Looking for a good read?

Smriti Daniel delves into some of those must-have books which you may have seen on the shelf but just didn’t have the time to browse through

Welcome to the very first day of the National Reading Month. You know what this means don't you? Here's a hint – it begins with an R, ends with a G and has an E, A, D, I and N somewhere in the middle.
Now if you're nosing around for something really memorable to spice up that half an hour you spend in the bathroom, or just before you fall asleep, or even when your teacher has her back to the class, we have a few suggestions. Take a look.

LA Requiem by Robert Crais
In an age where every third book is a 'thriller' of dubious appeal, L.A Requiem is a reminder of what the genre is really all about.

Of course it features the serial killer, the cops, and the best friends nearly torn apart by secrets – which thriller doesn't? However, when they say 'you can't put this book down,' for once they're telling the truth.

The book reintroduces private investigator Joe Pike and his partner Elvis Cole. Their case is Karen Garcia.

When Karen is brutally murdered by a serial killer, her powerful father calls on Pike and his partner to investigate.

It seems that Karen is the latest victim of a distinctive serial killer and the police are determined to pin her death, and four others, on the witness who found her body.

It's obvious that the police have something to hide. But what is it? The two men must discover the truth before time runs out – or be ready to lose their 12-year friendship if nottheir very lives.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
This one's for the child in you. A master storyteller, Rashid lives with his son Haroun in the country of Alifbay, in a city so sad its inhabitants have forgotten its name. Now, Rashid knows so many stories and tells them so brilliantly that he is known as the "Ocean of Notions" and the "Shah of Blah."He is the only spot of cheer until one day Rashid's storytelling abruptly dries up. Haroun, who will do anything to help his father, sets out on a long journey. Haroun finds his way to Kahani, Earth's second moon kept invisible by a P2C2E – a Process Too Complicated To Explain.

Kahani is home to the Ocean of the Streams of Story, the source for all storytellers who subscribe, via a P2C2E, of course. The process is controlled by the Walrus, Grand Comptroller of Gup, a land of perpetual sunshine.

It turns out that the problem is with Khattam-Shud, the despotic leader of the dark and silent land of Chup. Khattam-Shud is polluting the Ocean of the Streams of Story! Now Haroun and his father must lead a remarkable cast of curious characters in a brave attempt to save the Ocean.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Non-fiction at its best, Bryson's direct, humorous book takes the reader on a wild ride from the origins of the world right upto how the planet is today. His fascination is infectious as he puts into perspective how big the universe really is, and how small atoms and subatomic particles really are and how all the things in the middle came to be.

Bryson tells the story of science through the stories of the people who made the discoveries, such as Edwin Hubble, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein. Very little escapes his pen – be it the origins of Zoology, the super volcano that slumbers under Yellowstone National Park or the fantastic chain of events that made it possible for you to read this sentence.

A mammoth undertaking, A Short History of Nearly Everything is exactly what it claims to be. A must-read – if only to see what exciting bits you science textbook inexplicably omitted.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
An utterly beautiful romance, The Time Traveler’s Wife is also one of the best books I've read in… well, ever.

The plot follows the lives of Henry De Tamble and Clare Arbeshire, 'who first met when Clare was 6 and Henry was 36 and were married when Clare was 22 and Henry was 30.' (Yes, really.) You see, Henry suffers from a rare genetic condition – chrono-impairment – which has him being yanked through time (sans clothes) every now and again. There is one constant in his life though – his passionate love for Clare and hers for him. But their lives together will never be easy. And so, while this may be a love story, it is far from being trite or clichéd. Instead it is wonderfully lyrical, raw and direct – practically a masterpiece, Niffenegger's wonderful creation is profoundly moving.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. It seems they have very little in common, and yet as children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted.

Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. The Kite Runner, is Hosseini's brilliant debut novel, and one that is engaging the hearts and minds of people all over the world.

It offers an honest perspective – sometimes tragic, sometimes joyful – of the fascinating land that is Afghanistan.