Before starting law school, I was a pretty big reader. I loved to read a variety of mystery, sci-fi, and romance novels. However, once I began my 1L year and found myself buried in casebooks, my enthusiasm for reading waned. Although reading novels I am interested in is very different from reading boring con law cases, I still had no interest in picking up another book after reading for school all day.
I can't be the only one who's felt this way, right? It seems like law school has this knack for draining the fun out of everything.
But as graduation approaches, I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope. This semester my course load has been a bit lighter and last weekend I bought a new book for the first time in ages. I am hoping that once I'm done with the bar exam, I'll be able to reignite my passion for reading novels. Here's to hoping I can pick up where I left off and dive back into the world of reading for fun.
Ive heard this view point from so many people and I find it interesting because I feel like I had the opposite experience. Before law school, I was never a kind of person to pick up a book to read for pleasure. It just didn't interest me. Now, during law school, I started reading for pleasure and I find it to be a way for me to relax at the end of the day and to read something besides a con law case.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent observation. As law students or lawyers, we can suffer from reading fatigue that zaps our desire for pleasure reading. As an appellate lawyer, I read tens of thousands of pages of trial court transcripts and exhibits each year. My cure has been to listen to audiobooks when I walk my dog, ride my bike, or drive. This helps save my aging eyes. I listen at 1.5 speed to be able to "read" more.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have an Audible subscription, it is currently on hold because I use the Libby app (iOS, Android, and Web) to listen to audiobooks for free from my local public library.
Speaking of public libraries, if we ever doubt the efficacy of banding together into a civilized society and taxing ourselves to provide for the common good, public libraries are a great example of the good that can come from it.