An alcohol licence has been granted to a town’s business despite police objections. This morning, members of Ipswich’s licensing and regulatory sub-committee discussed a bid for an alcohol licence for Food Twist Stores, in 2-4 Norwich Road. The application was brought on after a licensing officer found the premises illegally selling alcohol without a licence…
India Holton has become perhaps the most prominent author in what is a pretty niche mish-mash of subgenres: the romantasy of manners. That’s romance, fantasy, and comedy of manners all wrapped into one. You might’ve thought Holton was dropping the fantasy element when she wrapped up her Dangerous Damsels series about Victorian witches, pirates, and spies. but the first installment in her new series, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide To Love, also has a heavy helping of fantasy; you see, the birds are magical. Plus, her ornithologists are just as ruthless and adventurous as her pirates are.
Holton’s books are always brimming with whimsy, wherein the language and cultural strictures of Regency romance are a thin veneer for kooky capers and sexy, dangerous escapades. Like many of the author’s heroines, Beth Pickering is a brilliant woman with relatable foibles; like many of her heroes, Devon Lockley is irresistible, dashing, and down bad for his love interest. The Ornithologist’s Field Guide To Love is the perfect treat for the reader looking for something light, funny, and charming—maybe to break a reading slump, or maybe just to swoon at another beautifully spun romance. For me, it was all of the above, and I’ve never regretted putting another India Holton book on my shelf. [Mary Kate Carr]
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Big Lots on Thursday said its planned sale of assets to Nexus Capital Management doesn’t look likely, and it will soon begin going out of business sales at all of its stores.Terre Haute has two Big Lots, one at 1800 Fort Harrison and the other at 4650 S. U.S. 41. The chain has about 30 remaining stores in Indiana.Big Lots said its goal now is to complete a sale of assets — to Nexus or to someone else — by early January.
Big Lots did not say it was closing entirely and said these going out of business sales should not preclude a sale of the company. These chain-wide sales are intended to protect the value of its estate, the company said.In a news release, the company quoted Bruce Thorn, Big Lots president and chief executive officer: “We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale. While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process.”
One of the great debates around Christmas time is whether the classic Bruce Willis action-movie Die Hard should be considered a Christmas movie or not. Sure, it takes place at Christmastime, but is it really a Christmas movie the same way Home Alone or Miracle On 34th Street are Christmas movies?
The obvious answer is “Yes” though a more nuanced one would be “It’s up to you.” If you consider it a Christmas movie, it’s a Christmas movie. If you don’t, that’s cool by me. “To each their own” is an old saying that more people should study and practice.
Whether you consider Die Hard a Christmas movie or not will determine whether you consider Netflix’s new thriller, Carry-On a Christmas movie. Like Die Hard, it takes place near Christmas and like Die Hard 2 it takes place in an airport. Unlike Die Hard, it does not have the star power of Bruce Willis to elevate it into the halls of classic action movies. On the other hand, it’s much better than the later, lousier Die Hard films that released after Die Hard With A Vengeance, perhaps the greatest in the entire franchise.
Carry-On will never be considered a Christmas classic or an all-time great action-thriller, but it’s still a lot of fun and I’m happy we have another holiday action flick that doesn’t suck, because a lot of Christmas movies across genres are pretty terrible.
The movie stars Taron Egerton as Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent stuck in a job he hates with a remarkably patient and attractive girlfriend, Nora, played by Sofia Carson. They learn they’re having a baby, because having a pregnant girlfriend makes the stakes that much higher when things go bad. Nora also works at the airport, but not as a TSA agent. She tells Ethan that all she wants for Christmas is for him to follow his dreams of becoming a police officer.
Things take a turn for the worse when a mysterious criminal, only known as Traveler, shows up. Jason Bateman is terrific in the role. He’s casually, almost nonchalantly, villainous. Using Nora’s life as collateral, he forces Ethan to allow a suitcase through the baggage check. The contents of the luggage turn out to be worse than Ethan could ever imagine. What follows is a tense series of events as Ethan tries (and often fails) to outsmart the Traveler and prevent a terrible tragedy, all without getting his girlfriend and unborn baby killed.
Danielle Deadwyler plays Detective Elena Cole, a police officer investigating a murder which leads her down a trail of breadcrumbs right to the airport where she dives headfirst into the conflict playing out there. The Rossi plays the Traveler’s sniper and tech genius, Watcher. And Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris plays Ethan’s boss, Phil Sarkowski. It’s a good cast overall, though mostly the film focuses on Ethan and Traveler and their interactions.
The movie works because it does a great job at keeping the tension high and the pacing tight. It never outwears its welcome, moving along at a nice clip, with most of its best moments just a conversation between Ethan and Traveler. There’s action, but not Die Hard levels of action.
I did feel like the ending was a bit dangly, with some big plot points unresolved. I won’t spoil any of that because, well, you should watch for yourself. And while the writing is just fine throughout, it’s nothing special either. There are no classic yippee-ki-yay lines here. I doubt I’ll rewatch this over the years, not because there’s anything particularly wrong with the movie, but because there’s nothing particularly stellar about it, either. Carry-On is a fun, tense, popcorn movie with some holiday tinsel on top. Give it a watch.
Mura, the gangster drama film, marked actor-filmmaker Muhammed Musthafa’s second outing as a filmmaker after Kappela. The movie, which stars Suraj Venjaramoodu and Hridhu Haroon in the lead roles, hit the theatres on November 8, 2024. The movie, which received positive reviews from critics, ended up as a below-average grosser at the box office. After its theatrical run, Mura has now made its OTT release on the popular platform, Amazon Prime Video.Mura on OTT: When, where to watch the filmAs per the latest updates, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Hridhu Haroon’s film has now made its streaming debut on the popular streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. The gangster drama directed by Muhammed Musthafa is currently available for streaming only in its original Malayalam version with subtitles. Earlier, it was reported that the film would be released in five languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. However, only the Malayalam version of Mura has been released so far.Mura: Plot, cast, and crewMura posterThe Muhammed Musthafa directorial, which is set in the backdrop of Thiruvananthapuram city, revolves around the lives of four friends named Anandhu, Saji, Manu, and Manaf. The friends plan a heist, while a gangster named Ani is planning a different mission with Suni and Rema. Suraj Venjaramoodu plays the role of Ani in the film, which stars Hridhu Haroon in the role of Anandhu.Mura is scripted by Suresh Babu. Krish Haasan, Kani Kusruti, Maala Parvathi, PL Thenappan, Siby Joseph, Jobin Das, Anujith Kannan, Yedhu Krishna, Vigneshwar Suresh, Kannan Nayar, Alfred Jose, Seema Sindhu Krishnan, Ami Thilak, Gouri AS, Suresh Babu, and others essay the supporting roles. Christy Joby composed the songs and the original score. Fazil Nazer is the director of photography. Chaman Chakko handles the editing. The Muhammed Musthafa directorial is scripted by Riya Shibu, under the banner HR Pictures.
20th Century Studios
After spending the ’80s and early ’90s becoming the pre-eminent action star of his generation and feuding with Sylvester Stallone over the title, Arnold Schwarzenegger spent the latter half of the ’90s trying to prove he could front charming family-friendly fare — and wouldn’t you know it, he could. Of course, a man who hailed from a small Austrian township and conquered bodybuilding, married a Kennedy, became a movie star, and launched a successful career in U.S. politics was never really going to struggle with something as trivial as a career rebrand. So, ’90s kids were treated to all manner of surprisingly decent family comedy, from “Kindergarten Cop” to the Christmas favorite “Jingle All the Way.”
Don’t let that 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes score fool you: “Jingle All the Way” not only had kids of my generation enraptured, it also had something for the adults, tapping into the rampant commercialism that had turned Christmas from a time of peace and togetherness into a frantic scramble for the latest toy. In my time it was Power Rangers and Pokémon, not to mention Tickle Me Elmo. For Schwarzenegger’s Howard Langston, it was Turbo Man — the latest action figure that his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), simply must have for Christmas. In order to make up for being a somewhat neglectful father and husband, Howard makes it his mission to track down the in-demand action figure and hilarity and hijinks ensure.
As well as Schwarzenegger’s surprisingly adept comedic performance, “Jingle All the Way” also featured the late, great Phil Hartman as Howard’s brilliantly smarmy neighbor Ted Maltin. In all, this 90s Christmas classic stands as yet another reason not to take Rotten Tomatoes all that seriously. Now, Prime Video subscribers are attesting to that fact, sending “Jingle All the Way” into the most-watched charts for the festive season and reminding us all that it remains one of the best Christmas movies of all time.
Arnold Schwarzenegger jingles all the way to the top of the Prime Video charts
20th Century Studios
At the same time as Arnold Schwarzenegger and “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson are shooting their forthcoming Christmas comedy, “Jingle All the Way” has risen through the Prime Video most-watched rankings to remind us all that the Austrian star is more than capable of handling such family-friendly Christmas movies.
According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks and aggregates viewership data across streaming services, “Jingle All the Way” arrived on the charts at number seven on December 14, 2024 — which is actually a little later than I might have expected. Of course, in a time where streaming has ensured a steady cavalcade of middling holiday movies, it’s understandable that audiences’ attention might be a tad more divided than it used to be.
Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger’s classic Christmas outing has not only found its way onto the charts, it has risen through the rankings since its debut. On December 15 it hit number six, before jumping to the third position on December 16. The film has since hovered around that spot, dipping to number four as of December 18 before rising like Turbo Man himself — or indeed, the Turbo Man of the Iron Age, Jesus Christ — once again on December 19 to retake number three.
Can Turbo Man defeat The Rock?
20th Century Studios
Christmas is a pretty competitive time when it comes to movies. Not only do you have your classic Christmas fare vying for attention — from the film IMDb claims is the greatest Christmas movie ever, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” to modern classics such as “Elf” — you now have things like “Red One,” Dwayne Johnson’s festive outing that was kind of a box office flop (but not really). That film has remained at the top of the Prime Video charts since it hit the service following it’s anticlimactic theatrical run, and it seems nothing can dethrone it at this point.
Queen Latifah gave it a shot with her forgotten Christmas rom-com “Last Holiday,” and John Candy is currently having a crack at it with the great “Uncle Buck” hitting the Prime Video charts. Thus far, however, Arnie is the only one who might be in with a shot of dethroning “Red One.” “Jingle All the Way” might be in a tenuous position at number three, but it’s been rising steadily through the ranks since December 14, 2024 and it might well be able to take that top spot by the end of the week.
Though “Jingle All the Way” remains a classic Christmas movie that didn’t need a sequel, we did end up getting a direct-to-video follow-up that starred Larry the Cable Guy in 2014. Thus far, that forgotten sequel is nowhere to be seen, but if there’s any way to orchestrate some sort of mass viewing to make it so that Larry is the one that finally dethrones The Rock, I think we have a duty to do it.
Universal Pictures
Blumhouse is continuing its quest to revive classic movie monsters for modern audiences. To that end, it has been revealed that Lee Cronin, of “Evil Dead Rise” fame, is set to write and direct a new take on “The Mummy,” with Blumhouse producing the film for New Line Cinema.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cronin’s “The Mummy” will hit theaters on April 17, 2026. Mark that on your calendars and plan accordingly, horror fans. The announcement was teased by Blumhouse on Instagram (which you can check out below), revealing the title page for the filmmaker’s script. “Something terrifying will be unleashed in 2026,” the caption reads. In a brief statement, Cronin had this to say about it:
“This will be unlike any ‘Mummy’ movie you ever laid eyeballs on before. I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening,”
Blumhouse is producing the film alongside James Wan’s Atomic Monster (as the companies merged earlier this year), with Cronin’s company Doppelgängers also producing. Wan, Jason Blum, and John Keville are set as producers as well, with Michael Clear, Judson Scott, and Macdara Kelleher on board as executive producers and Alayna Glasthal overseeing the project for Atomic Monster. Plot details are being kept under wraps though (pun not intended), with no casting details confirmed at this time.
Lee Cronin gets the chance to revive another big horror franchise
Universal Pictures
For Blumhouse, this keeps the studio in the classic monster business. The enterprise started for the studio in 2020 with Leigh Whannel’s “The Invisible Man,” which proved to be a big hit both critically and commercially. Next up, Whannel is tackling a new take on “Wolf Man,” which hits theaters in January 2025. Now Cronin gets the chance to put his stamp on a stone-cold monster movie icon.
It’s something Cronin seems qualified to do as well. The filmmaker previously revived the “Evil Dead” franchise with 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise.” The property had been dormant for a decade following the release of 2013’s “Evil Dead” reboot. Then Cronin came in with a brand new cast of characters in a new setting, turning “Rise” into a huge success that took in nearly $150 million at the box office. New Line has since put not one but two different “Evil Dead” movies in development. Cronin isn’t involved with either one, however, as he clearly has other fish to fry.
Notably, Universal attempted to revive “The Mummy” as part of the ill-fated Dark Universe in 2017. Starring Tom Cruise, the big-budget take on the Universal Monsters fizzled out critically and was also a disappointment financially. It was even bad enough to kill plans for several other retoolings, such as “Bride of Frankenstein.” Blumhouse, meanwhile, has taken an approach that combines lower budgets with bigger creative swings, which has largely paid off so far. We’ll see if Cronin can keep that hot streak going.
Look for Lee Cronin’s “The Mummy” in theaters on April 17, 2026.
There is nothing new about stars trying their hand at children’s fiction (Julie Andrews published Mandy back in 1971). But the announcement in October that Keira Knightley has written and illustrated her first children’s novel, billed as “a modern classic”, was met with anger among children’s writers who took to social media to joke that they wanted to become film stars. The written word can be a tricky thing to navigate for the untutored. Jamie Oliver was forced to pull his new title Billy and the Epic Escape after it was criticised for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and “trivialising painful histories” of First Nations people.There is understandable frustration from other authors, who feel they are being crowded out of press coverage and bookshops. Sometimes it is unclear who is actually writing the titles. It is no surprise that many memoirs are ghostwritten – no one really thought Prince Harry toiled for months to write Spare. A celebrity’s life story belongs to them, after all, so it doesn’t seem so problematic that a professional writer is hired to tell it. But who owns an idea or fictional narrative?The old adage that everyone thinks they have a book in them is doubly true when it comes to children’s books. How hard can it be? The answer, obviously, is very hard – or there would be no need for ghostwriters. Removing any uncertainty around the authorship of children’s books will help not only the ghosts but those celebrities who really do write themselves. Successful writers such as Tom Fletcher (of McFly) and David Baddiel are now best‑known, certainly by children, as authors.The Society of Authors (SoA) is also calling for celebrities, publishers and agents to acknowledge all writers behind books written by well-known figures, in particular children’s books. You couldn’t put your name on the bottom of a painting, or claim to have composed a piece of music created by someone else, no matter how famous you might be. But this happens all the time in publishing, where there seems no end to the appetite for books by Hollywood actors, pop stars, comedians or members of the royal family.Sporting stars Chris Hoy and Marcus Rashford have always graciously acknowledged their ghosts. Demi Moore was refreshingly candid in saying she could not have written her memoir Inside Out without her ghostwriter, the journalist Ariel Levy. Such words should not be the exception. Putting the names of translators on book covers has become standard practice following a SoA campaign in 2021. It would like the same option for all ghostwriters (some prefer to remain anonymous). Currently, a mere “thank you” in the book’s acknowledgments suffices. Other suggestions are fairer payment and contract terms (ghostwriters are often given a flat fee that excludes television or film rights), and to be included in sales data and meta-data such as Amazon recommendations. Even the term “ghostwriter” suggests something unreal and invisible. This smoke-and-mirrors trick is out of step in an era that claims to value authenticity so highly.The rise of celebrity books goes hand in hand with the rise in celebrity culture (last week it was announced that Sarah Jessica Parker will be a judge for next year’s Booker prize). A novel is not a bottle of perfume: slapping on a twinkly name is not enough. The brand is not more important than the content. Writing is an art form like any other and takes years of dedicated work, which should be recognised.
Researchers have identified a novel metabolic pathway in ketosis, revealing that “keto” metabolites play a complex role in metabolism and brain energy regulation, potentially rewriting our knowledge of the ketogenic diet’s effects.
A Stanford-led team discovered a new ketosis pathway involving BHB-amino acids, shedding light on its effects like appetite suppression and offering new avenues for research and therapy.
The ketogenic diet, commonly known as “keto,” and intermittent fasting have gained widespread popularity, attracting everyone from casual fitness enthusiasts to endurance athletes. Both approaches aim to leverage ketosis — a metabolic state in which the body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Proponents highlight a range of benefits, including weight loss and enhanced brain health.
A collaborative research team is now tackling the unanswered questions surrounding ketosis.
Rather than adding to the growing, and often confusing, literature on the effects of ketogenic diets, the team — led by Jonathan Long, an associate professor of pathology at Stanford Medicine and institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H, and co-led by Yong Xu, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine — are focused on the underlying chemistry of ketones themselves.
Their discovery — a previously unknown metabolic pathway and a family of “keto” metabolites — could rewrite our understanding of how ketosis influences metabolism, including in the brain.
“It turns out ketosis is not a monolithic state,” said Long. “There’s a lot more complexity and nuance in how the body processes ketone molecules, and this could explain some of its more intriguing effects.”
The research — published November 12, 2024 in Cell — was made possible by research grants from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and the Stanford Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance agility project, alongside other funding sources (see below for details).
A new chapter in metabolic science
When deprived of glucose — its primary energy source — the body shifts gears, breaking down fat to produce ketones as an alternative fuel. Central to this process is beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the most abundant ketone body.
Until now, scientists believed ketosis followed two main biochemical pathways: ketogenesis, which produces BHB in the liver, and ketolysis (or ketone oxidation) which consumes BHB for energy throughout the body. These pathways were thought to tell the whole story.
Long and his team weren’t so sure. They decided to take another look at what ketones, particularly BHB, were doing in the body. Rather than diving into the already contentious literature on the ketogenic diet’s downstream effects — such as its potential benefits for cognition or metabolic health — they decided to take a step back.
“Let’s just step away from all the purported effects and focus on the chemistry of these metabolites,” Long explained. “Where do they come from? Where do they go?”
In a series of experiments on mice and humans, the researchers manipulated the availability of BHB to explore how it influences metabolism and energy balance. What they found was a previously unknown metabolic “shunt pathway,” where enzymes attach BHB to amino acids, producing a family of compounds they dubbed BHB-amino acids.
“If pathways are like the highway system, shunts are the off-ramps,” Long explained. “What we’re saying is, this is not the main pathway that’s directing traffic, but it gets you somewhere very interesting and unusual off the main road.”
Ketones in the brain
The discovery of this ketone shunt suggests that ketones have additional, previously unrecognized roles in the body’s metabolic landscape. The critical question remained: Are they inert byproducts, or do they actively influence the body’s response to ketosis?
To answer these questions, Long and his collaborators zeroed in on the brain — a focus driven by a well-documented phenomenon: when people are in ketosis, their hunger often decreases.
“When I’m fasting or losing weight, I don’t feel as hungry,” said Long. “That’s a well-established aspect of ketosis, tied to the neurobiology of feeding and energy balance.”
Further, the team noticed that the metabolites they were studying chemically resembled another molecule recently discovered by Long and colleagues that is known to regulate hunger and appetite: Lac-Phe. Lac-Phe is produced in the body after sprint exercise, and functions to reduce appetite. This chemical resemblance guided their investigation, raising the question: Could these ketone metabolites play an active role in appetite suppression and weight regulation under ketosis conditions?
The researchers found that BHB-amino acids suppress feeding behaviors and promote weight loss, revealing a potent link between ketosis and energy regulation. “This third, shunt pathway turns out to be important for the regulation of appetite and ketosis-associated weight loss,” said Long.
Implications for Therapy and Research
By uncovering this previously unknown pathway, the researchers have created an opportunity to revisit longstanding questions about the mechanisms behind the ketogenic diet’s purported benefits.
Until now, “our basic understanding [of ketosis] was actually incomplete,” said Long. “Now, we can revisit all these phenomena through a new lens.”
For instance, while it’s well established that the ketogenic diet is uniquely effective in controlling seizures in children with drug-resistant epilepsy, it remains unclear whether other benefits, such as improved cognition or metabolic health, are real — and, if so, how they work. The identification of these metabolites offers a new framework for investigating these effects systematically.
What’s Next?
In fact, Long and his collaborators are already revisiting epilepsy with support from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.
Collaborating with Dr. Juliette Knowles, a clinical expert in epilepsy at Stanford, Long is investigating whether the newly identified shunt pathway and its metabolites play a role in seizure control. If so, this could open the door to novel treatments that replicate the benefits of ketosis without requiring a strict dietary regimen.
As the team continues to probe the fundamental biology of ketosis, their work could pave the way for a deeper understanding of its therapeutic potential — not just for epilepsy but for a range of metabolic and neurological conditions.
“Now that we have a better understanding of these pathways, we can ask much better questions about how and why these products might work — and what risks or limitations they might carry,” said Long.
Reference: “A β-hydroxybutyrate shunt pathway generates anti-obesity ketone metabolites” by Maria Dolores Moya-Garzon, Mengjie Wang, Veronica L. Li, Xuchao Lyu, Wei Wei, Alan Sheng-Hwa Tung, Steffen H. Raun, Meng Zhao, Laetitia Coassolo, Hashim Islam, Barbara Oliveira, Yuqin Dai, Jan Spaas, Antonio Delgado-Gonzalez, Kenyi Donoso, Aurora Alvarez-Buylla, Francisco Franco-Montalban, Anudari Letian, Catherine P. Ward, Lichao Liu, Katrin J. Svensson, Emily L. Goldberg, Christopher D. Gardner, Jonathan P. Little, Steven M. Banik, Yong Xu and Jonathan Z. Long, 12 November 2024, Cell.DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.032
This work was supported by the NIH (DK124265 and DK130541 to J.Z.L.; DK125260, DK111916, and P30DK116074 to K.J.S.; GM113854 to V.L.L.; HD112123 to M.W.; K99AR081618 to M.Z.; T32HL161270 to C.P.W.; R00AG058801 to E.L.G.; and T32GM136631 to A.S.-H.T.), the Phil & Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (research grant to J.Z.L.), the Ono Pharma Foundation (research grant to J.Z.L.), the Stanford Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance (research grant to J.Z.L. and fellowship to X.L. and M.D.M.-G.), the Stanford Bio-X (SIGF graduate student fellowship to V.L.L.), the Jacob Churg Foundation (research grants to J.Z.L. and K.J.S.), the American Heart Association (fellowship #905674 to M.Z.), the Stanford School of Medicine (Dean’s postdoctoral fellowship to L.C.), the Independent Research Fund Denmark (2030-00007A to S.H.R.), the Lundbeck Foundation (R380-2021-1451 to S.H.R.), the American Heart Association (24POST1196199 to W.W.), the CIHR (PJ9-166217 and PJT-169116 to J.P.L.), the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (MIG-2023-2-1015 to A.D.-G.), the Fundación Alfonso Martin Escudero (fellowship to M.D.M.-G. and A.D.-G.), and USDA/CRIS (51000-064-01S to Y.X.).
A provisional patent application has been filed by Stanford University on BHB-amino acids for the treatment of cardiometabolic disease.
Every holiday season, the University of Chicago Law School collects and shares book recommendations from the faculty. Here are three from me: Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro: A first-person novel told from the point of view of a solar-powered Artificial Friend. It is hard to say much more about the plot without spoiling it or failing to render it as beautifully as Ishiguro does. The book begins with Klara sitting in a shop window, and the reader discovers the world through Klara’s eyes, as she manages to explore, understand, and misunderstand it, and develops her own deep relationships, quests, and failures. Written in 2021, but perhaps even more timely today. The President’s Lawyer, by Lawrence Robbins: A page-turner of a novel about the intersection of criminal defense and Washington scandal. The main character is a career litigator whose childhood best friend, the former President of the United States, has been accused of murdering his mistress. Plot twists, personal entanglements, and several entertaining trial scenes ensue. The author (recently deceased) was himself an experienced DC litigator, from criminal trials to Supreme Court arguments, and co-founded his own law firm, Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner, where he was once my boss. Law for Leviathan, by Daryl Levinson: How is constitutional law like international law? Both of them struggle with the fact that there are no international law police or constitutional law police who can directly apprehend and sanction law breakers. That is because they are law for states, and so they must figure out how to establish legal rules without simply relying on any one state to enforce them. This academic but readable book argues that this is possible, but requires a range of strategies outside of simply laying down the law and expecting it to be obeyed. One of the most refreshing books about constitutional law I have read in a while. [You can also hear a Divided Argument podcast discussion with Daryl about this book, Separation-of-Powers Police.] Here’s the whole list. I also recently read and enjoyed the Grover Cleveland biography, which is recommended by my colleague Todd Henderson. Feel free to make your own nominations in the comments!