If anyone is looking to get into a short read I just finished The Stranger by Albert Camus. Its a little over 123 pages and its probably one of the better books I've read in awhile.

While the plot revolves around a murder on a French Algerian beach its more about the development of the man who committed the murder as his case goes through the legal system. No spoilers of course but the main character has a very "comme ci, comme ça" (neither here, nor there) attitude towards life. In the real world if I talked to the guy I'd find him rather boring but putting him in such an odd situation makes him remarkably interesting to dissect. Definitely recommend if anyone enjoys books with a lot of introspection on the topic of existentialism, or as Camus puts it: "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd".

I like this one! Read it late 2025 and was really engrossed. Cool to see it getting the recognition it deserves!