Every Person on the Planet

Bruce Eric Kaplan, a New Yorker cartoonist and former Six Feet Under writer, taps into the dread of throwing holiday parties in Every Person on the Planet, a self-illustrated quick read he calls ”an only somewhat anxiety-filled tale for the holidays.” From the out-of-hand guest list (all 6.3 billion members of the world population get invites…though only eight RSVP) to the Australians who close the party down, Kaplan’s brilliantly droll story will bring a smile to even the scroogiest among us.

• By Jessica Shaw