Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Written by: Graham Annable

First line: Okay, who would like to go first?

Why you should read this book: A delightfully creepy anthology-style graphic novel with a frame story: an elementary teacher who, for some reason, is cheerfully inviting her students to tell her the eeriest stories they can think of. The tales are a little funny but quite spooky, appropriate for elementary students who enjoy horror (scary without being gory) and span a variety of subgenres: ghosts, sea monsters, aliens, dismembered talking corpses, interdimensional monsters that feed on fear. Wonderfully, the last story ties back to the frame to create a perfect circle of eeriness.

Why you shouldn't read this book: For some readers this book might be too extreme; for other, not extreme enough.

Castle in the Air

Written by: Diana Wynn Jones

First line: Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, a young carpet merchant called Abdullah lived in the city of Zanzib.

Why you should read this book: It is technically a sequel to the delighting Howl's Moving Castle, although for the majority of the book, it feels more like an homage to 1,001 Arabian Nights, and the connection to the original story doesn't become clear until chapter fourteen. Our protagonist, Abdullah, makes a modest living as a carpet salesman, barely tolerating the aggressive meddling of his distant relations, and dreaming primarily of beautiful gardens beyond his reach, until the day he is bullied into purchasing a shabby but magical flying carpet. Suddenly true happiness in the form of a beautiful princess is within his grasp, but Abdullah's quest to marry Flower-in-the-Night is constantly foiled by mortal and supernatural opposition, and he has a long road ahead of him if he is to ever come to the happy conclusion of his quest.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although I have seen the Miyazaki film about a hundred times, it's obviously different from the original novel, which I wish I had read before reading this one. 

A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy

Written by: Tia Levings

First line: This was my fault.

Why you should read this book: A young woman intent on finding the key to contentment falls hard into a dangerously misogynistic branch of Christian fundamentalism, entering into marriage with a violent and mentally ill man who promises her happiness, provided she can offer complete obedience and subjugate her personality and will to support his increasingly unstable decisions under the guise of church doctrine (spoiler alert: no human on earth could keep that guy happy). This is an intimate look into the high control cults made to appear wholesome and harmless to outsiders in popular media while crushing women, children, and anyone who cannot fully assimilate and stay within the strict and narrow boundaries prescribed by cult leaders. This book will break your heart, but if you aren't already aware of the danger posed by dominion theology (and based on the results of the last US presidential election, hundreds of millions of Americans are unaware of the danger posed by dominion theology), this book offers a chilling but sharp-eyed view into the workings of a movement that seeks to control your life and undermine American freedom on a macro level in the same horrific way that they almost destroyed Levings. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Brutal descriptions of domestic violence, infant death, and spiritual abuse. 

Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees

Written by: Thor Hanson

First line: The crossbow fired with a dull thwack and we watched its bolt disappear upward into the leaves and branches, trailing a length of monofilament fishing line that glinted in the scattered beams of sunlight.

Why you should read this book: Bees are fascinating even if you're not a biologist, and they're even more fascinating when you have a biologist to explain them to you. Spanning the entire apian world (not just honeybees!), this book details, in particular, the evolution of bees (from wasps who figured out how to live fully vegetarian lifestyles) and how that impacted the evolution of plants and the evolution of humans. Focusing on the tiny microcosms of bees' worlds, this book opens up a vast, active universe that most of us are simply too big and too busy to notice. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are ambivalent toward bees and have no interest in learning their secrets.

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels Book One

Written by: Nancy Springer and Serena Blasco

First line: Enola, you'll manage well on your own, won't you?

Why you should read this book: I usually find graphic novel adaptations woefully inadequate, but as I haven't read the original book (although I did see both films on Netflix) this one seemed decent to me. Young Enola, the little sister of Mycroft and Sherlock, has no interest in being forced into a corset or the role of a lady, and when her mother disappears, she employs her considerable intellect to escape the confines of the life others have laid out for her. Donning a variety of disguises, she runs away to London and sets up shop as a specialist in missing persons cases, managing to find several missing persons while successfully evading her brothers, without making much headway in finding her mother. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I'm guessing the original novel is better. It usually is. 

Myth-Chief

Written by: Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye

First line: "I still think this is a bad idea," my attractive administrative assistant said, as I reached for the door of the tent.

Why you should read this book: I was obsessed with this series about a young magician with more heart than talent in the '80s, but at some point it started to seem kind of silly and I think I missed the last 2 books of the original run, and didn't read any of the collaborations with Nye; however, this volume was on a table of free books at a sci-fi convention and is apparently one of the last things he did before his death, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Skeeve the Magnificent decides to come out of retirement and set up shop as a magical consultant for unsolvable problems, but the way he left his old crew and the way he comes back proves problematic for those he considers his friends. Soon, Skeeve and his old mentor Aahz are embroiled in a vicious and very silly contest involving ghosts, foxes, glitter, gold, romance, backstabbing, naming rights, character assassination, and a surprising amount of cake, to prove who is the best in the business.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you aren't fairly conversant with the series and the world its set in, this won't make very much sense. 

The Honeybee and the Robber

Written by: Eric Carle

First line: In a hive inside an old hollow tree, there lived a honeybee.

Why you should read this book: Gorgeously illustrated in Carle's signature style, this pull-tab book follows a honeybee through her busy day. It's an accessible but informative book that includes many interesting details about the realities of life for these beloved insects. Also includes two full pages of small-print nonfiction explanations for adults, corresponding to the action on each page of the larger book, so they can answer every single question about honeybees that might arise in the minds of children.

Why you should not read this book: Like all pull-tab books, the print edition is simply no match for children's fingers, and will soon be destroyed by curious and eager grabbing hands. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Written by: Shelby Van Pelt

First line: Darkness suits me.

Why you should read this book: Cameron can't keep a job or a girlfriend, and the pathetic state of his life at thirty he attributes to being abandoned by his drug-addict mother and never even knowing his father. Tova is serious, industrious, and all alone at an age where others are enjoying their grandchildren, following the deaths of her son, husband, and brother. Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus who has spent most of his life in an aquarium, and now, as he is about to achieve senescence, he's determined to use to use his keen intellect, sense of adventure, and deep understanding of human beings developed through four years of captivity, to show Cameron and Tova the important truths they cannot see through their own grief. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not really a romance novel, but it's got those kinds of ridiculous coincidences and silly writing that so often are the hallmarks of the genre.

The Hungry Clothes and Other Jewish Folktales

Written by: Peninnah Schram and Gianni De Conno

First line: Honi the Wise One was also known as Honi the Circle Maker.

Why you should read this book: This short, illustrated collection for children offers an assortment of Jewish folktales from different traditions and different eras, featuring kings, beggars, tricksters, and fools, offering moral lessons and opportunity for thought and discussion. There are the tales from the Talmud, tales from Israeli folklore, and tales from the twentieth century, all retold in the author's own voice, and often revised to suit her purpose. Rest assured, wickedness will be uncovered and forgiven, while faith and honesty will be recognized and rewarded.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Students of Jewish folklore (and even students of folklore in general) have likely already read versions of many or most of these stories. 

Beauty's Kingdom

Written by: Anne Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure)

First line: Ah such a long and wearying day.

Why you should read this book: Many years ago, when I was technically too young to be in possession of such materials, I read the original Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, a lush BDSM-themed fantasy series about a kingdom of sexual delights centered around a culture of naked pleasure slaves, which had a formative influence on my adolescent imagination. In this final installment, Rice takes a different angle on her fantasy and her characters, telling the story primarily from the perspective of older, wiser characters with greater personal power and agency, in many cases addressing issues of gender and class that were ignored and glossed over in the first three books, offering more modern and sensible views on the ethics and reality of sexual servitude: roles are reversed, switching is rampant, and morality is a major theme. While this new book is, perhaps, less erotic and less magical as a result, it is still provocative and thoughtful, and, for fans of the series, offers a welcome update on the characters and the world, with a satisfying conclusion that remains true to the heart of the original.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Obviously, if you aren't excited by the idea of a BDSM-theme fantasy series, this is not for you; further, if what you liked about the original was the non-consensual nature of the servitude (or the rigid views of gender and sexual roles, or the liberal views on age of consent) you may be disappointed.

Clorinda Takes Flight

Written by: Robert Kinerk and Steven Kellogg

First line: Clorinda the cow took the sun now and then in the back of a friend's house, the farmhand named Len.

Why you should read this book: Inspired by the flight of birds, Clorinda the cow becomes determined to fly herself, and enlists her friends, Hop the pig and Len the human to construct a flying machine to achieve her dream. Their initial efforts enjoy only limited success, but eventually they settle on the sensible solution of a hot air balloon. The balloon works like a charm, but poor Len is accidentally left behind as Clorinda and Hop fly over the country, across the ocean, and eventually make their way to England, where they take tea with the Queen and bring back a souvenir for Len.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's very silly. 

Llama Llama Time to Share

Written by: Anne Dewdney

First line: Llama Llama playing trains, driving trucks, and flying planes.

Why you should read this book: This is a read-aloud story in rhyming couplets for very young children, about the importance of sharing and the perils of not sharing. A new neighbor, Nelly Gnu, comes over to play with Llama Llama, and for a while he manages to handle this stranger playing with his toys, but when Nelly involves his favorite doll in the game, Llama finds he cannot share, with disastrous results. Eventually, the catastrophe is rectified and Llama learns it is more fun to share, and that doing so results in making new friends.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are over the age of seven and you know how to share. 

Leave Me Alone!

Written by: Vera Brosgol

First line: Once there was an old woman.

Why you should read this book: An old woman lives in a small house with a large family, and cannot seem to get a moment's peace to do her knitting without children interfering with the process. Winter is coming and her task is important, so she packs up and ventures through the land, looking for a little peace and quiet, but everywhere she goes, creatures seem determined to interfere with her work, even when she climbs onto the moon (where little green moon-men examine her with handheld scanners that go "beep boop"). Finally, the old woman finds an empty dimension where she can work alone, and the solitude of that strange place helps her appreciate the noise and commotion of her big family when she returns. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you found an empty dimension, you would never go back.