The Lady from the Black Lagoon

Written by: Mallory O'Meara

First line: In 1954, Millicent Patrick was an artist working for the world-renowned special effects shop at Universal Studios in California, the movie company famous for its monsters.

Why you should read this book: Author and filmmaker O'Meara sets out to prove that artist Milicent Patrick truly was the creator of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon design, and that an insecure male makeup artist acted maliciously to erase her contribution, take credit for her work, and ruin any possibility of her working in Hollywood because he was jealous of the recognition she received for her efforts (and her beauty). Simply tracking down the story of a blacklisted woman in an era during which movies didn't credit most of the people working on them turns out to be a story in itself, braided with O'Meara's own experience with sexism in Hollywood, and the book unfolds as part biography, part history, and part personal narrative, with emotional twists and turns, biting humor and withering observations. As I read this satisfying journey of a book, I felt a certain kinship with the tattooed, blue-haired, monster-loving author, whose personality shines through in every line of prose, and was therefore not too surprised when my best friend saw me with a copy and said, "Oh, you're reading my friend Mallory's book."

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your entire career is predicated on taking credit for other people's work.