The Graveyard Book

Nobody Owens is anything but ordinary. After his entire family is killed, Nobody (aka Bod) is raised and educated by ghosts, werewolves, and people somewhere between life and death.
When Bod becomes a teen, he longs to learn about life outside the graveyard, and most importantly, to find Jack, the man who killed his family.
Winner of the Newbery Medal in 2009, Gaiman's book is part fantasy, part reality, part adventure, and all macabre.

Appeals: fast pace, elements of fantasy, tinges of horror and adventure

If you enjoy the dark adventure of The Graveyard Book, you might also enjoy Coraline (also by Neil Gaiman), or the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan.

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. 2008. 312 pages.

Bonus: Want to find out what author Neil Gaiman has been reading? Watch this video, courtesy of Salon.com

The White Tiger

Did you like the tale of murder from the murder's perspective, but wished Crime and Punishment had been funnier? Are you sick of books that paint fantastic, exotic pictures of India? Look no further! The White Tiger is here to serve your needs.
Told over seven days, in seven chapters, Munna, poor son of a rickshaw driver, tells his entrepreneurial tale of rags to riches that moves him from the countryside to Bangalore. His unapologetic account of his path to success involves stealing, abandoning his family, and murder.
Very darkly funny. Being good, dark humor, what lies beneath the surface is a tale of great tension that reveals the anger of someone destined to servitude.

Appeals: Dark humor, mystery that is slowly revealed, strong narrative voice

If you enjoy the the dark humor of The White Tiger, you might also enjoy A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul. You may also enjoy books that Aravind Adiga lists as his influences: The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, and the works of James Baldwin and Richard Wright.

Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. 2008. 276 pages.

The Maltese Falcon

Detective Sam Spade must unravel the case of two murders connected with a precious statue, a grifter named Joel Cairo, an obese man named Gutman, and a mysterious, beautiful woman named Brigid O'Shaughnessy.

Appeals: Gritty and stark atmosphere, hard-boiled detective story, a few steamy scenes, witty banter between characters, very masculine.

If you like classic detective stories, you might enjoy The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith or Crime Classics: The Mystery Story From Poe to Present (various authors).

Hammett, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon. 1930. 224 pages.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

The Professor and the Madman is a sensational story of how a mad murderer became one of the most important contributors to the construction of the first great index to the English language: the Oxford English Dictionary.

Appeals: Reads a bit like a thriller. Inside scoop on individuals that reveals a bigger story of the work entailed in creating a dictionary. Gruesome, gritty, and sure to improve your vocabulary. For word nerds and people interested in the dark depths of the human psyche.

If you like historic tales of murderers, you might also like The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson or In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. 1998. 288 pages.