A program next Wednesday at Maple Valley Library is part of a multi-community reading promotion by the county libraries.

The program, scheduled for 7 p.m., is titled “Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Other ‘-stan’ Countries: Is it Possible to Live in Peace?” The presenter will be Margaret Hopstein, who was born in Uzbekistan.

Hopstein, who worked for the India-Pakistan Peace Conference in 1990, will discuss the impact of diplomacy, volunteer sister-cities programs, and the social and political factors that have contributed to the recruitment of supporters of the Islamic jihad among Uzbecks, Kazahks, Kyrgyzs, Chechens, Tajiks and Uighurs.

The program is one of a series of events in the King County Reads promotion by King County Library System. This fall, libraries countywide and communities are reading the book “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at at Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Book discussion groups throughout the county are planned for October and November. One was held Wednesday at Maple Valley Library, which will host more Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. Covington Library will host a discussion group Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

“Three Cups of Tea” was at the top of the New York Times’ best-seller list for 20 months following its release in 2006. The book describes Mortenson’s transition from a mountain climber to a humanitarian committed to reducing poverty and educating children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He co-founded the Central Asia Institute, which has built more than 70 schools in the most remote areas of the countries.

Co-author Relin is scheduled to speak at Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.