Maus: A Survivor's Tale I: My Father Bleeds History

Written by: Art Spiegelman

First line: It was summer, I remember.

Why you should read this book: Still the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer, this powerful memoir intertwines the story of young Vladek Spiegelman's ordeal living through the early days of World War II, and the tale of his adult son, decades later, struggling to understand the angry and difficult man his father has become. The simple metaphor of Jews as mice and Germans as cats does little to dehumanize the triumphs and increasing struggles of the protagonists, for whom basic survival becomes a full time occupation. Potent and heart-rending, this is a serious work of literature wrapped in  black and white drawings.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I personally don't read Holocaust literature after the sun goes down, because it gives me nightmares.