No Reservations
Three years, 200,000 miles and 28 countries: No Reservations (Bloomsbury, $34.95) is a behind-the-scenes companion book to Anthony Bourdain's popular Travel Channel show of the same name. Through stories and photos, Bourdain and his small crew share an honest and often amusing look at life on the road. From the good times (like getting a traditional tiki tattoo on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas) to the not-so-good times (eating fermented shark in beautiful but frigid Iceland), Bourdain pulls no punches, and the information is presented much like the show -- in Bourdain's signature wry fashion. There's even a chapter on No Reservations travel must-haves (for example: Marlboros, Immodium and a sense of adventure). Since it's as much about the food as the travel, there's an entire chapter dedicated to "food porn," tantalizing photos of dishes from around the world. My favorite -- and I've heard Tony's (check out the interview) -- is the sliced sushi from Japan. -- Lori Barbely

Come on Shore
It's the kind of title that elicits double takes if you read this book on an airplane, but Come on Shore and We Will Kill You and Eat You All (Bloomsbury USA, $24.99) is not nearly as ferocious as its cover lets on. In fact, the story -- half personal memoir and half Polynesian history lesson -- is informative cover to cover and at times decidedly endearing. Author Christina Thompson weaves her own tale of marriage to a Maori man seamlessly through the fabric of New Zealand's complicated history, a story which allegedly began with the title's brutal threat. But no saga is one-sided, and Thompson's tale of marriage to the South Pacific -- both in person and in study -- is at once entertaining, heartbreaking, disturbing, mystical and captivating. It's a book that satisfi es a thirst for knowledge and sparks a longing for travel to the South Pacific. -- Adrienne Egolf

The Duppy
God lives in jamaican heaven -- an idyllic place that you reach by drain pipe. If you find this fact surprising, then you're like the protagonist of The Duppy (Akashic Books, $13.95), the latest novel from Kingston-born author Anthony C. Winkler. Baps, a shopkeeper who dies in the first sentence of this wickedly funny and surprisingly sweet book, narrates the story from the beyond. Dialogue riffs in a deliciously authentic Jamaican rhythm, and Winkler waxes both allegorical and poetic in this 175-page tale. He has such a knack for spinning fiction, literary devices subtly serve rather than distract from the delightful story he tells. -- Adrienne Egolf