Law+Art, September 2026

Here's my #Law+Art September 2026 update. Enjoy!

-Eric

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Books and Music:

I'm a constant consumer of books, and with my music background, new music. Below is what I've read and listened to recently:

Books:

My Next Breath; by Jeremy Renner

Yes, the actor Jeremy Renner. If you didn't know, a few years back he was in a horrific incident where a giant snow machine ran him over and crushed him. His entire story here was about what he went through, but more importantly, how much this event has focused his life on what he really wants and to be gracious and to express gratitude for what he has and what he'll continue to have.

A few thoughts that caught me:

His approach that fear is born and fueled by the unknown. As someone who has been in lots of trials, and constantly in positions of high pressure with the need to perform through the pressure, I’m reflecting on this. I couldn’t agree with this more. In order to do what I need to do in the law, I need to know how to manage stress and the unknowns, as best able. Well, how do you know what you don’t know? To this, many times, it’s about constantly being present in the eye of the storm to know how things can work, and how events/approaches can be similar to other circumstances. There’s a ton to this, and I’ve been thinking about this a lot this month.

He also gave a thought post-incident for himself to focus himself on what is truly important to him now: “I used to give a shit about too many things. But now, I don’t.”

This book was insightful and inspiring. It also connected with another book from this month:

The Lion Tracker's Guide To Life; by Boyd Varty.

Here, Boyd focused on how the world around us can teach us so much, if we open our awareness and let it. But this is again coupled with (in my opinion) about having gained the awareness and appreciation from a previous experience. Or a similar experience.

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage; by Belle Burden.

Burden revisits her marriage and ultimate divorce. This has been on the NY Times best sellers list for a while, and while it was a sad story, it was raw and real. I appreciated her expressing her feelings with this.

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I also enjoyed some lighter reads: A Field Guide to Tequila: What It Is, Where It's From, and How to Taste It; by Clayton Szczech. Wow, what a research project on tequila and its origins.

Also, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup; by John Carreyrou, who did a mega amount of research on Theranos Elizabeth Holmes, who basically tricked society into millions/billions of dollars on a blood testing start-up. This was a wild ride in Silicon Valley, which ended to showcase this huge scandal. Carreyrou’s tracking of information was also akin to Tom O'Neill’s in his book about Charlie Manson Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, which also was a load of info tracked into a super interesting story.

Currently reading:

The Land and Its People; by David Sedaris.

Music:

Mark Guiliana's P.LAY and D.RUM. Guiliana is one of my favorite artists and musicians all around. He's a wonderful jazz musician, but also blends drumming with electronica. No joke, I've had each of these tunes on repeat for hours. They totally entrance me.

Rhombus, the new album from Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart. Bill Stewart has been a large inspiration on my drummer ever since undergrad. His playing and phrasing on this album is quite delicious, just as it usually is, especially when he's with this trio.

Currently checking out:

I Built You a Tower, by Death Cab for Cutie.