After my 1L year of law school, I put together the following list of books and other resources I found helpful. I’ve also added my own book about legal writing to the list.

(* = essential/most valuable)

General:

• Richard M. Fischl and Jeremy Paul, Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams*
• Dennis J. Tonsing, 1000 Days to the Bar, but the Practice of Law Begins Now*
• Ward Farnsworth, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law
• Steven Emanuel, Steve Emanuel’s First Year Questions and Answers
• Randy Barnett, The Structure of Liberty: Justice and the Rule of Law
• LexisNexis Area of Law Outlines
• Black’s Law Dictionary - iPhone app version

Legal Writing:

• Ryan McCarl, Elegant Legal Writing*
• Ross Guberman, Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Legal Advocates*

Civil Procedure:

• Richard Freer, Law School Legends: Civil Procedure (audio)*
• Richard Freer, Civil Procedure
• Joseph Glannon, Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations
• Arthur R. Miller, Sum and Substance: Civil Procedure (audio) - out-of-date but still worthwhile

Torts:

• William Prosser, Prosser and Keeton on Torts (or the more up-to-date but longer Dan B. Dobbs, The Law of Torts)
• Joseph Glannon, Torts: Examples and Explanations
• Steven Finz, Sum and Substance: Torts (audio)

Contracts:

• Brian A. Blum, Contracts: Examples and Explanations*
• Marvin Chirelstein, Contracts and Case Analysis in the Law of Contracts
• David Epstein, Sum and Substance: Contracts (audio)
• Randy Barnett, Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Contracts

Criminal Law:

• Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law*
• Joshua Dressler, Sum and Substance: Criminal Law (audio)

Property:

• John G. Sprankling, Understanding Property Law*
• Linda H. Edwards, Estates in Land and Future Interests: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Julian C. Juergensmeyer, Sum and Substance: Property (audio)*

Constitutional Law:

• Erwin Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies*
• Mary Cheh, Sum and Substance: Constitutional Law (audio)