From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation

Written by: Gene Sharp

First line: One of my major concerns for many years has been how people could prevent and destroy dictatorships.

Why you should read this book: Based on a study of numerous countries that made a shift from dictatorship to democracy, Sharp outlines the process of employing proven tactics of nonviolent struggle to overthrow fascist regimes. His findings can be summarized in two words—solidarity and persistence—and the very short book does an excellent job of explaining how to employ these tactics, and why they work. The appendix comprises a list of 198 nonviolent actions that can be employed by the resistance to chip away at a regime's power, generate sympathy for the cause, and cause oppressive governments to crumble and cede power to the people.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You support a fascist dictator.

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

Written by: Rolf Potts

First line: Not so long ago, as I was taking a slow, decrepit old mail steamer down Burma's Irrawaddy River, I ran out of things to read.

Why you should read this book: If you've ever thought, "I should sell my house, quit my job, and spend the rest of my life bumming around the world," this book can help you fantasize/visualize what that might look like. It's a fast read, beginning and punctuating every chapter with quotes from modern vagabonds and profiles of historical ones (like Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau), and concluding with a list of print and online resources for the topic of each chapter. Detailing the difference between tourists and vagabonds (i.e. "real" travelers), and offering instructions for leaving the old life behind to taking up a new existence of open-minded freedom on the road, this is a fast read.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Indoor plumbing. Clean sheets. Central air conditioning.

Dragonology: Tracking and Taming Dragons A Deluxe Book and Model Set Volume 1 European Edition

Written by: Ernest Drake

First line: "Where can I find dragons?" is such a common refrain these days that it seems to crop up almost every time our favourite flying beasts are mentioned.

Why you should read this book: In truth, I purchased it in careless error, thinking I was buying a souped-up edition of the original Dragonology book, but alas, this "Tracking and Taming" "Guide for Beginnings" is a sort of small and silly pamphlet with brief overviews of the fictional world of Dragonology, along with some very basic notes about tracking and training animals, which might be applied to a dragon if one were to be found. The illustrations are amusing but, for the most part, not particularly clever or interesting. The book itself is basically a companion for the actual meat of this product, which is a really lovely dragon model, comprised of twelve pieces that can be easily assembled by the youngest model makers and hung from the ceiling; purchase it if you or your child want to assemble a beautiful but very simple three-dimensional dragon, not if you want to read an engaging book (and not if you're into really complex models, which this is not).

Why you shouldn't read this book: You want to read the original Dragonology book.

An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life

Author: The Dalai Lama

First line: I believe that every human being has an innate desire for happiness and does not want to suffer.

Why you should read this book: Comprising four days of teaching by his holiness in New York City in 1999, this book explains, to the Western reader, the basic tenets of Buddhism, along with increasingly complex instruction for setting oneself on the path to happiness and freedom from suffering. Beginning with the causes of suffering, he draws upon thousands of years of teaching to offer both secular and spiritual audiences a deeper understanding of meditation, clear thought, and compassion for all sentient beings. This book can be read on many levels, as a simple informational work about an ancient tradition, or a blueprint for ones own enlightenment, to be constructed within the framework of the modern world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You enjoy your suffering.

The Guide to Self-Sufficiency

Author: John Seymour

First line: In the lives we lead today, we take much for granted, and few of us indeed remember why so many so-called advanced civilizations of the past simply disappeared.

Why you should read this book: If you've ever seriously considered living off the fat of the land, generating the necessary provisions for your family by the sweat of your brow through the earth's natural bounty while forsaking the materialistic trappings of the modern world, this is your guide. Every page brims with step-by-step instructions for those essential arts that are often forgotten in our society: farming, animal husbandry, brewing, baking, canning, building fences, weaving baskets, even plans for simple, effective natural energy from sun, water, and air. Reprinted many times since its first run in 1976, some version of this book is invaluable for anyone who senses that toiling for ones own survival and creating even the smallest sense of self-sufficiency in a world run by corporations can be joyful, liberating, and perhaps the greatest adventure upon which one can embark.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You'd rather spend your life in a cubicle and buy things wrapped in plastic when you feel sad.

Sonoran Desert Wildflowers

Author: Richard Spellenberg

First line: This guide is designed for the identification of wildflowers and shrubs and trees with showy flowers from the Sonoran Desert north of Mexico, an area covering much of southeastern California and southern Arizona.

Why you should read this book: The introduction puts it pretty succinctly, and you certainly could use it as a guide to identify Sonoran wildflowers; that was my intended purpose, anyway, but once I got it home, I became much more interested in reading it to see common names like "yellow-throat monkeyflower," "hoary tansy-aster," and "rosy desert-beard tongue," along with scientific descriptions like "densely glandular-hairy." Overall, it's a neat little book with full-color photographs for every species, detailed physical descriptions, and lots of interesting extra information, sometimes lyrical and lovely. Organized by color, the guide is easy to use, fun to read, and includes a glossary, an index, and an additional reading list.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You neither want to identify wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert nor amuse yourself by reading bizarre plant names.