Though my high-school age son is a rabid reader (didn’t have much choice growing up in my house!), it’s not often we want to attend the same author events. Which is why I’m excited to be booking tickets this week to hear Khaled Hosseini speak in Maplewood in September.
As part of a national tour to promote his latest book, And the Mountains Echoed, currently number three on the New York Times Bestseller list, Hosseini be nearby thanks to WORDS bookstore which won a national competition, fueled by the votes of local supporters.
The celebrated author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns is so popular, the store has moved the event to Maplewood Middle School. A purchase of the book from WORDS by July 31 ensures priority seating.
The store was one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by the book’s publisher Penguin Group USA, for innovative window designs for And the Mountain Echoed; kudos to window designer Meghan Keane. The public then voted and WORDS emerged the winner.
The novel follows the intertwining stories of several families and generations who have lived in a Kabul villa, and then spread across the globe. Hosseini describes it as a tale “about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations; the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.” Montclair-based book industry newsletter Shelf Awareness noted, “The novel’s rich kaleidoscope of images coalesces around one theme: the powerful and often excruciating legacy of family ties within the maelstrom of history.”
In addition to his literary accomplishments, Hosseini is widely recognized for his humanitarian efforts, donating huge sums in book royalties, and raising additional monies, to support housing, education and refugee initiatives in his native Afghanistan.
Photos courtesy WORDS bookstore.
Hosseini is one of my favorite writers. I’m looking forward to reading “And the Mountains Echoed.”