Poisonous People: How to Resist Them and Improve Your Life

Written by: Leanne ten Brinke, PhD

First line: In 1959, a young Canadian named Clive Michael Boutilier was arrested in New York City for the alleged crime of sodomy with a seventeen-year-old.

Why you should read this book: While true psychopaths make up a relatively small percentage of human beings (this author places that number at 1% although I've seen other psychologists suggest that it's more like 4%, or even higher in certain cultures) people with dark personality traits who generally live to make other human beings miserable but don't quite achieve clinical levels comprise 20% of the population, and are generally extremely problematic. Ten Brinke's research leads her to understand how to identify poisonous people, how to understand their motivations and actions, and how to protect yourself from them wherever they are encountered. Her research leads her to believe that simply identifying and rejecting such individuals will result in their escalation, and that we should also have compassion for the people who delight in our misery. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you're currently suffering the abuse of a poisonous person, this book might help, or it might be very upsetting. 

The Spirits

Written by: Bonnie Jo Cambell

First line: A red Jeep Wrangler veered off eastbound I-94 at the Paw Paw exit and hurtled north, pursued by the shadow of dusk.

Why you should read this book: Technically it doesn't come out until tomorrow but I'm reading it for the third time and I'm ready to share this haunted holiday tale, inspired by Dickens's A Christmas Carol with a little Edgar Allen Poe mixed in. Doug is apprehensive about bringing his new girlfriend, Mary, home for Christmas, because his family hasn't been the same since his dad was struck by lightning on Christmas Eve nine years ago, and things have been very tense since last Christmas, when his older sister flipped out and demanded that they talk about that fateful evening. But now they're all together again, subject to Mary's curiosity and enthusiasm, and all stories will be shares, all secrets will be revealed, all shame brought to light, and all regrets forgiven.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You could wait a couple weeks for my comic version of the book. 

Mixed-up

Written by: Kami Garcia and Brittney Williams

First line: I can't believe school starts on Monday.

Why you should read this book: Stella just knows that fifth grade is going to be the best year ever, since she has the nicest teacher and gets to sit with her best friends Emiko and Latasha and there's a huge announcement coming about Witchlins, her favorite show in the world. But everything starts going sideways when Stella realizes that everyone else is reading faster than she does, with better comprehension, and she's destined to fail her fifth grade project and can't make sense of the players guide for the new Witchlins video game everyone else is obsessed with. Now Stella is barely talking to Emiko and Latasha, and her only hope is a diagnosis and intervention for the learning disability she never knew she had.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There are just a lot of books about dyslexic kids who are good at drawing.