The Sandman Volume VI: Fables and Reflections

First line: It was getting late, and I was losing it fast.

Why you should read this book: It’s another collection of one-shots, many of which deal with historical incidents in which Dream’s interference in the mortal realm affected the course of human history. There’s also some nice development of the family drama along with some bits and pieces that demonstrate Dream’s interaction with and affect on ordinary citizens. Here and there, recurring characters and their important come a bit more into focus.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You were happy about the lack of Greek mythology in book four.

The Sandman Volume V: A Game of You

First line: What will we do, Prinado?

Why you should read this book: It turns out that a minor character from volume two is a major player in backwater corner of the Dreaming, but she’s been unable to return since Dream destroyed the Vortex. Barbie’s waking life and her dream world are in utter turmoil in her absence from her distant skerry, but her return might not improve either situation. It’s all very classically adventurous, plus you get a really fun sequence where a witch nails a dead guy’s face to a wall and makes it reveal its secrets.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: The thing with the dead guy’s face is kind of gross. 

The Sandman Volume IV: Season of Mists

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First line: Walk any path in Destiny’s garden, and you will be forced to choose, not once but many times.

Why you should read this book: For myriad reasons, primarily that he has a terrible job in a terrible location, Lucifer decides to quit, kicking all the demons and damned souls out of Hell and locking the door. As his final blow, he chooses to leave Dream the key to the gates, basically to punish him for making him look stupid in volume one. Now the dead are walking the earth, everybody and his mom wants that key, and Dream can’t enjoy a moment’s solitude until he figures out who’s getting Hell, who’s getting redemption, and who’s getting revenge.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’re disappointed that the Greek gods didn’t show up. 

The Sandman Volume III: Dream Country

First line: So, what is it?

Why you should read this book: This is a shorter volume, comprising four stand alone stories in the Sandman universe, two of which figure to varying extents later in the series. “Calliope” is the tale of a kidnapped muse, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is entirely about what cats want, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” offers a nice spin on an old classic, and “Façade” is a Death story that wonders what becomes of invulnerable superheroes who are just done with life. Satisfying tales that reframe the real world and the comic book one.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You crave continuous arcs. 

The Sandman Volume II: The Doll’s House

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First line: There are tales that are told many times.

Why you should read this book: We meet more of Dream’s extended family, including his sister-brother Desire, whose machinations form a complicated and irritating tapestry. Dream, chasing after a couple nightmares who escaped from the Dreaming during his absence, finds himself embroiled in another conundrum that could result in the death of an innocent girl. There’s also a nice bit about a convention of serial killers; a character who becomes immortal just by deciding not to die; a fairy tale; a drag queen; and a kid who has a ghost, a pregnant woman, and two nightmares living in his head.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’re sick and tired of your siblings meddling in your affairs. 

The Sandman Volume I: Preludes and Nocturnes

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Written by: Neil Gaiman

First line: Wake up, sir.

Why you should read this book: Volume one in one of the best fantasy stories to be told in any medium introduces the Sandman, Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, who has been imprisoned in the mortal realm for seventy years. That’s OK; Dream has all the time in the world to wait for his revenge, which is swift and satisfying when it comes. He spends the rest of the story cleaning up all the catastrophes that took place in his absence, and, as a bonus, we get two pages featuring Martian Manhunter. 

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You don’t care to become immersed in one of the best fantasy stories to be told in any medium.

The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History

Written by: Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple

First line: When I grow up I was to be a detective, just like my dad.

Why you should read this book: A little girl explains the known details of the historical case of the ghost ship Mary Celeste, which left New York on November 5, 1872 and was discovered abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic ocean a month later. With no signs of mutiny, piracy, or disease, the disappearance of the entire crew remains a great nautical mystery. This book sets the case up so that it is accessible to young readers, with vocabulary words on the page and theories stated factually, along with criticism.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’re not going to say it was aliens, but it was aliens.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Written by: Rebecca Skloot

First line: There's a photo on my wall of a woman I've never met, its left corner torn and patched together with tape.

Why you should read this book: It's mind-bogglingly good, an interdisciplinary work that melds science, psychology, history, ethics, journalism and a bunch of other guiding principles and somehow reads like a thriller, a page-turning story that makes you desperate to find out what happens to a wide cast of characters. Henrietta Lacks, a poor, uneducated black woman with 5 children, died of a really brutal form of cancer, cells of which were harvested from her body without her consent, and subsequently proved to be immortal and became the basis of most research in eradicating human disease. Many scientific advances were made based on her tissue, and many people got rich off it; meanwhile, Lacks's five motherless children suffered without health insurance or knowledge of what had really happened until the author set out to finally tell Henrietta's story. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe in consent.

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

Written by: Bonnie Jo Campbell

First line: Ed and I were making out by candlelight on the couch.

Why you should read this book: Bonnie Jo Campbell is a remarkable writer who constructs memorable, believable characters in tense, sometimes painful, always meaningful situations, and this short fiction collection may be her best work to date. I'm not even angry that the first story in this book won a prize in a contest in which one of my short stories was only awarded the designation of "finalist." Anyway, this book is awesome; you can't buy it yet, because I got an ARC from a librarian who wanted me to review it for her website (because Bonnie Jo is also a friend and former professor of mine), but you can advance order it, and look forward to the day that you can read it yourself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You haven't been in rehab very long.

Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness

Written by: Lyanda Lynn Haupt

First line: By all rights, I should never see the crow who perches almost daily on the electrical wire just beyond my study window.

Why you should read this book: It transcends the typical nature narrative by acknowledging the place that crows inhabit not only in the wild, but also in the human world, in both the physical and mythological realm. Weaving factual details along with the author's own story of depression and recovery, it's a small but powerful piece about the place of humans within their own sphere, with elements of biology, psychology, literature, spirituality, and education. A really impactful story, one that can help the reader open their eyes to the world around them, just as the author's relationship with real crows helped her to accomplish.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have no respect for scavengers.