FREE copies of best-selling novel The Kite Runner are to be handed out across Nottingham.
Citywide Read, launched yesterday, will celebrate the European premiere of a play based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini.
The play will run at Nottingham Playhouse this month and next month, with around 500 paperback versions of the book being given away to secondary schools, libraries, prisons and universities ahead of the show.
A series of special events will also take place throughout April and May.
Councillor David Trimble, Nottingham City Council's lead for leisure, culture and tourism, said: "We are proud to work in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing and Nottingham Playhouse to drive literacy and reading and celebrate Nottingham as a city of culture.
"People are also encouraged to add their reviews of the book to the tail of kites which will be on display in several city libraries including St Ann's and Nottingham Central Library.
"We hope the Nottingham Citywide Read will provide a shared reading experience for people in the city and encourage more people to rediscover a love for reading."
The Kite Runner was released in 2003 and has already been adapted for a film, released in 2007.
It tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young Hazara servant.
The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.
Rachel Williams, 34, of Forest Fields is a member of a reading group based at the city centre library. All its members will receive copies of the book as part of the Citywide Read.
It is hoped that the scheme will lead to a city-wide discussion between people of all ages.
"I've read the book before but will definitely read it again with the group," said Rachel.
"I think it's a good idea linking it with the play because it encourages people to read up on the book because it gives it more relevance.
"The interesting thing about The Kite Runner is the different cultures it explores and I remember it being quite sad in places but the way it is written completely absorbs you which is why I think people will really enjoy reading it."
The Kite Runner runs from Friday, April 26, to Saturday, May 18.
Giles Croft, artistic director at the Playhouse and director of the stage adaptation, by Matthew Spangler, said: "We are thrilled that the library service and Khaled Hosseini's publishers Bloomsbury have taken the occasion of this premiere to celebrate this great book and a love of reading.
"It is a privilege to be bringing this complex and heartfelt story to the stage for the first time in Europe, and I am confident that the Nottingham Citywide Read will encourage more people across the city to join the conversation we are all having about childhood, betrayal, war, love and redemption."
