(Not including the October Daye books that are together in their own series post.)
The Making of a Justice by Justice John Paul Stevens. (4/5) As I feared, I’m now old enough to enjoy biographies. 😉 More importantly, this is very well paced, blazing through a Great Depression youth, a sketch of WWII and early career, then insight into big cases.
The Return by Hisham Matar. (4/5) Well written and compelling; it has some interesting parallels to JPS’s book that childhood wealth is a barely noticed backdrop. Learning through conversation with family in Libya was a great way to learn alongside Hisham.
The time traveler’s guide to medieval England : a handbook for visitors to the fourteenth century by Ian Mortimer. A really interesting book, in both broad strokes and specifics. I’d happily suggest it as a first book to orient on the period; it’s focused on daily life at the various levels of society. Some really good specifics — like when staying in an inn, about 75% of the cost was for the food, with the bed only the remaining quarter. (4/5)