Kim Wehle

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
-PRINT: © February 22, 2022; 978-0063067561; HarperCollins; 208 pages.; unabridged (Paperback Info from HarperCollins.com)
-DIGITAL: © February 22, 2022; See above.
- *Audio: © February 22, 2022;; HarperAudio; 4 hours, 59 minutes; unabridged (Audio info from Audible version.)
-FILM: No

SERIES: No.

CHARACTERS:
N/A

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTED: My husband ordered this one for us. This isn’t the kind of book he likes to listen to while driving, which is when we listen to books together, so I listened to it on my own-just to make sure we get our money’s worth from our Audible subscription. 😊
-ABOUT: Kim has a decision-making process that she likes to teach her legal classes. She refers to it as BICAT: Break the problem down. Identify your values and your aim. Collect lots of knowledge. Argue both sides of each point. And Tolerate the fact that people will disagree with your choice. During much of the book, she outlines this approach through various scenarios where decision making is critical.
-OVERALL IMPRESSION: While much of it was common sense, I found it a nice organized and useful approach to life’s challenges, especially considering that in the heat of the moment when decisions must be made, common sense, overshadowed by anxiety or outright fear (and other less than placid emotions), frequently abandons us.
My only “wait, that’s not right” moment was when after discussing divorce via lawyers, as hers had been, she suggests that a more cordial and amicable approach, if your situation allows for it, would be to do it yourself. She explains where papers can be obtained, but rather than advising to use a currently published book, she states that the folks at the courts will be helpful. I guess she had a moment of temporary amnesia. The people at the courts, in my experience, are adamant to the point of rudeness, that they cannot help. They won’t even tell you where to sign. One wants to blame them for being so rude to people who are obviously experiencing high stress, but one really shouldn’t, as it is merely a result of the fact that people without licenses to practice law can be in huge trouble for giving advice. They take this a bit too seriously in my opinion, but no doubt this avoidance to, in any way, assist document filers is drummed into them by their employers.

AUTHOR: Kim Whele. Excerpt From Wikipedia:
“Kimberly Lynn Wehle is a tenured law professor, writer, and legal contributor for ABC News and a former legal analyst for CBS News. She is an expert in civil procedure, administrative law, and the separation of powers.

Wehle writes on democracy and the separation of powers, outsourcing government, and the federal administrative state. Before joining ABC News, Wehle was a contributor for the PBS-syndicated BBC World News and BBC World News America. She is also an op-Ed contributor for Politico, The Atlantic, The Hill, The Guardian and The Bulwark, and a regular commentator on NPR's Morning Edition.[1][2][3][4] Wehle has authored three books, including How to Read the Constitution – and Why and What You Need to Know About Voting – and Why.[5] Her latest book is How to Think Like a Lawyer—and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas. She is best known for her ability to demystify legal concepts. Her next book, How the Pardon Power Works and Why'', is due for publication with Woodhall Press on September 3, 2024..”

NARRATOR: Nicole Zanzarella : Excerpt from IMDb
“Nicol Zanzarella was born in Yonkers, New York, USA. She is known for Zigzag (1997), Tympanum (2012) and Manhattan Chase (2000).”

From nicolezanzzarella.com:
“Originally from Yonkers, New York, she grew up hanging out on weekends with the disc jockeys of the local radio station that her father ran, and spent time in the pottery studio with her mom. Her grandparents helped raise her, which may explain why she has a penchant for old lace curtains while also having a mouth like a truck driver. She loves cooking her grandmother’s Italian recipes for company, and is often seen wearing a scarf and carrying a cup of coffee, no matter the weather.

Somewhere right in the center of her is where grounded feet meet a curious and wandering soul.

She has a passion for stories that feature kick-ass women with a heart of gold, and quirky small towns. She knows all the words to the songs piped in at Marshalls and Trader Joe’s (see above experience with Dad). Who doesn't like to jam out to Dan Fogelberg when they are shopping?! Mom gets credit for that one.

She discovered, a little later than some, a love for boxing and her mean left hook. And now she is also learning about the ancient Hindu practice of Yoga, and following in her great-grandmother’s tradition of hand embroidery, all combining to bring her ever closer to her daily goals in the quote at the bottom of the page.

Her last name means “little mosquito” (or little pest, as her grandfather used to say), echoing her belief in the African proverb that you're never too small to make a difference.

Life and work have taken her from New York City, to Southern California, to her current adventure living back East, just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, in a rich and thriving arts community, with the man who lights her way when she can't see it.”

GENRE: Non-fiction; Self-help; business and economics

LOCATIONS: N/A

TIME FRAME: Current - 2022

SUBJECTS: Business, economics, decision-making; problem-solving; education; law; education; divorce; workforce; family relations; medical decisions

DEDICATION: “I lovingly dedicate this book to my grandparents, Ann and Jack Nelson, who used common sense to live with integrity”

SAMPLE QUOTATION: Excerpt From Introduction

“While many of the people I come across in my life are either lawyers or are planning to become lawyers (blame Washington, D. C., and the local law school where I teach), even those with established careers not in law often tell me that they wish they had gone to law school. Still, a lot of people in the world don’t love lawyers. Many believe that lawyers mostly add conflict to situations, rather than diffuse them, and that we do tend to do so aggressively, arrogantly, and without compassion. Lawyers are expensive, the legal system is painfully slow, and lawyers can make an astounding amount of money—lots more than most Americans. Drive down virtually any highway in America and you’ll see a billboard touting legal services for individuals who may have been in a car accident or experienced botched health care, possibly reinforcing the stereotype of lawyers as money-motivated predators willing to file bogus lawsuits that wind up burdening the rest of society in one way or another.
That said, it’s often those same people who—when facing a decision about family or work or other responsibilities—find themselves suddenly considering hiring a lawyer or wishing they could somehow “think like a lawyer” to solve their problems. I hope this book will teach exactly that.”

RATING: 4 stars.

STARTED-FINISHED
11/1/2023-11/7/2023… (más)

Even The Good Parts Will Rapidly Be - Admittedly - Outdated. This was yet another of those books whose premise held such promise, and yet whose execution was sorely lacking. The only redeemable parts of this platitude, inaccuracy, and outright lies that are damn close to libel (but to be absolutely clear do *not*, in my understanding, actually cross that line) filled book are the numerous charts of where the law stands on various issues relating to voter registration, ballot access, and similar State level issues. The rest of the text is at best a series of platitudes about how "vital" voting is and at worst lies such that if the target were not a public figure would likely be a fairly easy libel case. (The standard for libel against a public figure is much higher than the one for just a "normal" private citizen.) The charts are the *only* thing preventing this text from being a "gold mine" level - my singular worst personal rating - and as the author admits every time she discusses one, will be outdated within just a few years and potentially even before this book actually goes to print. This is one of those books that in all honesty I personally would not publish with its existing text, but which could make a buck or two from the charts alone. It is for these charts that I can recommend this book at least for the next couple of months, but other than the charts I would not recommend it at all.

Just to be perfectly clear, I have never supported the current President, nor his predecessor and in all likelihood nor his successor. Instead, I am a person that has a fair degree of expertise in election laws and issues myself, having ran for City Council twice in rural southern Georgia, recruited a Statewide candidate for office in Georgia under a non-D/R Party, been that Party's Legislative Director, ran a Facebook group promoting open ballot access, ran a political blog focusing on various issues including election laws, and even interviewed both Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams as a result of some of those other efforts. I am no law professor as the author is, but I am *far* more knowledgeable about these issues than the average reader and, based on my reading of the text, it seems that I may in fact be more knowledgeable on these issues than the author herself. Despite much of my knowledge being 10 yrs out of date on exact particulars.… (más)