As the mother of an only child, I had one chance to get the first day of school right. There would be no learning curve for kids two, three and four… no second chances. So in preparation, I started digging into our bookshelves early so no book would be left unread. Sure, throughout the summer we had plenty of reads of Mrs. Bindergarten and her ilk, but my son and I collect vintage children’s books, and I knew there must be some titles in our backlist that were relevant to the future class of 2023. Out of the dozens of stories we sampled over the last few months, these were the ones that floated to the top, that I turned to over and over again in helping to usher my son into young-manhood. I hope they help with the first morning jitters. School’s a long row to hoe so you might as well drag a few good books along.

Less than half a century after John Erskine taught the first college course based on “Great Books” (also known as the “Western canon”), confidence that higher education curricula could center on “Great Books” collapsed. Neither Allan Bloom’s passionate defense of a “Great Books” curriculum (in 1987's The Closing of the American Mind), nor Harold Bloom’s offering of a great critic’s particular list of great books (in 1994's The Western Canon), were able to prevent higher education from sliding over to the “smorgasbord” approach, where students choose to study whatever they want.

Except for a few pockets — St. John’s College, Annapolis, Columbia University, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas at The University of Texas, Austin — there are few places today where people think of college as a time and place to study “Great Books.” All eyes are focused on future employment, a place where people don’t care one way or the other whether students have studied Shakespeare or Stephen King. All that matters is that college graduates read and write well enough to help a company earn profits.

Although my higher education contained many required courses, it was by no means a “Great Books” curriculum. Only by happy accident and sheer will did I find my way to most of the books I’ve read that show up on “Great Books” lists. Yet the serendipitous approach to discovering great books has some benefits. Readers get to figure out that a book is great all on their own, without being told ahead of time that it’s great. More important, readers discover great books that, for inexplicable reasons, never made it onto the “Great Books” list.

I’m not talking about great books written by authors from non-Western cultures that only now are considered part of Western culture (e.g., the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart). And I’m not talking about great books within particular genres, like, say, the best Ross Macdonald detective novels. The books I’m talking about are books that ought to be on just about every “Great Books” list, but for inexplicable reasons never seem to make the cut. I think of them as books that are “off the beaten canon.” Here are five examples of what I mean.

My novel, With Friends like These, has a strong theme of betrayal by a friend — the kind of person I like to call a "friend fatale". To inspire my writing I started with the Bible, moved on to Shakespeare — Julius Caesar! Othello! Macbeth! — then devoured the holy grails of heartfelt betrayal you see below.

What takes a friend to friend-fatale? It has everything to do with the deftness of their method, since the dueling is all the darker when a character does it on the sly. While the bylaws of friendship don’t require full disclosure of behavior, the chicanery in these novels — a healthy mix of classics and clever chick lit — is as deft as a sharp knife in the back.

I write historical fiction because I’m fascinated by the depth and complexity of the human experience; I write fast-paced books because that’s what keeps me turning the pages when the rest of life is trying to pull me away. It can be challenging to make a true story sound like the truth; as Mark Twain said, “Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”

But Mother Nature is the ultimate thriller writer, and doesn't have to follow any rules. Because I’ve lived in and traveled to places that experience a disproportionately large number of natural disasters, I’ve developed a taste for (or perhaps I should say morbid interest in) tales of terror inspired by the earth itself. Here are six of my favorites:

Lolling away time at the beach on a summer day is definitely on my list of favorite things, and a book is an essential accompaniment. But not just any book will do; summer reading at its best is captivating but not cloying, thought-provoking but not ponderous. That’s why the books on this list — each a wonderful mélange of culture and memorable characters — fit perfectly.

Some of the most influential and interesting people in the world are fictional. Sherlock Holmes, Huck Finn, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, Holden Caulfield, and Superman, to name a few, may never have walked the earth (or flown, in Superman's case), but they certainly stride through our lives. We can feel their influence personally: as childhood friends, catalysts to our dreams, or even fantasy lovers.

Peruvian author and presidential candidate Mario Vargas Llosa confessed to a lifelong passion for Flaubert's Emma Bovary. (For me, it was a toss-up between Sherlock Holmes and Jean Valjean.) Words such as "quixotic," "oedipal," and "herculean" show how fictional characters permeate our language, and what's more, fictional people can sometimes change the world. Witness the impact of Solzhenitsyn's Ivan Denisovich, in exposing the conditions of the Soviet Gulag, or Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom, in arousing anti-slavery feeling in America. Characters have a life and history of their own, which we can trace through the books, films, art, and music about them. The most influential characters are still making news!

This list, drawn from my book, The Fictional 100, ranks the top 10 most influential fictional persons in world literature and legend, from all time periods and all around the world. Some are familiar, and some may be surprising. The books I'm recommending let these characters speak in their own voices, through the stories that gave them birth or that have proven to be highlights in their fictional careers.

A few years ago, my sister introduced me to the burgeoning genre of Young Adult fiction, and I haven't looked back. There's such an enormous variety in this genre and, if you haven't picked up a YA book in a while, you'll be surprised by how wonderful the writing can be and how much fun they are to read. And after all, isn't fun what a beach read is all about?

(Editor's Note: It was brilliant of the list author, Shannon, to focus her Beach Reads list on the YA genre — each of these titles is just long enough to get you through a lazy day on the sand, but short enough that it won't keep you up all night. Don't forget the sunscreen!)

Sometimes we all need a little change in our lives... and sometimes, we need a lot. Each of these books has helped me find new paths in my life and make fundamental changes in who I am. When you're ready for change— serious, major change, the kind of change that could only be called a "reinvention" of yourself— try some of the titles below.

Why not while away your time at the beach immersing yourself in a culinary memoir? These books are a delicious, low calorie blend of narrative and instruction, at times hilarious and inspiring. Toss a couple of the following titles in your suitcase and enjoy!

Something that’s not discussed enough about great novels is the comedy component.

Let’s be blunt: How often — really — do you want to subject yourself to a six-to-ten-hour reading experience that’s chuckle-free? I hope your answer is: Very seldom. What’s not great about supplying readers with giggles, good times, levity and wit?

In compiling the list below, I’m assuming you already have these twentieth century comic classics on your bookshelf: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, as well as the oeuvres of Dawn Powell, E. F. Benson and P.G. Wodehouse. Here are 10 equally wonderful, though maybe less well-known, funny novels to add to that shelf. Now go read — and stop wearing such a straight face!

My favorite poems ignite my imagination and ask me to actively participate in the reading process. I want the poet to encourage me to make the poem my own. The books on this list will challenge your assumptions, spark your creativity, and move you with vivid language and fantastic descriptions.

Sometimes, a reader can find new meaning in a poem by experiencing it in a new medium. Listening to someone perform a poem is so different from reading it quietly on the page. 

Recently released by my record label, GPR Records, "Poetic License" is an audio compilation of 100 well-loved poems read by 100 famous performers. You can preview and purchase each track from the album by using the links in the descriptions below.

Collecting books is — or should be — the great American past-time: It is a hobby for people of any financial level, age, race, and gender. This list is for anyone who has ever wondered what book collecting is all about or how to get started building a collection.

I spent a lot of time with Amish people while researching my Amish business book.

One thing I discovered is that the Amish aren’t reinventing a lot of wheels — but relying on time-tested principles to achieve 5-year business success north of 90%. Not bad when you consider the general population’s mark is less than half that.

In that vein, here are six classics on a range of business topics. The nice thing about principles is that they don’t go out of style — and tend to work in any range of places, cultures, or circumstances.

Think of Young Adult novels, and you think of angst-filled, hormone-tormented teen protagonists. Who better to guide such teens than their own mothers? With that in mind, I asked a number of bloggers who focus on Young Adult novels to name their favorite YA title that focuses on a mother/daughter relationship.

Imagine my surprise when one by one, the majority of this usually quick-to-contribute lot came forward saying they couldn't think of an appropriate title. Fortunately, just enough of them scrounged up a Flashlight Worthy contribution that I was able to piece together the list below. Thank you to those who contributed and enjoy the list.

Graphic novels — manga — from Japan can be daunting in certain ways. It can be difficult to find an entry point, especially since so many of the talked-about series can be so lengthy. Below are some excellent graphic novels from Japan that aren’t quite so demanding in terms of time or expense. Representing a wide range of subjects and styles, they stand alone, giving readers a glimpse of the category’s possibilities without the difficult prospect of tracking down 30 or more (frequently obscure) paperbacks to get the whole story.

I’ve always been fascinated by family sagas, and when they combine real historical depth — over a large span of time — about a country, they're even more seductive. I'd always rather read a novel than a history book, and this selection is a terrific way to visit a few countries. Family sagas always feature a delicious tangle of love affairs and broken hearts in these kinds of books, mirroring the fracturing of entire classes, if not countries.

Editor's Note: as the person who runs Flashlight Worthy, I get a lot of books in the mail. A lot. (I warn the authors that I'm only able to read about 2% of what I receive but hope springs eternal and they send them anyway.) I'm happy to report that Dominique's book is one of the few that made it to the top of the pile. I won't tell you anything about it other than to report that I found it to be a brave and honest memoir of an experience that anyone would find difficult. I encourage you to read it.

Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are nice stories, but if you want your daughter to dream of more than just kissing the prince, the following books may help. These are just a few of the many excellent children's stories available that are full of strong, adventurous, smart girls that can grow up to be absolutely anything they desire.

April means a lot of things to a lot of people: April Fool's Day, April showers, chocolate bunnies. To me, working with books, it means the American Library Association's annual announcement of the most "challenged" books of the previous year.

What do they mean by "challenged"? They mean someone requested the book be removed from their public library because of its offensive nature (and usually that means "offensive to children"). Fortunately, thanks to the hard work of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other book lovers, most challenges go nowhere; if anything, they create more attention for the books in question.

And speaking of more attention, I proudly present to you the 10 most "challenged" books of 2009.

These are the literary sidekicks you can read, faithfully, when your inspiration has done nothing but dry up. These pieces will force perks of inspiration through the spout of your pen.

Slipstream is uncomfortably defined as fiction that crosses the divide between mainstream and the speculative literatures of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Personally, I like to think of slipstream as simply weird. It feels weird in a way that's weirder than a standard weird sf/f/h story. Physical laws are broken but no one wonders about them. The science is not rigorous or even questioned. The typical strange characters of speculative fiction — wizards, zombies, and aliens — are not usually present so you can't count on them to impart the weirdness. The humans themselves must do that, but they don't do it by being weird. They are usually the very model of normalcy. They are average, common humans like you and me. It's their very normality in the face of strange circumstances that marks a slipstream story.

Slipstream usually has a "literary" feel to it. The authors take risks with style. Often there is a "message." A lesson, perhaps, if not a downright political or social statement. Form, theme, and emotion rise above character and plot. Not that there isn't a plot, it's just that what the author is saying and how she or he is saying it is more important than the mere sequence of events. Often the characters are allegorical. The most famous example of a slipstream story is Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. The setting is what seems to be an average small American community. There is no underlying evil lurking like in a regular horror story. It is a horror story, for sure, but the naturalness of the setting and the characters never gives way to unleashed terror. There's no monster to fear. The story's plausibility is never questioned. The Lottery feels real even though the circumstances are unbelievable. That's slipstream. The line between reality and fantasy is quite simply, obliterated.

Because defining slipstream is so... well, slippery, I contacted some of the experts in the field to get opinions. The experts include: Annalee Newitz, chief editor and contributor to io9.com, the wildly popular science fiction site which mostly features news about movies but also some of the best criticism of the literature as well. Matthew Kressel and Gavin Grant are the editors of Sybil's Garage and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet respectively. See info on their publications in the list. Martin Lewis has strong opinions on the subject and voices them well. Jacob Weisman is the owner of Tachyon Publications, publisher of a number of slipstream titles. And finally I contacted the man who invented the term, Bruce Sterling. I thank all of them for giving me their opinions.

Below is my list of Flashlight Worthy slipstream stories. Enjoy.

Historical mysteries are a subset of the mystery genre and cover the vast range of human civilizations, from ancient Egypt to mid-20th Century New York. I've read many discussions about what qualifies as historical, but I'd venture to say that you — the reader — would be the best judge. (Is it historical if it's not within your memory? Sounds good to me.) Some of the following historical mystery titles are well-known, some less so. In each case, they're the first in a series so don't say I didn't warn you! 

True stories, biographies, and clearly written historical accounts are the foundation of children’s understanding of the Holocaust. Starting around age 11, children are emotionally and intellectually ready to learn the truth — found in both fiction and non-fiction — about this horrendous period in human history.

An introduction to the Holocaust must include some history of anti-Semitism and some background on the social and political atmosphere in Germany following World War I. Fortunately, some of the books below, such as Finkelstein’s Remember Not to Forget, are excellent introductions because they supply this background so well. Others are about experiences of real people caught in the Nazi’s web, people who represent the fate of both victims and survivors. 

Bored by chick lit and misery memoirs?

Had it with housework, carpools, cubicle politics?

Women of America, three words: hit the road.

Reading stories about the Holocaust creates a compassionate and emotional response in children that facts or information alone can't impart. And without compassion and empathy, no one's understanding of the Holocaust is complete. 

With that in mind, the books chosen for children to read about the Holocaust are important. So, too, is the adult who is willing to discuss the subject with children, answering questions and exploring some of the issues that stories raise. 

The books below are all thought-provoking, sensitive to children's feelings and excellent for promoting a dialogue between child readers and their parents or other adults.