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.

The Giver

Written by: Lois Lowry

First line: It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.

Why you should read this book: Above all, sameness is prized in Jonas’s community, where everyone is content and cared for, and everyone conforms to the rules, unless they want to be “Released” and go live “Elsewhere.” When he turns twelve, the age at which all children have their future careers revealed to them by the Elders, Jonas is selected to become the Receiver of Memories, to learn and hold all the history—good and bad—that the community has chosen to forget in order to create their perfect society. What Jonah learns from the old Receiver, now the Giver, shreds his faith in his world and causes him to question everything and everyone he has ever known.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You never question authority.

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato

Written by: Lauren Child First line: I have this little sister, Lola. Why you should read this book: Lola does not eat carrots, peas, potatoes, or fish sticks, along with a long list of arbitrary foods that offend her delicate sensibilities. This makes it difficult for her big brother, Charlie, to feed her dinner, until he renames the despised foods and provides them with fabulous back-stories, which turn carrots, peas, potatoes, and fish into tempting treats. Once she realizes how delicious a varied diet is, Lola decides that she can transcend the limitation of her own restrictions by reimagining the names and origins of other formerly untouchable foodstuffs. Why you shouldn’t read this book: You don’t eat green things either, and you don’t think it’s ever OK to lie to children, whether or not it's in their best interest, whether or not they're in on the joke.

Mockingjay

Written by: Suzanne Collins

First line: I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather.

Why you should read this book: After surviving an unprecedented two Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is scarred, physically and mentally, still reeling from a concussion, and no more free as a rebel than she was as a resident of District Twelve. Now that she understands the nature of the game that's still being played even outside the arena, she recognizes that everyone wants her as a pawn, and she's determined not to be manipulated. Who will she trust, who will she betray, and, ultimately, who will she love?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've met the new boss and determined that s/he is the same as the old boss.

Catching Fire

Written by: Suzanne Collins

First line: I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea bag has long since leached into the frozen air.

Why you should read this book: Katniss and Peeta have survived the Hunger Games, but they realize they can never relax or enjoy the luxurious lifestyle their victory should afford them. Katniss's subtle acts of rebellion have fueled uprisings all over the districts, and the presidents holds her personally accountable for the dissent. The Capitol will never allow her to live her own life, but will remind her, at every turn, that she, and everyone she knows, is subject to the whims of a hard-hearted government that encourages unfeeling citizens to look upon her survival as fodder for the world's greatest entertainment.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You will tolerate no acts of treason.

Every Thing On It

Written by: Shel Silverstein

First line: Although I cannot see your face/As you flip these poems awhile,/Somewhere from some far-off place/I hear you laughing—and I smile.

Why you should read this book: Fans of Silverstein’s previous collections of ridiculous rhymes for precocious children and immature adults have cause to rejoice. Every Thing On It is more of what made the author’s poetry for young people famous: ridiculous reversals, tender magic, bad manners, creatures that eat children, and illustrations that feature strangely proportioned humans and unusual animals. Mixed in with the giggle-worthy poems are some more thought-provoking themes demonstrating Silverstein’s growth as a writer and his more introspective side.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You disapprove of nonsense, bad behavior, and whimsical deaths.

People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil

Written by: M. Scott Peck, MD

First line: This is a dangerous book.

Why you should read this book: The central thesis of this work proposes a new diagnostic category of neurosis, in which evil should be considered a subset of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Using a small number of case studies, the author describes individuals who, due to extreme selfishness, lack of self-examination, and some other, inexplicable delight in irritating other people, literally suck the life and liveliness out of those around them. The narrative also includes a discussion of the author’s personal experience with Satan, as witnessed in two successful exorcisms, along with a look at group evil, as seen in the Mylai Massacre, and offers a short summary of what such a diagnosis would mean for psychological professionals at large.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: Even the most open-minded secular reader is likely to experience intense skepticism throughout the chapter on exorcism, which tends to diminish some of the argument.

The Rebellious Alphabet

Written by: Jorge Diaz

First line: The Little General was the ruler of a very big village, even though he was very small.

Why you should read this book: A grown-up political story allegorized as a childrens’ picture book, it tells of an oppressive regime wherein reading, writing, and thinking is outlawed by an ignorant and childish tyrant. A freedom-loving intellectual discovers a way to create a natural printing press using clever canaries and an ink-soaked sponge, and is able to spread a message of liberty to his people, eventually eliminating the power of the oppressive regime. This is an intelligent story that be enjoyed by people of all ages who love freedom, liberty, and literacy, and bristly under the threat of censorship, tyranny, and lies.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You oppose freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression.

What My Mother Doesn’t Know

Written by: Sonya Sones

First line: Most people just call me Sophie/(which is the name/on my birth certificate)/or Sof/or sometimes Sofa.

Why you should read this book: This easy-to-read novel in verse offers a glimpse into the mind of fifteen-year-old Sophie, who enjoys sketching, worries about her parents’ constant fighting, and thinks obsessively about kissing boys. From the physical attraction to Dylan, which fizzles and fades as she gets to know him better, to her intellectual desire for Murphy, the least popular boy in her class, this honest story shows the progression of Sophie’s growth. Along the way, she defies her mother, foils a cyber-predator, gets improperly grabbed by a drunk sophomore, purchases five pairs of ridiculous panties, and learns that things are going to be all right.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You are disgusted by teenagers with raging hormones.

A Step from Heaven

Written by: An Na

First line: Just to the edge, Young Ju.

Why you should read this book: A powerhouse of a YA novel, this award-winning story tells of the childhood of Young Ju, a little girl born in Korea, who moves with her family to America in search of a better life. While navigating the currents of the American public school system when you don’t speak English isn’t difficult enough, Young Ju’s home life—which she must keep secret from all the Americans around her—can never be a place of refuge. Growing up in the miasma of her father’s alcoholism and abuse, she struggles to satisfy her parents’ expectation for a Korean girl, her friends’ understanding of American customs, and her own hopes and dreams.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: Some graphic domestic violence.