The Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Written by: Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

First line: I know not whether you came to me or I to you. 

Why you should read this book: This book is pretty much exactly the same as the first Dream Hunters book, except that it's done in the style of a traditional graphic novel, with comic panels and word bubbles, and there's less text than in the first one. It's still the story of the surprising love between a monk and a fox spirit, both of whom appeal to the Dream King and make the ultimate sacrifice for each other. Also, in this this volume, Gaiman admits that he wrote the story himself and didn't adapt it from an ancient Japanese text, which had apparently been confusing scholars for a while. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I could say that it doesn't make sense out of the context of all the other Sandman books, but actually, it works fine as a stand-alone story.

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Written by: Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano

First line: A monk lived in solitude beside a temple on the side of a mountain.

Why you should read this book: This unusual, yet beautifully illustrated volume, which purports to be a translation of an ancient Japanese fairy tale, tells of the unlikely relationship between an ascetic monk and a beautiful fox spirit. The two neighbors fall in love with each other, and when the fox learns of a supernatural threat to the monk's life, she appeals to the Dream King for help and offers her own up in order to save him. The monk then appeals to the Dream King for help and offers up his own life to save her right back. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not actually an ancient Japanese fairy tale.

One Candle

Written by: Eve Bunting and K. Wendy Popp

First line: This Hanukkah is like every other one.

Why you should read this book: A little girl tells about her family's Hanukkah celebration, including the story of why her aunt has brought one potato that doesn't get made into latkes. The older relatives explain how, during World War II, they survived the winter at Buchenwald, pilfering a single potato, a little margarine, and a piece of string, in order to made a candle to celebrate Hanukkah. With the inclusion of the extra potato in their celebration, they can remember their family history and honor their ancestors. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're very hungry.

FGTeeV: The Switcheroo Rescue!

Written by: FGTeeV and Miguel Diaz Rivas

Why you should read this book: This lightweight and primarily nonsensical graphic novel is basically a long advertisement for a real life family's gaming-based YouTube channels. What starts out as a Freaky-Friday type body-swap story morphs into a battle between giant gaming suits as the antagonist from a previous volume—an evil VR AI—seeks to escape the confines of the machine and take on an existence in the real world. The family, along with an annoying neighbor child, must work together to defeat the big boss before it completely ruins a game tournament and presumably goes on to take over every console on the planet. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Besides being an advertisement for a family's YouTube channels, it's clearly written by committee, there's not a single original idea in the entire thing, and a lot of the plot depends on pointless stereotypes.

Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good

Written by: Louie Stowell

Why you should read this book: This book is basically Diary of a Wimpy Kid if Greg Heffley came by his sense of entitlement and superiority honestly, by virtue of being an actual god. Here we have Loki, Norse god of mischief, sentenced to one month on Earth in the powerless body of a little boy, told that he must earn his return back to Asgard through the doing of good deeds, or else face the eternal torment of snake poison dripping on his face. Having very few redeeming qualities, he spends the first thirty days of his imprisonment being horrible to everyone around him, including the other gods—Thor, Heimdall, and Hyrrokkin—who, for some reason, must experience the punishment of posing as his normal human family, and then, on the thirty-first day, he does one decent thing for one person who wouldn't have needed his help in the first place if his presence on Earth hadn't put her in mortal danger, and gets a temporary reprieve from Odin, on the condition that he stay on Earth and continue trying not to be horrible.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you didn't love Diary of a Wimpy Kid you probably won't get much out of this book.

 

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Written by: Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D.

First line: One does not have to be a combat soldier, or visit a refugee camp in Syria or the Congo to encounter trauma.

Why you should read this book: Written for a lay audience, this is the summation of thirty years of research, experimentation, theory, and work on the subject of trauma: what it is, what it does, and what we, as vulnerable humans can do to counteract its pernicious effects. Van der Kolk describes his introduction to working with traumatized Viet Nam veterans and how his experience led him to dig more deeply into the neurology of trauma and its potential treatments, as well as the important discussion of childhood trauma, and how it impacts untreated adults. Almost half of the book, however, details the various types of treatment that the author and his colleagues have found most effective, with impressive data demonstrating how appropriate treatment can turn around the life of an individual who has always suffered from the pain of the past, returning to them the possibility of a fulfilling life. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You yourself have never experienced anything unpleasant in life, and neither has anyone you've ever met.

Trees Volume 1

Written by: Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

First line: We can see them from up high.

Why you should read this book: It's been ten years since the strange, silent alien entities known as "trees" rooted themselves around the globe, never acknowledging the human populace of Earth, but impacting every aspect of life for those who live in their shadows. This volume focuses on a number of characters: a young Chinese art student, far from home and falling in love with a trans woman he just met; a group of researchers stationed at a remote outpost in frigid northern Norway; politicians in Somalia and New York; a professor and the girlfriend of a gangster-fascist in Italy. For ten years, the trees have stood silently, but now, something is changing, and the trees, it seems are about to speak.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Well, I wish I had acquired the subsequent seven volumes before I started.

Megan's Island

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: There was one week of school left on the day peculiar things began to happen.

Why you should read this book: Megan is excited to spend the summer swimming and roller skating with her best friend, but instead she and her brother find themselves whisked off to their grandfather's cabin at the lake before school even ends, forbidden to share their whereabouts with anyone. While they try to settle in to this unsettling turn of events, Megan and her brother meet another kid staying on the lake, and, because this is a Willo Davis Roberts book, they soon begin to notice that the adults who are supposed to be protecting them are too self-involved to do so, and that other, less loving adults seem to hanging around with bad intention. Why is Megan's mom so anxious, and why have they moved so often, and why can't Megan just tell her friend why they left town so suddenly?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are suing for grandparents' rights to children who don't even know you exist.

Anglerfish: The Seadevil of the Deep

Written by: Elaine M. Alexander and Fionna Fogg

First line: Far, far below the ocean's surface where no trace of sunlight can reach, Anglerfish makes her home.

Why you should read this book: An informative, nonfiction picture book that makes the life cycle of the strange, deep sea creature called the anglerfish feel like high drama. Living in the blackest depths of the ocean, this creature has developed intriguing strategies for feeding and reproduction that make their ordinary lives read like science fiction, all engagingly illustrated here. Also includes a detailed appendix with further factual details about the ocean, hunting and mating, related species, and even a glossary. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You find this creepy nightmare demon fish terrifying.

Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness

Written by: Maria Gianferrari and Pete Oswald

First line: Can you be like a dog?

Why you should read this book: Living mindfully, completely engaged in the moment, can be difficult for human beings, but it comes easily and naturally to our favorite companion animals. This book advises readers about how to "be like a dog": to remain present in the body, to breathe and eat and play, to feel ones feelings and release them, to interact with the world with an open heart and an open mind. There's even a section that prompts children to use all five senses as a dog would, along with extra facts about dogs, and a final page to return the reader to the human experience with instructions for mindful breathing.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a cat.