Next Community Reading Project book announced

The fifth annual Community Reading Project at Grand Valley State University will be Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

The book, published in 2006, is the story of how Mortenson, an American nurse, kept his promise to villagers in Pakistan to build them a school after they helped him recover from climbing K2, the second highest mountain in the world. 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.

Book distribution on Grand Valley’s campuses will begin in November. There are desk copies available for faculty; contact Mendoza at [email protected].

Mortenson will give a lecture about the book on campus on April 6.