80 ratings | 2 reviews | avg rating:4.50

more photos (2)

Khaled Hosseini’s Followers (160,775)

Khaled’s Bookshelves

to-read (1)
currently-reading (0)
read (80)

Khaled’s Friends (4,480)

Kelly

3,064 books | 572 friends

د. عبد الكريم محمد الوظّاف

986 books | 119 friends

Brenda Moreels

229 books | 17 friends

May͛a

2,486 books | 203 friends

hans

1,235 books | 632 friends

Shafina Khabani

724 books | 141 friends

Scott Umphrey

1,373 books | 61 friends

Cherie Jones

1,171 books | 97 friends

More friends…

Khaled Hosseini

Goodreads Author

Born

in Kabul, Afghanistan

March 04, 1965

Website

http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Member Since

April 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/khaledhosseini

edit data

Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. In 1970 Hosseini and his family moved to Iran where his father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran. In 1973 Hosseini's family returned to Kabul, and Hosseini's youngest brother was born in July of that year.
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, Hosseini's father obtained a job in Paris, France, and moved the family there. They were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Saur Revolution in which the PDPA communist party seized power through a bloody coup in April 1978. Instead, a year after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1980 they sought political asylum in the United States and made their residence in San Jose, California.
Hosseini graduated from Independence Hi ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

Khaled Hosseini is currently not accepting new questions.

Popular Answered Questions

How much daily reading do you do? How much is reading important to a writer?

Khaled Hosseini I read daily, Armando, not so much for the benefit of my writing, but because I am addicted to it. There is nothing in the world for me that compares …moreI read daily, Armando, not so much for the benefit of my writing, but because I am addicted to it. There is nothing in the world for me that compares to being lost in a really good novel. That said, reading is an absolute must if you want to write. It is a trite enough thing to say, but very true nonetheless. I cannot understand aspiring writers who email me for advice and freely admit that they read very little. I have learned something from every writer I have ever read. Sometimes I have done so consciously, picking up something about how to frame a scene, or seeing a new possibility with regards to structure, or interesting ways to write dialogue. Other times, I think, my collective reading experience affects my sensibilities and informs me in ways that I am not quite aware of, but in real ways that impact how I approach writing. The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don’t like to read.(less)

flag

1200 likes · like
24 comments

Given that you lived a big part of your life away from Afghanistan, How did you learn about the pains and the experiences of Afghans? Don't you think maybe because you did not live those pains that you wrote about Afghanistan in a way different from how an Afghan who lived there would write? Regardless of your response I love your books....

Khaled Hosseini I read a lot, watched documentaries, spoke to people. I will give you a example, about the writing of A Thousand Splendid Suns. In March of 2003, I we…moreI read a lot, watched documentaries, spoke to people. I will give you a example, about the writing of A Thousand Splendid Suns. In March of 2003, I went back to Kabul for the first time after a twenty-seven year absence. In Kabul, I spoke to traffic cops, NGO workers, teachers, doctors, nurses, bodyguards, women on the street. Everyone had a story to tell. I heard stories about women who had been raped, beaten, imprisoned, humiliated, women who had seen their husbands blown to pieces, seen their kids starve to death. It was then that I saw the devastating effect that anarchy and extremism had had on these women. I saw for myself, for the first time, the enormity of the suffering that these women had endured. And I came away humbled by the fight that these women had in them, by their resilience and their courage.

So though it is true that I have not actually lived in Afghanistan in a very long time, when I sat down to write A Thousand Splendid Suns, early in 2004, I kept hearing those women’s voices in my head, I keep seeing their faces. And so I think that to a large degree, that book was inspired and formed by the collective hardships, struggles, by the collective hopes and dreams of those women I met and spoke to.(less)

flag

936 likes · like
19 comments

See all 8 answers from Khaled Hosseini…

Combine Editions
Khaled Hosseini’s books

Average rating: 4.36 · 5,709,415 ratings · 249,062 reviews · 31 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Kite Runner 4.36 avg rating — 3,458,144 ratings — published 2003 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Thousand Splendid Suns 4.45 avg rating — 1,716,509 ratings — published 2007 — 387 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	And the Mountains Echoed 4.08 avg rating — 401,289 ratings — published 2012 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sea Prayer 4.11 avg rating — 60,214 ratings — published 2018 — 64 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Kite Runner: Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author), Fabio Celoni (Illustrator), Mirka Andolfo (Illustrator) 4.45 avg rating — 23,671 ratings — published 2011 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns 4.52 avg rating — 4,877 ratings — published 2008 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	And the Mountains Echoed Free Preview 4.29 avg rating — 2,825 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Khaled Hosseini Box Set 4.59 avg rating — 537 ratings — published 2015 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I cieli di Kabul: Interviste by Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author), Barbara D'Andò (Translator), Chiara De Luca (Translator) 3.66 avg rating — 165 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Patta Viratti (பட்ட விரட்டி) The Kite Runner 4.88 avg rating — 8 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Khaled Hosseini…

10 posts
Khaled Hosseini's Blog

Literacy of the Heart

I am pleased to announce that I will be in conversation with poet and teacher Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian on March 29, 2017 at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park at 7:30 pm.

The times we live in require us to develop a "literacy of the heart"- a deeper quality of listening, discerning, and connecting heart to heart and soul to soul. Literature itself, both poetry and prose, plays a timeless role in a Read more of this blog post »

163 likes · Like • 20 comments • flag

Published on March 13, 2017 18:31

View all 10 posts »

Series by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner Collection (3 books)
by

Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author)

4.37 avg rating — 5,575,797 ratings

Over at Amazon, the book editors are celebrating 25 years of curating the latest and greatest titles for Amazon Books. To mark the...

Polls

February BoTM Side Read Nominations! 1st Poll

Top 5 books move onto the second poll!

Truly Madly Guilty

by Liane Moriarty

13 votes, 19.1%

Small Great Things

by Jodi Picoult

12 votes, 17.6%

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

8 votes, 11.8%

And the Mountains Echoed

by Khaled Hosseini

6 votes, 8.8%

The Couple Next Door

by Shari Lapena

5 votes, 7.4%

Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

5 votes, 7.4%

Today Will Be Different

by Maria Semple

4 votes, 5.9%

Underground Airlines

by Ben H. Winters

3 votes, 4.4%

The Stone Boy

by Sophie Loubière

3 votes, 4.4%

Nutshell

by Ian McEwan

3 votes, 4.4%

The Secret Adversary

by Agatha Christie

2 votes, 2.9%

Sweetgirl

by Travis Mulhauser

2 votes, 2.9%

Where They Found Her

by Kimberly McCreight

2 votes, 2.9%

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

by Barbara Demick

0 votes, 0.0%

68 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Glens Falls (NY) ...: _The Twilight Saga_ by Stephenie Meyer	64	151	Mar 03, 2009 08:58PM
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL WINTER CHALLENGE - 2008/2009	2155	4187	Mar 04, 2009 07:03AM
The Book Challenge: Joy's 2009 Book Challenge	1	55	Mar 05, 2009 01:46PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Courtney L's 50 for 2009	21	280	Mar 14, 2009 10:35AM
tbr-reading-chall...: Mandy's TBR Challenge	3	80	Apr 08, 2009 07:15PM
Romance Readers R...: April Monthly Challenge: Participant's List Thread	296	752	May 01, 2009 08:30PM

More…

Khaled’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-11) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 11: by Hossein

Dec 02, 2019 11:06AM

thanks for proving my request, its such an honor, i'm eager to read your next book

reply | flag

message 10: by Ziznase

Dec 02, 2019 07:21AM

merhaba.
teşekkür ederim arkadaşlık için.
saygılar

reply | flag

message 9: by David

Jul 20, 2018 10:39AM

I cannot wait to read your new book, 'Sea Prayer', Khaled. I enjoyed your last three.

reply | flag

message 8: by Koustubh

Jan 16, 2017 06:33AM

Thank you sir for ur friendship here on goodreads. I am looking forward for ur books, which are like i am staying in Afghanistan and witnessing the things which i read in ur books.

reply | flag

message 7: by Alisha ‘Priti’ (last edited Jan 02, 2018 03:39PM)

Dec 25, 2016 03:16PM

Dear Mr Hosseini,
I have been writing for 34 years but lacked the courage to pen and publish a full length paperback novel. When I read The Kite Runner, I was awestruck at the guileless beauty of your work. I knew that this was the kind of book I wanted to write, a book that touches the core of the heart and stays there like an eternal flame. I just wanted you to know that your writing has been my inspiration and till I could muster up even half that emotion, I kept my words in limbo. They slipped away sometimes as short stories but then the true tale could wait no more. Thank you for the gift of a book that will stay with me forever. I hope you get a chance to read 'Out With Lanterns'.
Best regards,
Alisha Priti Kirpalani

Out With Lanterns by Alisha 'Priti' Kirpalani

reply | flag

message 6: by Dana

Jun 29, 2015 08:31AM

Your touching words were on the list "38 Beautifully Heartbreaking Quotes From Literature" !
38. “There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood.”
—Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Via raherrod789

http://www.buzzfeed.com/staceygrant/i...

I hope you see it :)
Sincere fan of all your beautiful stories

reply | flag

message 5: by Peta

Dec 24, 2014 05:04AM

The words in your books are like music to my ears.

reply | flag

message 4: by Stephen

Sep 23, 2014 10:57PM

Khaled,
We are both bay area physicians and writers. I am a huge fan and admirer of your work. My book, "Behind the Gates of Gomorrah, a Year with the Criminally Insane" is out this week from Simon and Schuster. It's about my first year as a psychiatrist at Napa State Hospital. I had hit a dull patch in the first draft of the ms. I read all three of your books in a week and suddenly everything was clear on how the ms should finish. It did and it sold. Thanks. All my best, Stephen Seager

reply | flag

message 3: by Prasenjit

Mar 11, 2014 11:38PM