The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch (ISBN-13: 978-1439189719)

One day I was drifting around Barnes and Noble and several books on the memoir shelf just jumped out at me. Memoir and what they call these days "creative non-fiction" are probably my favorite non-fiction genres along with how-to books. (OK, I admit it, I'm kind of addicted to those "I did this totally insane thing for a year and here are all the profound insights into the human condition I got" kind of books. Don't worry--one of those will be coming up soon!) Anyway, it probably helped that this book has a jaunty yellow cover, but the word "Asperger" caught my attention. Let's just say my family has a special interest in the Autism spectrum. It's a sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking chronicle of "one man's quest to become a better husband," after a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome gives him some insight into why his marriage may be falling apart. You cheer for the depth of love that he shows as he does something so hard, so alien to him. You also groan, or squirm, as he beats the project to death in a typically "Aspergian" way, the final straw being a requirement that his wife give him "performance reviews." The Journal of Best Practices has good insights for both neurotypicals and, (though I can't speak for anyone of course) people with Asperger Syndrome who are married to us.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (ISBN-13: 978-0312626686)
This is the book that was Banned in Bedford. (Or almost. They certainly made sure that kids didn't have to read anything their parents were not comfortable with. I think the protest was because Barbara Ehrenreich uses the words "Jesus" and "socialist" in the same sentence. ) Ehrenreich wanted to know what it would be like to try and live on the wages that people typically make without a college degree, or much work experience. In 2001, this was $6-$7 per hour. In the course of her reporting, she worked as a house cleaner, waitress, Walmart team member and maybe something else I can't remember. She also finds apartments she can "afford," only uses her wages to buy food, medicine and clothing, and limits her outside-of-work activities to things that she would realistically be doing as a low-wage worker (including limiting books and reading-gasp!) Her goal was to be able to pay her bills with the given job for one month before moving on to the the next job. Basically, she found out that it's near to impossible, even going into it with a working car. This book was part of my summer reading on poverty. I will never look at people in Walmart in quite the same way again I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like to have his/her eyes opened to what it is like to be one of the working poor.
Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester Laminack (ISBN: 978-1-56145-564-5)
"We do all the work around here," complain the hens in this NH Ladybug Nominee. To the peacock's credit, instead of just standing around being admired, he decides that he would like to be more useful. The final message is that everyone has their own way of helping.  I'm not sure I like that Peacock's physical beauty is his most important asset, though. Nice, bold illustrations will work in a group.