This giant book with amazing photos is part of a project founded by Jin Zidell, a philanthropist and environmentalist who wants as many people as possible to have clean drinking water.

David Boring opened me up to the world of graphic novels. Clowes creates quirky characters who are ordinary and flawed. They get themselves into the most extraordinary and bizarre predicaments. The emotion conveyed in the illustrations is so intense—the experience is a whole new way of reading.

I felt empowered after reading this book. I had more respect for "true love" and more self-assurance about finding it.

It's not often that a writer makes me laugh out loud, but Sedaris does. He brings me to tears. It's to the point where I can't read his writing in public because people think I'm having some kind of meltdown. In this collection of essays, he has a way of finding humor in the strangest and most painful moments, like a week with a creepy babysitter or the death of his mother.

You get the sense that the character would prefer reality, that he'd rather bleed when he gets cut and experience life no matter how traumatic it can be. The book raises such an interesting question: If you had the same choice, where would you want to spend your time?