Early books

I'll just let the Guardian's own subhead do the work: "Alaa al-Aswany is a successful Cairo dentist -- and a bestselling writer. Now his blockbuster novel The Yacoubian Building, which strikes at the political corruption and moral hypocrisy of today's Egypt, has been made into an acclaimed film." Interview by Rory McCarthy.

Picked almost at random, but sounds really cool anyway: White Ghost Girls, about Hong Kong teen sisters in 1967. Sounds a bit forced, with the girls kidnapped by Maoists at one point, but I'm still entraced by the idea of a book written about Hong Kong teenagers in 1967. Author Alice Greenway will read, with bestselling author Kiran Desai, in Seattle this week: Elliott Bay Books, 101 S. Main, at 7:30 pm Wednesday.