as short as an image or a sentence. The chapters are numbered from 1 to 500 and then back from 500 to 1, with chapter 1,001 (the end), in the middle of the book. Each father’s account of their loss, and their path to activism, forgiveness and unlikely friendship with the other, is told in 500 chapters.
While grief and conflict may have an infinite yet countable number of sides, it is a beautifully written novel that, in the end, inspires hope.
His Honour Judge Michael Gething
Judge, District Court of Western Australia
‘Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times’ by Jonathan Sacks
Baron Sacks was member of the House of Lords until his death in 2020, making this one of his last books. He writes about morality not just from his background as an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, but draws on rich and wide range of other religious and secular material.
His central thesis is that over the past 50 years we have moved from a society based on ‘We’ and ‘Us’ to one based on ‘Me ‘ and ‘I’.
The history of this move is traced through the rise of individualism, the pursuit of happiness, power of the market and identity politics, weaving strand after strand of thought together in a readable and persuasive argument.
He observes that when ‘I’ takes precedence over ‘We’ the result is weakened relationships, marriages, families, communities, neighbourhoods, congregations, charities regional and entire societies’.
Baron Sacks invites us to move from the politics of ‘Me’ to the politics of ‘Us’ and to rediscover three life-transforming, counterintuitive truths: ‘that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, that it becomes rich when is cares for the poor, that it becomes invulnerable when it cares about the vulnerable’.
The theory with which he summarises the book is simple, but challenging: ‘It’s the people not like us who make us grow’.
Magistrate Wendy Hughes
Magistrate, Children’s Court of Western Australia
‘Life what nat to do’ by Nat’s What I Reckon
WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE.
What’s going on Champions???!!!!
Nat’s what I reckon is the long haired, multiple piercing, tattooed, potty mouthed cook/youtuber/author. His previous books are cook books containing recipes such as “ceviche on the beach, eh”, “honey bastard chicken” and “end of days bolognese”.
Nat’s what I reckon’s popularity comes from his genuine empathy and compassion for people going through hard times and the importance he places on recognising our own emotions and feelings. He is able to find humour in the everyday mundane and will have you laughing out loud (see his YouTube video exploring why do all Camry drivers have a box of issues in their back window).
Nat’s what I reckon’s new book contains his musings pushing against unhelpful advice such as “man up” and “everything happens for a reason”. Brutally honest, cheeky and down right funny it’s an easy read that will remind you, life is complex, be kind to yourself and look out for your mates. All good stuff.
Alain Musikanth SC
Barrister and Chair, Francis Burt Chambers
‘The World’s Best Whiskies’ by Dominic Roskrow
Still unsure how to thank that special friend, valued client or awesome barrister? This gem unlocks around 750 options.
Written for both novice and enthusiast, it is a richly illustrated work which catalogues and critiques some of the finest offerings from across the globe, complete with fulsome distillery profiles, selection tips and quirky tasting symbols.
Spanning almost 300 pages, the book also tells the story of a much-loved beverage and traverses basics such as how it is created, categories of flavour, styles, variations and tasting methods. In short, everything you ever wanted to know about whisky. An easy and enjoyable read.
Mary Adam
General Counsel, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
‘Reasons Not to Worry — How to be Stoic in chaotic times’ by Brigid Delaney
I want everyone to read this book this summer! Reading this WILL give you reasons not to worry….and is brim with lessons to (re)gain tranquillity — all based on rational thought (should appeal to us legal types).
The basic premise of Stoicism is that it is pointless worrying about things that you cannot control, and the only things that you can control are:
- your character
- your actions and reactions, and
- how you treat others.
Former lawyer and Guardian columnist Brigid Delaney takes us on an engaging and reason-based journey with three ancient classical Stoics, applying Stoic principles to tackle some big life questions — grief, outrage, FOMO — the lesson being for me less angst, more action.
‘Days End’ by Gary Disher
I love this latest book in the Hirsch series continues Constable Paul Hirshausen’s time in a small country town in what would be considered the outback, were it not so close to Adelaide and the Clare Valley.
Classic Australian rural noir — and as the convention demands, there is a dead body in a suitcase beside the town paddock, troubled youth, missing backpackers and the “brass” looking slant-eyed at Hirsch. What engages is the character of Hirsch, who while he fits the trope of cop-with-human-frailties, he is also thoughtful (reflects on his mistakes), compassionate and doesn’t have problematic relationships with women!
The story is contemporary, with face masks being taken on and off, anti-vaxers, COVID and far-right paramilitaries. Disher draws out the diversity of Australian characters, with a real sense of the starkness of the country around the mid-North of South Australia. I was on a road-trip through Hirsch country when I was reading the second in the series and I am sure I met some of the characters — the friendly Tamil family selling delicious take away curries at the local roadhouse, the ladies night out the Burra pub — no cops though.
A hard-to-put-down book — I read it in almost one sitting while recovering from my second bout of COVID — hopefully you will read it in more convivial circumstances.
Ante Golem
Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills; 2023 President, Law Society of Western Australia
‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…’
What an opening!
Yes it’s a classic. Yes you may have read it already. It’s worth a second read!
There has been so much written about this novel, so I’ll keep my comments brief. I’m always taken by the way Dickens takes the reader into the reality of the scenes that emerge from the words on the page. Add to that the many themes that Dickens tackles in this novel and you have yourself a great holiday read. You won’t regret it!
Giselle Kilner-Parmenter
Solicitor, Jackson McDonald
‘The Yield’ by Tara June Winch
Tara June Winch is a Wiradjuri author, now based in France.
The Yield is narrated by three protagonists who each hold uniquely differing perspectives. Throughout the book, Elder Albert “Poppy” Gondiwindi conveys his cultural knowledge, history and experiences through the creation of a dictionary of the language of his people. August Gondiwindi, Poppy Gondiwindi’s granddaughter, has spent the past decade living in England and provides a present-day perspective as she returns for Poppy Alberts funeral. Reverend Ferdinand Greenleaf depicts the view of a missionary in the early 1900’s, through a series of letters.
The Yield powerfully reclaims Wiradjuri language and highlights some of the experiences commonly faced by Indigenous peoples. Poppy Albert’s dictionary is a beautiful tool to convey to non-Indigenous readers the integral role that language plays in shaping identity and cultural connection and how language provides a diverse, living education system. Adapting to the structure of the novel was challenging initially, however, it was rewarding as the three protagonists stories intertwined. Winch’s book is insightful, informative and provides readers with the tools to continue to learn more.
Catriona Macleod
Director, Cullen Macleod Lawyers; President, Women Lawyers of Western Australia
‘README.txt’ by Chelsea Manning
The incredible tale of, and by, Chelsea Manning, who while working as a US military intelligence analyst disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq war documents in an attempt to tell what she saw as the real story of the Iraq war.
For doing so she was locked in a 6ft by 8ft cage for 72 hours while awaiting information on what she was to be charged with, then eventually sentenced to 35 years in maximum security prison.
She served her sentence in a male prison while transitioning from male to female, and fighting for recognition of her gender, including access to gender affirming surgery.
President Obama eventually commuted her sentence and she was released after serving 7 years.
The book is fascinating for crossing a range of issues — what people working in US military intelligence in Iraq were doing and thinking at the time, what the US Govt was doing behind the scenes while publically talking about shutting Guantanamo Bay, and a first-hand account of being a trans woman in the US military in the era of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Belinda Wong
President, Asian Australian Lawyers Association WA; Corporate Counsel, Laing O’Rourke
‘Our Missing Hearts’ by Celeste Ng
This is a bleak but beautifully written novel set in a dystopian near-future world. The plot heavily draws from real events to present a tale about a society succumbing to fear and hate, using the treatment of Asian-Americans throughout the USA’s history as a foundation. It doesn’t pull its punches and the themes are uncomfortable but laid out with brave clarity. I found it not an easy read but a powerful one.
‘The Whole Picture: The colonial story of the art in our museums & why we need to talk about it’ by Alice Procter
Essential reading for art lovers who want to engage with what they’re seeing and experiencing in museums on a more open-minded and critical level. How and why have these artworks and artefacts been assembled? How does curation affect visitor experience? Who is being privileged and who is being made invisible? What history is being deliberately swept under the carpet? How are artists and museums challenging the impact of colonialism on art? All of the above questions are covered by in an engaging and lively manner. Highly recommend!
