BooksWeekly: Let's Kill All the Lawyers!

My week in books (and movies, lots of movies…): 12 – 17 December 2016

Books & other things mentioned:

finished from previous week:
Emer O’Toole, Girls Will be Girls (2015)

also read this week (re-reads):
- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
- Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963)

started this week:
- Helen Garner, This House of Grief (2014)

Movies:
- To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
- And Justice for All (1979)
- The Verdict (1982)
- Jagged Egde (1985)
- True Believer (1989)
- Reversal of Fortune (1990)
- Few Good Men (1992)
- The Firm (1993)
- Philadelphia (1993)
- A Time to Kill (1996)
- The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
- Amistad (1997)
- A Civil Action (1998)
- Michael Clayton (2007)
- The Trial (2010)
- The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
- Devil’s Knot (2013)
- The Judge (2014)

Find me elsewhere:

By the way:

I also wrote some books:

as Britta Bolt (together with writer Rodney Bolt), The Posthumus Mysteries:
- Lonely Graves (2014)
- Lives Lost (2015)
- Deadly Secrets (June 2016)

and for German readers:
- Das Büro der einsamen Toten (2015)
- Das Haus der verlorenen Seelen (2016)
- Der Tote im fremden Mantel (forthcoming: February 2017)

[jbsubscribes]

Britta, I believe the reason that many of us are intrigued by lawyers in real-time, fiction and film is that the law requires that they advocate for their clients above all else.  A brilliant lawyer can free the guilty just as easily as they can punish the innocent. That is a little bit scary.  Thanks for the film recommendations.

[nicolaspoblete]

I agree with you that Arendt's study is so important. You know, I've been able to see her tenets applied to local cases in Chile--as you know, we had (and still have) a lot of torturers that fit that description perfectly (However degraded later by thinkers like George Steiner). Also, I just LOVED Julia Kristeva's book on Arendt.

[drawyourbook]

Very interesting take in 'to kill a mocking bird'. I sometimes ask myself if in any case, we just do good things because it makes us feel better, and morality is just defined by the things that make you feel better about yourself, about the ideal image that you have of yourself.

[mynameismarines]

I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird...! It's one of those classic for me that I missed in school and I've just never made my way to as an adult. Still, it was super interesting to hear your eloquent take on Atticus and good lawyers. You bring such a unique perspective to our community. <3

[petrasreadingretreat]

Eichmann in Jerusalem is on my Kindle, ready to be read. Happy to see that someone else is reading this sorts of books here on booktube and talk about them. On feminism, - I read only one book about this topic "The Geek Feminist" and I did not get it. At all. I am 37, sort of a geek, so I thought I will related to the author very easily. I think, the issue for me is, being from Slovakia, I simply come from totally different backround than american women so things they find normal - I find weird and vice versa. Btw, I really like your "booksweekly" approach.

[juliequick]

Hi, I am new to your channel. I totally agree with you about the Emer O'Toole book. I've not read it, as I too, am 2 decades older and didn't want to be disillusioned by seeing how little we've moved forward as feminists. But, maybe I'm being too harsh a critic of feminism? From a philosophical point of view, we are all constantly bombarded by the choice to do right, or to do good and there is no easy answer as Atticus Finch demonstrates. Our motivations are always coloured by our experiences and prejudice. Your views are very interesting to me and I really look forward to going through your older videos and picking up suggestions!

[poseidons]

haven't read Harper Lee's books but what I have heard (from BOTNS) is that they should be considered as two different books that just happen to have some characters with the same names

[BookYourImagination]

Hi Britta, your discussion of Girls will be Girls was very interesting. My thought was the same as yours -- the expectations are the same as they were when I was growing up, and it was a lot earlier than the 80's. But I'll be honest, I could not imagine not shaving. Even a tiny little stubble in my armpits freaks me out. I cannot even imagine a year or more!!! And that's my expectation for me, no one else's. This book doesn't sound like it's right for me either. From your description, it sounds like other feminist books that have been written. But this one may speak to a generation that the other books cannot. Also loved your discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird. Your book sounds fascinating! Will it be published in English? I would love to get it! Have a very wonderful holiday!

[InsertLiteraryPunHere]

Your To Kill A Mockingbird discussion was fascinating. Pretty much all U.S. students read it, but from my own experience and from what I can gather this book is talked about in schools as a kind of moral compass for young people. So I didn't actually like the book, because it was presented as a lesson about racism, and I thought that what we actually got was a lesson in how to pat ourselves on the back because of course we'd never be like THOSE people from THAT time (everybody assumes that if they were put into this kind of situation, they'd act like Atticus). But I'd love to re-read it and actually focus on Scout's voice and on Lee's comments on the U.S. justice system, instead of reading it to make myself feel good. And now your remarks have made it seem much more nuanced for me.

[lindaleehall]

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my very favourite books, but I always feel that the most ignored victim is Eula Mae. Tom Robinson knows he is innocent and he has many people supporting him. He is not alone. His family loves him and Atticus defends him. But Eula Mae has no one. The jury convicts Tom Robinson because of their racist views and their treatment of "their" women as property. They really don't care what has or hasn't happened to Eula Mae or what will become of her in the future. Tom Robinson is the only person that shows her any consideration and that is what condemns him.

[KayAmpersand]

Britta, I love your interpretation of what a good lawyer is in To Kill a Mockingbird - your book sounds wonderful, I hope you get a publisher in English! As a non-American I only read To Kill A Mockingbird this year to get the context (as everyone is constantly referencing it and it is upheld as this great work exposing racism) and have to say I'm not convinced. It is probably the timing of it, but, as you say in the video, Atticus Finch never questions the institution of racism, so why are people holding the book up as this great example of fighting racism? I think I had my expectations set too high. Anyway, love your Books Weekly.

[bookreview]

You already know I didn't relate to Girls will be Girls that much but I really thought it was interesting to read from someone who had a completely different experience to my own. I really express my thoughts clearer in my review, though, lol.

[sandra.]

I'm an attorney also, do you teach, practice or both??