Afghanaid's Book Club

Join Afghanaid's Book Club and enjoy literature about Afghanistan, or by Afghan authors. It's simple: pick a book from our list of recommendations, and then write us a review to join the conversation!

What is #ReadForAfghanistan all about?

Here at Afghanaid, we're all about looking for hope beyond the headlines - we like to focus on the brilliant people we work with and those who help us to build a brighter future for Afghanistan.

Help us celebrate fantastic literature about or from Afghanistan, and spread the word about the challenges faced by people in Afghanistan, as well as the vital role of literacy skills in ending poverty.

How do I get involved?

1. Pick a book from our list of recommendations below.
2. Write directly to us, or tag us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with your review of the book to join the conversation - your review could even feature on the website.

Remember: use the hashtags #AfghanaidsBookClub and #ReadForAfghanistan.

Book recommendations

Budding readers in our team and our supporters have compiled a list of favourites:

• My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women, Lyse Doucet (introduction) Lucy Hannah (afterword). The first anthology of short fiction by Afghan women.
• Gulwali Passarlay, The Lightless Sky: An Afghan Refugee's Journey of Escape to a New Life in Britain;
• Hamed Amiri, The Boy with Two Hearts: A Story of Hope;
• Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, or A Thousand Splendid Suns;
• Jelaluddin Rumi, Coleman Barks, The Essential Rumi;
• Harriet Sandys, Beyond That Last Blue Mountain: My Silk Road Journey;
• John Baily, Music of Afghanistan: Professional Musicians in the City of Herat 1973-1977;
• Veronica Doubleday, Three Women of Herat;
• Heidi Kingstone, Dispatches from the Kabul Cafe;
• Rory Stewart, The Places in Between;
• Siba Shakib, Afghanistan, Where God Only Comes to Weep.

Reviews

"Just finished Gulwali's book. I felt a lot of emotions and I wanted to say thank you - I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for you.

- One of our lovely supporters on Gulwali Passarlay's The Lightless Sky.

"I wanted to add Veronica Doubleday's book ''Three Women of Herat'' to the Literacy Day list of favourite books about Afghanistan... It is always popular with my friends & family when I lend/or give as gift. It was so popular when serialised on Woman's Hour & was chosen as one of their best reads of the year.

Thank you for your support

Thank you for helping us spread the word about our work and joining our campaign to #ReadForAfghanistan. The more people who know about what we do, the more vulnerable communities we can reach with life-changing solutions.

Literacy is a vital skill in ensuring long-term community development, and we have seen this first-hand through our work across Afghanistan. In the last five years, we have built 27 new schools and run 580 literacy training courses for women. With every new donation, we are able to reach more and more vulnerable men, women and children.

Donate Today

Has all this reading sparked your interest in Afghan culture?

Read about what culture is like in Afghanistan, what festivals are celebrated, or bring a bit of Afghanistan into your kitchen with our array of recipes.