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.