Nadia Hashimi, a first-generation Afghan-American, was raised in New York and New Jersey. She is a pediatrician with a love for the written word. Encouraged by her husband, she took time to explore writing. Her debut novel is The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (Morrow, May 6, 2014), the story of two women in Kabul in 2007.
On your nightstand now:
At the top of my pile is Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement--I just finished it and absolutely loved it. I actually picked it up at a book event and was intrigued. It's about a town in Mexico where girls were made to look like boys so they wouldn't attract the attention of drug traffickers and kidnappers. The premise of needing to disguise girls as boys is shared in my novel, so I couldn't resist. The writing has a beautiful, subtle poetry to it. I'm also bouncing between Opium Nation by Fariba Nawa and The House Girl by Tara Conklin.
Favorite book when you were a child:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I'm not really a science-fiction person, but I remember being enchanted both by the world the author created and by the idea that an author could create a whole world! It still strikes me as remarkable that with storytelling, we can create things from our fantasies and paint vibrant pictures with words.
Your top five authors:
Vladimir Nabokov, Anita Amirrezvani, Joyce Carol Oates, Lisa See and Khalid Hosseini.
Book you've faked reading:
Beowulf. This high-school assignment haunts me still since I was, to put it gently, a very conscientious student. I just could not get through this! I don't know why or how I was given a decent grade on the paper I wrote on it. It feels really good to finally confess this!
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. The story she's woven is so intricate and textured, just like the luxurious Persian carpets that thread through the novel. I recommend this book very highly to those who enjoy a story that provides some armchair travel.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Okay, so maybe I didn't buy it just for the cover. I had read Gone Girl and was immediately a fan. She creates such deliciously twisted characters that are more likable than the reader might wish! But the stark black cover with a single ominous razor blade sucked me right in. I knew the story wouldn't disappoint it, and it most certainly did not!
Book that changed your life:
Beloved by Toni Morrison. I read this for the first time in high school and was fascinated by it. The haunting story hovered between earthy grit and dark, otherworldly stuff. I remember getting chills reading some parts of it under my covers with a flashlight and thinking about the horrific tragedy that "Beloved" represented to the community in the story. Toni Morrison told an important story in this book on the mark slavery left.
Favorite line from a book:
It's a bit more than a line, but it's one of my favorite quotes about the human experience. It's an incredibly perceptive way of describing what so many of us feel so very often:
"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them--if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry." --J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. It's a remarkable novel, a philosophy course in one fantastic story of two men as awkward travel companions. Zorba is a dynamic force of nature, a deceptively simple man with enviable passions. I think I just talked myself into reading it again--it's been so long. I might have to change my answer to the nightstand question to include Zorba!