Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat

This memoir by the bestselling Haitian author Danticat provides a poignant look at her family and upbringing, particularly of the relationships between her, her Uncle Joseph who raised her for many years while her parents were in the United States, and her father. It also illustrates and makes interesting some of the conflict in Haiti throughout her life and shows how people were affected in their daily lives. Danticat has always written lovingly but realistically of Haiti and its people and history, and this story is especially personal, winning the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2007.

Almost French by Sarah Turnbull

This Australian journalist has achieved a tone in her memoir of her new life in France that is both humorous and confiding, and makes for a charming mix.

Sarah Turnbull took an impulsive trip to Paris in the 1990s to spend what she thought would be a weeklong visit with a French man she’d recently met. The rest is history. She ended up staying there and adapting to a new life in a city she loved among citizens who didn't necessarily welcome her.

Although the author doesn’t reveal many personal details, especially about her relationship with Frederic, she paints a colorful and descriptive picture of her life, including the language difficulties and her problems finding work. Her optimistic nature comes through though, and the book is always entertaining and envy provoking, even when things aren’t going perfectly.

Town Boy by Lat

This book, the sequel to Kampung Boy, was even funnier even though it lost the charm of the country setting. The main character Mat has begun attending school in town, Ipoh, and his daily adventures are related through words and pictures. It's the 1960s so all the boys walk around with a classic rock and roll swagger that Lat portrays perfectly through nothing more than a series of lines.

The boys all think they're so cool and original, and Lat draws them all standing in a line outside the cinema, each with the exact same rebellious pose which isn't quite so rebellious when it's ten boys lined up, with the only difference between them all their height.

The book spans Mat's teen years and many of the things that befall him during that time. He spends a lot of time in school learning many different subjects, and because he is now in town , there are people with very different backgrounds than himself, especially Frankie, his soon to be best friend who is Chinese. There is of course a beautiful girl that everyone in town likes, and who Mat actually gets the courage to invite to a movie one day. One of the funniest scenes is when the boys are doing this required run for school, which includes crossing the river, and Mat and his friend decide to use the forbidden bridge. Unfortunately, they are ambushed by the principal at the other end and punished. Anecdotes like this would be interesting even if only written on words, but Lat's drawings make the scenes so much richer and even more entertaining.The book spans Mat's teen years and many of the things that befall him during that time. He spends a lot of time in school learning many different subjects, and because he is now in town , there are people with very different backgrounds than himself, especially Frankie, his soon to be best friend who is Chinese. There is of course a beautiful girl that everyone in town likes, and who Mat actually gets the courage to invite to a movie one day. One of the funniest scenes is when the boys are doing this required run for school, which includes crossing the river, and Mat and his friend decide to use the forbidden bridge. Unfortunately, they are ambushed by the principal at the other end and punished. Anecdotes like this would be enjoyable even if only written in words, but Lat's drawings make the scenes so much richer and even more entertaining.