Got called up for the Grand Jury, starting tomorrow, so I'll not be bloggin much the next few days...anyone got any suggestions for some appropriate reading to pick up while I'm waiting?
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Shirley Hazzard, Transit of Venus.
Posted by: hilzoy | October 11, 2004 at 04:14 PM
If you conspicuously read the Anarchist's Cookbook, they'll probably 'let' you go home.
On the other hand, if you're feeling dutifully civic, Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (beginning with Quicksilver) is fantastic.
Posted by: sidereal | October 11, 2004 at 04:23 PM
Troubled Waters (via Crooked Timber. Not actually any good as jury duty reading but I had to post it somewhere.)
Posted by: Katherine | October 11, 2004 at 04:27 PM
If you conspicuously read the Anarchist's Cookbook, they'll probably 'let' you go home.
LOL...
I usually get thrown off ... wouldn't mind getting on a case once.
Posted by: Edward | October 11, 2004 at 04:29 PM
Agreed on the Stephenson. Also, Terry Pratchett's latest (Going Postal) is out, and, well, it's a Terry Pratchett. And Christopher Moore's always a reasonable choice. There's also a new Louis de Bernieres out, but I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet. Not that I'm worried.
Posted by: Moe Lane | October 11, 2004 at 04:29 PM
I haven't read it myself yet, but it comes well-recommended: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: A Novel, by Susanna Clarke.
Posted by: Jesurgislac | October 11, 2004 at 04:36 PM
OK...gotta head out...thanks for the suggestions (on my way to the book store now!)
Happy bloggin' all...
Posted by: Edward | October 11, 2004 at 04:38 PM
Apropos of the earlier Derrida post, I just finished John Ellis' terrific polemic "Against Deconstruction," and found it really quite readable if you are familiar with some of the underlying firefights. Ellis adopts, I think, the proper approach to criticizing deconstruction - analyze the firm positions which have been taken by advocates, while anticipating and completely rejecting the inevitable ripostes: "you criticize what you cannot understand", etc., etc. Plus, it's short.
Novel-wise, if you don't mind the armstrain (and don't mind following the crowd a bit), you might enjoy Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which really is an interesting hybrid (and was reminiscent in some places of a more mannered (and feminine, natch) N. Stephenson).
Posted by: st | October 11, 2004 at 04:38 PM
Oh, well, too late, I guess. Hope you get tyo see something interesting.
Posted by: st | October 11, 2004 at 04:39 PM
grand juries issue indictments and usually sit for months. ordinary juries (petit juries to be ultra-technical) make findings of fact in civil and criminal cases. i've never heard of involuntary grand jury duty. are you sure that's what you've been called for?
i'm a sci-fi fan for airplanes and jury rooms, too. recent reading includes vernon vinge, neal stephenson (i liked snow crash) and david weber's Honor Harrington series (for a modern space opera).
Francis
Posted by: fdl | October 11, 2004 at 04:40 PM
Oh, well, too late, I guess. Hope you get tyo see something interesting
Nope...got delayed...I'll add that to the list...thanks!
Posted by: Edward | October 11, 2004 at 04:50 PM
If you conspicuously read the Anarchist's Cookbook, they'll probably 'let' you go home.
The Communist Manifesto would be another good choice if you're trying to escape.
Posted by: geoduck | October 11, 2004 at 05:43 PM
Thomas Pynchon's Mason-Dixon.
Posted by: Mad AZ Monk | October 11, 2004 at 09:16 PM
If you're still taking suggestions...
Any of Tim Cahill's books of adventure-travel essays. They're short, mostly funny, and wonderfully evocative of the place he's describing.
Here are a few titles:
Pecked To Death by Ducks
Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
A Wolverine is Eating My Leg
The raw "He!Man" titles are a deliberate joke.
Posted by: CaseyL | October 12, 2004 at 01:54 AM
grand juries issue indictments and usually sit for months. ordinary juries (petit juries to be ultra-technical) make findings of fact in civil and criminal cases. i've never heard of involuntary grand jury duty. are you sure that's what you've been called for?
Depends upon where you live. I was called up for Grand Jury duty in 2001, and it lasted only two days; and grand juries here are only called a couple times a year (Two or four, I can't remember which.)
(I also didn't have much time to read--things went pretty quickly)
One more advantage to living in a small town.
Posted by: Michelle | October 12, 2004 at 04:39 PM