Books and Stuff: An In-between Posts Kind of Post

Okay, so the past two weeks have been kind of crazy (on more levels than I care to remember) and two different planned posts have had to be pushed forward simply because I have not had the time to do some much needed prep on either of them.

However, before I start sounding like the kid who tells the teacher that the dog ate his homework, let me offer you this as an in-between posts kind of post. A good chunk of yesterday was spent browsing through the seminar schedule of the upcoming Göteborg Book Fair in order to decide, at least tentatively, what I should attend this year (the results should obviously be in my next blog post). Thus it does not seem entirely off to use this space on this occasion to promote some books; luckily, I have just read two fine specimens.

First off, I would like to recommend David Morrell's 1972 novel First Blood upon which the film of the same name was based. The novel is a tight thriller with political undercurrents and I recommend it warmly. For a more in-depth review, see the one I put up on Goodreads.

The second novel is no less political (perhaps even more so), but also no less emotional at its centre. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is a great piece of writing, and while it does not claim to be a thriller as the former novel, there is a compelling drive in the story, and a sort of mystery at the heart of it. For a more in-depth review, I once again refer you to a full review on Goodreads.

Hopefully the full reviews will whet your appetites for these books. They are well worth your time.