My Lobotomy

Written by: Howard Dully and Charles Fleming

First line: This much I know for sure: I was born in Peralta Hospital in Oakland, California, on November 30, 1948.

Why you should read this book: For whatever reason, Howard Dully's stepmother never much liked him, and even though most of the doctors she consulted thought the problem was hers, not his, she kept searching for a final solution, until Dr. Walter Freeman suggested there was simply nothing like a nice, definitive lobotomy to permanently calm down a twelve-year-old boy. While his stepmother never allowed him back into the house, what followed for Howard was decades of a foggy, confusing, and seemingly perpetual childhood, until the day he awakened to himself and decided it was time to become an adult. This surprising memoir chronicles his journal from juvenile delinquent to inspirational public speaker, as he struggles to make his way in the world and try to understand what happened to him that day in the hospital, and how anyone could have ever made such permanent decisions regarding a young child.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're looking for a good way to get your stepkids out of the house.

The Warlord of Mars

Written by: Edgar Rice Burroughs

First line: In the shadows of the forest that flanks the crimson plain by the side of the Lost Sea of Korus in the Valley Dor, beneath the hurtling moons of Mars, speeding their meteoric way close above the bosom of the dying planet, I crept stealthily along the trail of a shadowy form that hugged the darker places with a persistency that proclaimed the sinister nature of its errand.

Why you should read this book: The incomparable Dejah Thoris has been locked in a tower with one faithful friend and one self-centered psychopath, and John Carter finds himself always one step behind in his attempts to rescue his beloved. Coveted by a holy Thern, a First Born, and pretty much every powerful man who sees her, the princess is dragged from the forbidden south pole of Mars, from which no man has ever returned, to the forbidden north pole of Mars, from which no man has ever returned, with John Carter always following close behind, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. Already a wanted man for his work discrediting the evil religion of Mars, he stands for truth (when it suits him), justice (when there's time), and the bloody overthrow of tyrants (always), and lets his martial instinct guide him as he saves everyone on Barsoon from ignorance and the sad state of not submitting to the will of John Carter.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a big advocate of democracy.

The Gods of Mars

Written by: Edgar Rice Burroughs

First line: As I stood upon the bluff before my cottage on that clear cold night in the early part of March, 1886, the noble Hudson flowing like the grey and silent spectre of a dead river below me, I felt again the strange, compelling influence of the mighty god of war, my beloved Mars, which for ten long and lonesome years I had implored with outstretched arms to carry me back to my lost love.

Why you should read this book: Returned after a ten-year absence to his beloved Barsoomian home, John Carter finds himself unfortunately deposited in the forbidden Valley Dor by the lost Sea of Korus, the promised paradise of the Martian religion, from which place it is forbidden to return. Rather than heaven on Mars, however, the Valley Dor is a flat-out horror-fest, where pilgrims are eaten by hideous plant men and white apes, or else forced into slavery under the immoral holy Therns, who themselves live under the brutal hand of the wicked firstborn. If you read the first book, you know that John Carter must battle his way through untold danger, accompanied by faithful companions new and old, to overthrow the tyrant, save the damsel in distress, and prove his own superiority as the universe's ultimate fighting champion.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You can't stand cliffhanger endings.

The Gift of the Willows

Written by: Helena Clare Pittman

First line: Yukiyo Takasama of Shinjo was a potter.

Why you should read this book: A potter nurtures a pair of willow saplings he finds on the banks of the river where he gathers his clay. Thanks to his kindness, the trees grow strong, even through weather that kills other trees. When the weather turns dangerous and the potter, his wife, and his infant child must flee their home, the tenacious trees aid them in their escape.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're clear cutting your land to make a few bucks on lumber.

The Dragon Nanny

Written by: C.L.G. Martin

First line: Nightfall brought a chilly dampness to the forest.

Why you should read this book: Poor Nanny Nell Hannah: the king has fired her from her position as nanny to the royal children for the crime of being old, she's cold and tired, and now an irate and territorial mother dragon is going to eat her alive. But Nanny Nell Hannah is one step ahead of everyone else, and manages to secure a new nanny positive, to a pair of large but wonderful baby dragons. The only problem is that Nanny Nell Hannah is a kind and loving woman, and as nanny to a pair of baby dragons, she's charged with teaching them anger, an emotion she never feels.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe senior citizens belong in the workplace.

On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894

Written by: Laura Ingalls Wilder with a setting by Rose Wilder Lane

First line: For seven years there had been too little rain.

Why you should read this book: If you loved Wilder's Little House books, return to the world of the intrepid pioneer with this short diary, chronicling Laura, Manly, and Rose's five-week drive from drought-stricken South Dakota to prosperous Missouri. Along the way, Wilder describes the country she crosses, the people she meets, and the little adventures to be had in a caravan, in the focused and intelligent prose for which she's known. The forward and afterward, written by her daughter, who was seven at the time of the trip, paints a complete picture of life with the Wilder family, and the reality of the situation they left, and they one they came into.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're obsessed with the young Melissa Gilbert.

A Shelter in Our Car

Written by : Monica Gunning

First line: Police cars are coming closer!

Why you should read this book: Zettie’s family had high hopes for a better life when they came to America, but now Zettie’s mom can’t find a good job, and they have to sleep in their old car and wash up in the park bathroom, because that's still better than staying at the homeless shelter. Boys at school tease her, and she dreams of her old life in warm Jamaica where her mother made real hot chocolate, or at least a warm shower and a real bed. This illuminating, heartbreaking, and hopeful story details the reality of homelessness among women and children in America.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’ve decided to tear down your starter mansion to build an even bigger mansion, and you call the police whenever you see a car that doesn't look nice enough for your neighborhood.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

Written by: Jim DeFede

First line: Where are you going?

Why you should read this book: As America reeled through the devastating events of September, 11 2001, thousands of international passengers bound for the States were rerouted to the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland, where the friendliest people you’ll ever meet pulled out all the stops to provide the waylaid travelers with food, shelter, companionship, and hope. Immigrants seeking US soil for the first time, Americans just trying to get home, and Europeans ready to turn around and haead back to the continent all found solace in the warm hospitality of the Newfies who cooked, cleaned, acted as tour guides, facilitated communication with loved ones, and opened their homes and hearts to the stranded group. A truly moving and heartwarming story about the small-town values that were in such high demand in those terrible and uncertain days.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’re a terrorist.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Written by: John Perkins

First line: It began innocently enough.

Why you should read this book: Vetted by the NSA and recruited from the Peace Corps by a private corporation, the author spends the majority of his adult years as an economic hit man, his job to convince developing nations to take out massive loans for unnecessary infrastructure development, and pay the money to American firms intent on controlling oil and other resources, after which the small nations would necessarily default on their loans and thus become pawns of the US government, forced to favor US military, industrial, and political interests in exchange for financial leniency. In clear and honest prose, he describes how he accomplished this goal time and again in South America and the Middle East, and how he squashed his conscience time and again, as the financial and personal rewards of his work overwhelmed his moral compass. This chilling and important exposé diffuses the smoke of decades of sinister, secretive American Empire building, beginning with the American coup against Iran's democratically elected leader for the heinous crime of refusing to sell his country out to an oil company, and dramatically details the true forces of history that are relentless in their drive to transform the world into a corporatocracy in which the poorest peoples of the world become slaves to the desires of a small elite class.

Why you shouldn't read this book: On the one hand, if Perkins hadn't gotten quite so dirty, there would be no one to tell this important story, but on the other hand, at times it's hard to swallow his moral equivocation, as he assures the reader over and over than he knew his actions were wrong, but other factors tempted him to continue. But this is an important book, and if you think the war in Iraq is justified, or can't imagine why 9/11 happened, or drive a car that runs on gasoline, you should probably read this book.

When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry...

Written by: Molly Bang

First line: Sophie was busy playing when...her sister grabbed Gorilla.

Why you should read this book: This brightly-colored, high-interest book for small children perfectly captures the emotional intensity of a temper tantrum and its aftermath, and entirely captures the attention of young readers. Denied the right to play with the toy her sister wants, and further enraged by tripping over the toy that remains, Sophie explodes, the violence of her rage represented by giant red words cleverly worked into the pictures. While the aggression of the story gets readers worked up, the author takes her protagonist on a cool-down run through the woods, where Sophie cries out her pain, calms down, and lets the power of nature fill her with comfort.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You never lose your temper.