Splinters

Book Burning

There's a fascinating (and terrifying) story that popped up on Spike's book newswire today - Shah Mohammed Mirzad keeps having his bookshop repeatedly raided and his books destroyed by the fundamentalist Taliban regime within Afghanistan. Despite physical threats and frequent violent skirmishes, Mirzad has vowed to keep publishing and selling books celebrating Afghan culture that doesn't subscribe to the Taliban's views. Not quite the same as a trip to Waterstone's, is it? Full story here.