This graphic novel recounts an eerie and sometimes funny work-visit to North Korea. The author is a Belgian animator visiting an outsourced animation studio. The food is terrible, the electricity is inconsistent, and the streets are deserted… unless an important diplomat is visiting. Delisle’s 30-story hotel is empty except for his floor, and he’s almost never allowed out without being accompanied by a “guide” attempting to control what he sees — in short, all of the typical North Korean illusions are in play. A well-drawn and compelling read. Scary, too.

A very readable, fascinating analysis of North Korean propaganda’s unique symbolism and its effect on the North Korean world-view—THE CLEANEST RACE will change the way you see the country, and not necessarily for the better. Ordinary North Koreans are not yearning for liberation, and they see no contradiction in proclaiming a state policy of self-reliance while simultaneously accepting aid from the United States. As for the government, to most outside observers, the idea that the North Korean leadership can take its own personality cult and falsified history seriously is absurd. But Myers’s thesis is that they do take it seriously, and this is why our diplomatic approach to the DPRK is bound to fail. (Hardcover, $24.95) Recommended by John.

Ernst Haeckel’s astonishingly beautiful scientific drawings from ART FORMS IN NATURE (KUNSTFORMEN DER NATUR) take you to another planet, one where strange and delicate Faberge eggs grow naturally; Haeckel drew them and carefully laid them out, arranged so that every aspect of them can be seen and admired. But Haeckel wasn’t just a talented draftsman and scientist — his colors are delicious and unusual, especially considering that he made these pieces in the early 1900s. (Paperback, $14.95) Recommended by John

NIGHT WORK by Thomas Glavinic is not an easy book–it shifts between scary and tedious pretty often, and you’re never told what exactly happened to cause the main character to be alone. But it’s a haunting book, one that will stay with you long after you read it, even if you read it all the way through and decide that you don’t really like it. All “last man on Earth” stories are fantasies, but this one is more of a nightmare. An occasionally boring nightmare. (Softcover, $15.00). Recommended by John.

THE WITCHES by Roald Dahl

The story is great, but it’s the writing and imagery that will stick with you for the rest of your life. Dahl’s depiction of the thoughts, actions, and appearance of the witches is chilling! It’s tricky how he does it, too, since the book is also really, really funny.  Recommended by John.  Softcover, $11.95.

FIVE NOVELS, by Daniel M. Pinkwater

There are five novels in here, and each of them is ten times funnier than the funniest thing you’ve ever read. If you read all of them, you’ll discover why it’s sometimes a good idea to serve an ice-cream-based dessert in a backpack. Also note that one of these novels is the sequel to the amazing Fat Men from Space, which you didn’t even know existed!  Recommended by John.  Softcover, $6.99.