I am the Messenger by Mark Zusak

Zusak definitely goes on my favorite writers list. The Book Thief was good but I am the Messenger is amazing.Ed Kennedy is just another kid hopelessly drowned the the big world. He is an underage cab driver secretly in love with his best friend. Life seems mundane when the first card arrives. His life changes and he becomes a messenger.Beautiful. Inventive and a must read

I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

After two decades in England, Bryson moves back to America and writes this book. As someone who lived in America for 7 years and moved away, the book touches the spot. Sometimes we are blind to what is right under our eyes, it takes a trip away to spot it. Expats repatriating often have such stories and it is wonderful to see them in the form of a book. A must read for anyone visiting or repatriating to America. The book is also a bit outdated and quite a bit has changed from the America Bryson repatriated to in the early 2000’s. We need more such books.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

I have never heard of  Barnes and this book wormed its way to my to-read list as a highly recommended read. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this thin book, The story starts with the past – Tony Webster narrates his early life. School, friends, college and girlfriends. And then the present takes over – a retired, divorced Tony is remembered in the will of his ex-girlfriend’s mother. The story starts here and dives deep into the emotional realm. The plot is not the highlight of the book. It is the way the words are strung together in a slim volume and how loud those words are. Pick it up if you are up for some serious reading.

The Expats by Chris Pavone

The only reason I picked this book up is because of the title. I won’t have named the book The Expats if I had written it. It is not the sort of books I have been gravitating to recently. It is a spy novel and a not very well-paced one. You wonder what is happening more than once in the first half of the book and suddenly there is too much action crammed in. The Moores moves to Luxembourg as expats. Kate had to quit her job in America before she moves to Luxembourg and she is quite glad to do it. Another American expat couple become their friends in the new place. Kate smells something fishy. She wishes to ignore it because tracking down the smell involves dipping into her past – a past filled with guns and murders.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I have watched an occasional Bourdain show on TV and to be honest I am not a fan of his shows. I was curious when I saw this book and I really had to read this. The book started well – funny with just the required amount of shocking material about the restaurant world in the US. I don’t know when exactly I lost interest – suddenly the book seemed totally boring and a bit like Bourdain’s ego. I skipped some pages to finish it up but I still ended liking the book. It made a refreshing read

5 books is a monthly series featuring some of the books I read and loved recently. For more book updates and to check my current reading list, head to my Goodreads account.