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Currently reading: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart and rereading Chosen Soldier and Get Selected (thank you Warrior-Mentor!)
Recently finished: A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson, and Luka and The Fire of Life by Salmaan Rushdie.
Next on the list: Pity the Nation; The Abduction of Lebanon by Robert Fisk.
Always reading: Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-Arabiya... aka the bane of my existence.
I've seen a lot of great reads in this thread (I read all 42 pages), and a few head shakers as well (the politically incorrect guide to Islam comes to mind). If you're interested in Afghanistan or if you like adventure stories, The Places in Between is a great read. It gets a little bogged down at one point and becomes little more than a list of names and villages, but besides that the story is incredible. British dude showed up in Afghanistan in 2001 shortly after the Taliban fell and walked right across the middle of the country. In the middle of winter. If you want motivation for rucking: read this. If you want to get an idea of what it's like to deal with Afghan villagers who have known nothing but war their entire life: read this. If you want to develop an understanding of the tapestry of different ethnic groups and the inter and intra-village politics that dominate the middle of Afghanistan: read this. You get the idea. Next to Stones into Schools, it is the best book about getting things done and thriving as a foreigner in Afghanistan that I have encountered.
As for novels, I don't read a lot of them now, but I will read anything by Salmaan Rushdie. Midnight's Children (for adults) and Haroun and the Sea of Stories (for adults or kids) will be remembered as 2 of the greatest books written in the last half of the 20th century.
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