"How can you care for books when you lose friends?" explained Wasim, a bookseller in Kabul's largest book market as he spoke of the impact that four decades of violence and turmoil has left on readership in the Afghan capital.
He and his young son, who looked no older than eight, were surrounded by stacks of books covered in dust: textbooks, thick collections of poetry and volumes of English stories with translations in local languages, a commodity in high demand for the thousands of Afghans trying to learn English – a language that can take you far in the job market.
Wasim's family has been selling books for generations.
"During the Taliban, perhaps we sold more books than ever. But it was a particular kind of books," he said, explaining that Taliban fighters would stop by to buy a volume or two of religious books before heading to battle.
![[QODLink]](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2012/5/24/2012524105149565734_16.jpg "The Brotherhood and Mubarak")
