Book Club kits for Community Reading Project available

Book club kits are being distributed in conjunction with the fifth annual Community Reading Project at Grand Valley State University. This year's book will be "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

The book club kits include six books and discussion materials aimed at sparking conversation. The office of Integrative Learning will distribute a limited number of books, place a large collection of copies in the library and engage with local libraries in Grand Rapids and Holland to bring the community reading experience to those community members.
 
“Three Cups of Tea,” published in 2006, is the story of how Mortenson, an American nurse, kept his promise to villagers in Pakistan to build them a school. The project eventually became the Central Asia Institute, which has constructed more than 50 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The title comes from a proverb a villager told Mortenson: “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.”

The Community Reading Project is sponsored by the College of Interdisciplinary Studies, University Libraries and University Bookstore. Susan Mendoza, director of Integrative Learning, said the CRP committee selected “Three Cups of Tea” because of its themes of social responsibility and “the need for international awareness and empathy.”

The book was a New York Times bestseller and has received a host of awards, including Kiriyama Prize Nonfiction Award, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Nonfiction Award and Time Magazine’s Asia Book of the Year.

Mortenson will give a lecture about the book on campus on April 6. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/read or contact [email protected].