The CardTurner

Alright, everybody, listen up: I know I preach reading children's books all the time, and I know people don't have time for other things, much less reading books meant for kids, but READ the Cardturner, by Louis Sachar. Great stuff. Like Sachar says in the preface, it's a book about bridge, but you don't need to know how to play bridge (the card game) to read the book and like it. Just leaves a great feeling about life after you read it, you learn how to get better at (or learn how to play) bridge, and it's even got a little love-triangle in there, like all great stories need.

Here's another suggestion: Listen to the book on audio (CD or Ipod or other audio devices, whereever available). Yes, I'm serious: Some of you might relate to me when I say I HATE wasting time in traffic. It just makes my blood boil wasting my life on the I-10 in Los Angeles, going bumper-to-bumper, basically sitting in a parking lot. Radio doesn't really help. But put "The Cardturner" in the CD player, sit back, and relax. PLUS, the Cardturner is read by Sachar himself, as if the author's just giving you a long nighttime story, directly from his own thoughts. I though it was awesome. Exactly how stories are meant to be told. I've also read "Open" by Andre Agassi on tape: Not as good, but the concept is still fine.

Reading good literature.........something I WON'T be able to enjoy when BarBri starts. Every summer after graduation, recent law school grads enjoy a nice, long TWO-DAY weekend before they start classes for BarBri, basically the equivalent of a 2.5-month long blitzkrieg of information that you have to learn by Late July. I'm wretching just thinking about it. NOT looking forward to re-learning old material I was supposed to learn during law school and learning new material.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan