My Kabul postings are slowly coming to an end. I am returning back to my so called reality. However, if you feel like making some reads on your own, this is a list of what books I read before leaving for Kabul.

• The classic first read was the Loney Planet Afghanistan Travel guide. It gives a good first impression.
• Nancy Hatch Dupree’s guidebook to Afghanistan is an amazing read, written in a time before the Talibans took over which makes it very interesting. This womans love for the country and fascination for its history and culture is inspiring. This article about her from the Guardian is really nice I think.
• Before I travelled to Kabul, the 1965 edition of Nancy Hatch (Wolf at that time) book “Kabul” was given to me for Valentines day. Also a beautiful read.
• In “Dear Zari” Zarghuna Kargar, who was running BBC’s Afghan women’s Hour, has written down capturing stories from the Afghan women that she interviewed for her radio show. She is also telling her personal life story in the book and I can highly recommend it. It is inspirational and motivating regardless if you have a personal connection to Afghanistan or not.
• If you know Swedish, I would recommend Jesper Huor’s book “I väntan på Talibanerna” that paints a very personal picture of his first visit to Afghanistan. I very much liked how Jesper writes.
• When it comes to Afghan food, I would highly recommend Helen Saberi’s book “Afghan Food & Cookery”. If you live in the States, you might prefer her first edition since it is written in american measurement. The second edition the recipes are presented in grams, which I prefer.