In time for the holidays, Amazon has published a collection of five short stories centered roughly on the theme of fairy tales. The five authors chosen to create it are very different, and they set off in very different directions at once, their works running the gamut from very literal, with Snow White and Cinderella …

1. Candy (Mian Mian) – This is one of my all-time favorite books. A weird memoir-esque take on growing up in the rebel youth culture of the 90s in China, Mian Mian catalogs drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll with both poetic grace and furious honesty. It’s an almost wistful look at the miseries of …