This Kite Flies High

by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 4/11/2005

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner marks 30 weeks on PW's trade paperback list, the past 25 in the #1 slot. First printing, according to Riverhead, was 50,000; After 17 additional trips to press, the in-print number is close to an astounding 1,386,250 copies. The hardcover, which did not make any national lists, has shipped about 70,000 copies. The author has been traveling around the country speaking to communities that have selected his book for their One Book programs. Last week, he was in Pittsboro, N.C., where 820 people showed up to hear him speak. On April 12, he will be in New Jersey, speaking to the Friends of the Ridgewood Library; more than 800 tickets have already been sold. Riverhead reports that most of the communities do a tremendous amount of local and regional outreach for the book (art contests, kite flying, talks related to the topic, events for high school students and parents, and more).