It's Just a Plant

Written by: Ricardo Cortes

First line: Jackie loved to go to sleep at night.

Why you should read this book: When Jackie walks in on her parents smoking a joint, her mom decides to take her on a educational bike ride to talk to Farmer Bob and Doctor Eden about marijuana. Jackie receives honest and factual information about some of the plant's most interesting properties, how and why people have been using it for a very long time time, and the reasons that children shouldn't try drugs, even if it OK for adults. Later, watching an encounter between the police and some pot smokers, she learns even more truths about the political reasons for marijuana prohibition and the fact that the government sometimes makes legislative mistakes, which can be rectified through the democratic process.

Why you shouldn't read this book: One time your cousin's roommate's neighbor's daughter took marijuana and her eyes exploded out the back of her head and she died and you know that the only way to protect people from danger is to prohibit the spread of any information on the subject.

The Plot

Written by: Will Eisner

First line: Whenever one group of people is taught to hate another, a lie is created to inflame the hatred and justify a plot.

Why you should read this book: Eisner poured his soul and a large portion of the last part of his life into this historical graphic story, which details the deceitful origins of the hateful, anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. From its late nineteenth century inception as a fraud plagiarized from earlier French revolutionary documents for the purpose of halting modernity in czarist Russia while justifying pogroms and other racist behaviors, these lies have been associated with the perpetuation of evil throughout the years; the book seeks to debunk the pervasive attitudes that have allowed a demonstrable hoax to take on a life of its own, despite ample proof that it is nothing more than a lie enjoyed by people who love to hate. Eisner originally felt certain that if he could only compile all the data into one easy-to-read volume, he could kill The Protocols once and for all, but eventually he ended the book with the realization that anti-Semitism is a choice made by racists whose confirmation bias prevents them from understanding the evidence, and it is justified, rather than inspired, by the document.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: The Dunning-Kreuger effect.

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

Written by: Ian Falconer

First line: Olivia was depressed.

Why you should read this book: Precocious piglet Olivia is back with a grade-school existential crisis: if all little girls are princesses, then princesses can't be very special anymore, and Olivia's sole intention in life is to stand out and express her unique personality. Adults enjoy the snappy and intelligent writing, devoid of treacle, while kids appreciate Olivia's spunk and self-actualization. If you're raising your child to have a strong sense of agency, the Olivia books are a nice complement.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You prefer your children not to have any sense of agency; you've been dreaming a pink princess to spoil forever.

Cryptonomicon

Written by: Neal Stephenson

First line: Two tires fly.

Why you should read this book: An epic roller coaster ride, which bounces the reader back and forth between World War II and the early days of the Internet, North America and Asia, commerce and morality, it's a modern classic skirting the edges of speculative fiction: war story, jungle adventure, geek lore, and thriller, sewn together with the threads of cryptography and passion. With a vast cast of characters including geniuses, madmen, soldiers, and the strong, beautiful, intelligent women who draw them onward into achievement, this is the story of bricks of gold that have been hidden for decades, codes that have been encrypted and decrypted by experts, and the desires of humans for wealth, power, love, knowledge, and, sometimes, even higher callings. The writing is sharp and witty, humorous and esoteric, punctuated by language sophisticated to stimulate the mind of the most dedicated sesquipedalian while simultaneously being blue enough to shock your grandmother, a veritable treat for readers who love reading.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Incapable of comprehending complexity.

Miss Manners’ Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding

Written by: Judith Marth and Jacobina Martin

First line: Weddings are now the biggest and only formal festive event (mercifully overlooking the high school prom) in most people’s lives.

Why you should read this book: Beginning with the assumption that betrothed couples and their guests wish to enjoy proper and drama-free weddings based on meaningful tradition and devoid of empty trappings, Miss Manners and her recently married daughter have compiled this guide to help the love struck pull off the happy occasion without offending anyone or looking like greedy narcissists. While Miss Manners’ guidelines are, in some cases, far out of step with the way American weddings are usually conducted, they are offered in the spirit of dignity and tradition, and always with detailed explanations as to why they are proper. Avoiding vulgarity, unnecessary expense, and gauche outrage are the tradeoffs for those willing to let go of what has become the self-indulgent showmanship of this special day.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’ve already decided that your wedding will be a money-making venture.

Time for Outrage

Written by: Stéphane Hessel

First line: Ninety-three years old. The last leg of my journey. The end is in sight.

Why you should read this book: More of a small pamphlet, these are the thoughts of a veteran of the French Resistance who survived World War II and helped draft the U.N.’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights. With the perspective of years, he explains why the gap between rich and poor is unconscionable, how indifference is the most dangerous attitude, and why peaceful insurrection is required to fulfill the promise of human rights. Mass media, mass consumption, relentless competition, and an overall lack of respect, he argues, feed the injustices of our world, and must be resisted.

Why you shouldn’t read this book:  You refuse to compromise your support for aggression on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception

Written by: Pamela Meyer

First line: I didn't set out to become a liespotter.

Why you should read this book: Following years of research, Meyer collected enough data on lying and human perception to develop a system that can improve anyone's ability to spot a lie by twenty-five to fifty percent; her work shows how detailed analysis of facial expressions, body language, and, most importantly, speech patterns, can help the average person determine whether he or she is being lied to. While primarily geared towards people in business and detecting whether partners, employees, customera, or other businesspeople are being truthful, this system, laid out with charts and images, can help anyone undercover the reportedly hundreds of lies we are each told every day. The book helpfully explains how to lead a discussion when searching for the truth, how to lie-proof your company, and the best ways to surround yourself with truthful people, and includes important information is summarized in the appendix.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a sociopath trying to figure out how to get through an interrogation.

A Renegade History of the United States

Written by: Thaddeus Russell

First line: This is a new story.

Why you should read this book: This hugely controversial book reframes American history as the losing battle of the Puritan, socially conservative ruling class, epitomized by the work ethic and abnegation of men like John Adams, against the true authors of our beloved American freedoms: alcoholics, prostitutes, mobsters, gamblers, sexual deviants, people conforming to racist stereotypes, and those engaged in the production of music, movies, and comic books that failed to conform to a relentless Christian perspective. Dancing with abandon, mixing with other races, conspicuous material consumption, and other hallmarks of modern American freedom are examined with surprising candor from a historical perspective, as the author documents conservative resistance to equality, diversity, and open-mindedness. Although he selects his evidence carefully, in service of his thesis, the overall effect of the work is eye-opening, allowing the reader to appreciate the historical perspective and how little the doctrine of conformity, self-denial, and ceaseless work that supposedly defined the American citizen truly reflects the culture of our American character and opportunity.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't consider "pursuit of happiness" a legitimate freedom.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Written by: Carl Sagan

First line: It was a blustery fall day in 1939.

Why you should read this book: Popular and charismatic scientist, author, and television personality, Carl Sagan bemoans the gullibility of modern audiences and advocates greater funding for science education and experimentation as a bulwark against ignorance, superstitious hysteria, and pseudoscience. Along the way, he advocates for the scientific method, debunks most every popular belief about aliens, UFOs, and New Age thinking, and includes, for the reader's convenience, his "Baloney Detection" kit: a detailed explanation of various types of logical fallacies that impede intelligent thinking about the world. Advocating for equal parts wonder and skepticism, this book is a call for reason in an age where reason is increasingly held in disdain.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You only need one book to tell you about the nature of reality, and you think it was written by an ephemeral, bearded old white guy who lives in the sky.

Three-Martini Family Vacation: A Field Guide to Intrepid Parenting

Written by: Christie Mellor

First line: Raising children can be an incredibly time-consuming, often thankless pursuit, and although it is not without its rewards, we certainly could all use a little more time for ourselves.

Why you should read this book: With overt sarcasm, the author preaches to the choir in her castigation of overindulgent helicopter parenting, suggesting a return to intelligent limits on childish behavior and a refusal to hand children more power than their little minds can reasonably use. Targeting those adults who insist that every activity be child-friendly, that children be welcomed, regardless of behavior, into adult situations, that children's smallest whims be entertained at everyone else's expense, and that the child's world trumps any adult needs, this book offers a few sensible suggestions, couched in humorous garb, for reclaiming ones adulthood while teaching children not to whine, throw temper tantrums, or hijack the conversation when presented with unfamiliar foods or a few hours free from video technologies. Equally light-hearted and darkly ominous, this guide for those who need vacations from their children offers an interesting day trip far away from the world of juice boxes, baby sitters, and interrupted meals consisting of pizza, pasta, and white bread.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your world revolves around your precious offspring's every whim, and you can't imagine why your miraculous progeny should be denied any little thing its heart desires.

Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

Written by: Bill McKibben

First line: Imagine we live on a planet. Not our cozy, taken-for-granted earth, but a planet, a real one, with melting poles and dying forests and a heaving, corrosive sea, raked by winds, strafed by storms, scorched by heat. An inhospitable place.

Why you should read this book: Global warming, the author's data shows, is not a possible threat for our grandchildren, but a reality that has already begun transforming our lovely blue planet into a hot, dangerous, alien world. Climate change has been set into motion, and all calculations show that we have already surpassed the maximum level of atmospheric carbon dioxide (that would be 350 parts per million) necessary to keep thing comfy and verdant. After presenting pages and pages of chilling and disturbing evidence that we've screwed nature and she's going to screw us right back, McKibben describes what we need to do to survive on this new planet: cutting energy usage, investing in renewable, sustainable energy resources, and pulling back from unchecked and dangerous growth and globalization to create vibrant, functional, and self-reliant communities based agriculture, energy, and human networks (don't worry; we get to keep the Internet).

Why you shouldn't read this book: Possibly the most depressing work I have ever read; if you're enamored of your denial and think that oil and fossil fuels are the future, taking this book seriously could come as a real boot to the head.

An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life

Author: The Dalai Lama

First line: I believe that every human being has an innate desire for happiness and does not want to suffer.

Why you should read this book: Comprising four days of teaching by his holiness in New York City in 1999, this book explains, to the Western reader, the basic tenets of Buddhism, along with increasingly complex instruction for setting oneself on the path to happiness and freedom from suffering. Beginning with the causes of suffering, he draws upon thousands of years of teaching to offer both secular and spiritual audiences a deeper understanding of meditation, clear thought, and compassion for all sentient beings. This book can be read on many levels, as a simple informational work about an ancient tradition, or a blueprint for ones own enlightenment, to be constructed within the framework of the modern world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You enjoy your suffering.

Man's Search for Meaning

Author: Viktor E. Frankl

First line: This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again.

Why you should read this book: In this classic, seminal, and controversial volume, the author relates his experience as a prisoner in various Nazi Concentration Camps during World War II, focusing on the psychology of the prisoner, the perspectives that allowed individuals to survive suffering and seeming hopelessness, and the basis for logotherapy, which he developed before the war and honed while interned. Modern editions include a chapter outlining the framework of logotherapy, which insists that humans must create their own meaning, whether they do so through action, experience, or dignity in the face of suffering, along with a final chapter which speaks to modern maladies resulting from the enforced ideal that one must "be happy." This book ought to be required reading for anyone over the age of fourteen, but especially for those who have ever suffered from depression or a sense of meaninglessness in life.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You find nihilism warm, cozy, and comforting.

Indie Kidd 3: Being Grown Up Is Cool (Not!)

Author: Karen McCombie

First line: I was a bit bored.

Why you should read this book: Since her mother is overinvolved in animal rescue and their 19-year-old boarder is so laid-back, Indie decides that being an adult is much better than being a child, and starts to work on her list of reasons why Being Grown Up Is Cool. But Indie's fascination with adulthood doesn't always translate into grown-up behavior, and her family and peers are starting to worry about her. Will Indie have to give up doughnuts forever just to get a little respect?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You'd like to be able to watch TV and eat crisps without having to worry about where your next paycheck is coming from.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Author: Mark Haddon

First line: It was 7 minutes after midnight.

Why you should read this book: Christopher Boone is gifted in math but crippled by severe autism: he cannot be touched, he cannot understand facial expressions, and he cannot abide anything yellow. He does like walking around in the dark, and when he finds his neighbor's dog stabbed to death with a garden fork one night, he undertakes a project to catch the killer and detail his findings as a mystery novel. The investigation carries him to places and revelations that he never thought possible and provides a reader with an intimate glimpse into the world of the autistic teen as well as an inspiring account of overcoming obstacles.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You only like proper novels with lots of complex metaphors and no tangents.

God's Dream

Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

First line: Dear Child of God, What do you dream about in your loveliest of dreams?

Why you should read this book: This completely non-sectarian picture book emphasizes the values that won Tutu a Nobel Prize for Peace: empathy, equality, non-violent conflict resolution, and acceptance. Children of different cultures are depicted in friendly interactions, enjoying themselves and making God happy. With simple logic, the text explains a doctrine of love, erases perceived differences among children, and demonstrates that the world is a much, much nicer place if everyone agrees to get along.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are a total crank and your doctrine of atheism trumps any moral messages that might appear in a book that assumes the existence of a divine being.

My Voice Will Go with You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson

Edited and with Commentary by: Sidney Rosen

First line: "What you don't realize, Sid, is that most of your life is unconsciously determined."

Why you should read this book: Milton Erickson was a brilliant therapist who effected widespread change in many of his clients through hypnosis, reframing, startling powers of observation, reverse psychology, and other methods of delving into the psyche to diagnose, confront, and disperse the cause and symptoms of neurosis. This book presents many of his "teaching tales," small stories from real life that serve as uplifting instructional tales, hypnotic inductions, post-hypnotic suggestions, and persuasive reasoning that work on conscious and subconscious levels, along commentary categorizing the tales based on types of problems and solutions and explains how and why each method was effective for the client. Erickson's stories are uplifting, entertaining, funny, touching, and profound, presenting one message that is easily heard and other messages that burrow into the mind and create mental health stability from the inside out.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're busy coddling your neuroses.

George's Secret Key to the Universe

Authors: Lucy and Stephen Hawking

First line: Pigs don't just vanish, thought George as he stood staring into the depths of the very obviously empty pigsty.

Why you should read this book: When one of the world's most brilliant living theoretical physicists teams up with his novelist daughter to pen the science-fiction response to Harry Potter, anyone with an interest in science or speculative fiction has got to take notice. The story follows George, the son of Luddite eco-warriors, as he follows his wayward pig, Freddy, into the forbidden house next door, where he meets absent minded scientist, Eric, his fanciful daughter, Annie, and his mind-bogglingly useful laptop, Cosmos, which allows good-hearted users to travel through space without mucking around with rocketry or wasting time getting from place to place. When Eric's former colleague, G. Reeper, discovers the computer's existence, his dastardly plan sends Eric hurtling toward a black hole, and it's up to George to unlock the secrets of the universe and save his friend.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You can't believe Hawking changed his mind about that whole "no escape from a black hole" thing.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Author: Barack Obama

First line: It's been almost ten years since I first ran for political office.

Why you should read this book: In language precise and sincere, Obama details his understanding of the American political process and the dreams of the American nation, laying out all the problems facing the American people and outlining potential solutions to those problem. Those who accuse the candidate of having little experience or understanding of politics must read this book to understand his wealth of knowledge, not just about the Constitution, the legislature, our history, the economy, morality, and foreign affairs, but also his in-depth comprehension of diplomacy, compromise, and ways to unite a divided nation. This is clear-headed doctrine that ought to hit the reading list of anyone (regardless of affiliation) who senses that America could be a healthier country than it is, and anyone who is ready to bring their nation into the twenty-first century with honor.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Neither the outcome of the 2008 American presidential election nor the position of the US in global policy have any bearing on your life.

The Watchmen

Author: Alan Moore

First line: Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach.

Why you should read this book: Quite possibly the finest and most influential graphic novel of all time, Alan Moore's masterpiece asks the questions, "What does it take to save humanity from itself, and who among us possesses the inhumanity to take action?" After its original publication, this book turned the industry upside-down with its tale of costumed superheroes and impending armageddon in world very much like our own. Spanning decades and generations, it is a story of love and determination, of men and women driven by compulsions larger than themselves, of fear and uncertainty, and of the self-determination required to believe the truth in a world shrouded in lies.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're reading Action Comics number one with a pair of tweezers and acid-free latex gloves.