Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire

Written by: Neil Gaiman and Shane Oakley

First line: Somewhere in the night, someone was writing.

Why you should read this book: It's hilarious, in a meta-fiction sort of way, combining an awareness of classic gothic horror tropes and their modern tendency toward hackneyed and comedic interpretation with the internal process of an author who's experienced perhaps too much success in in a particular genre. A man who lives in a world of macabre darkness, shambling terrors, and beleaguered damsels darting about horrible backdrops in sheer peignoirs wants desperately to pen realistic stories about his Lovecraftian universe, but finds himself sliding over and over into parody of his outrageous reality. His only hope is to pursue "fantasy": escapist fiction in the form of stories of heavy relationship drama.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Unless you have an intellectual sense of a humor, a good grounding in the classic horror genre, and some familiarity with the author's more popular work, you probably won't get the joke.