Beautiful, funny, smart writing; a fast-paced, engaging plot; quirky, memorable, remarkable characters. Why wouldn't you read this book? The Humans tells the story of an alien sent to Earth to take the place of a human mathematics professor whose work has progressed beyond what the aliens consider safe for humans to know. Our alien narrator's task is to destroy any and all records of this breakthrough -- including eliminating the humans who may have knowledge of it. But as the alien comes to know, like, and then love the people he encounters, he finds that completing his task isn't as straightforward as he anticipated. 
 Most of all, The Humans is a meditation on what it means to be human -- the strange compulsions, the odd belief systems, the pain and the joy of it all. The writing here is so terrific that I want to quote it all -- it's zippy and original and oddly touching as well. 
 I can't say enough good things. Check it out. 
 (Full review posted at Bookshelf Fantasies)