I read a lot. In amongst the historical fiction and SF this last year I read "The places in between" by Rory Stewart.
It is certainly an interesting tale and an impressive journey. I have read people describe Rory as either arrogant or brave for the way he made the journey by surviving on the local people's hospitality. Not knowing much about Afghan culture it is hard to make a judgement on that - perhaps that adds to the complexity of the tale. What I do applaud Rory for though, is that the book focuses on the peoples and cultures of the land he is travelling through rather than glorifying his endeavour.