Our Community is Ready to Read with Alamance Reads 2024!
Book Club Discussion Dates
August 26, 6:30 pm, Novels @ Nite Book Club, Graham Public Library (336) 570-6730
September 18, noon, Noonday Book Club, Mebane Historical Museum (919) 563-6431
October 5, 10:30 am, Breakfast Book Club, Graham Public Library (336) 570-6730
Oral History Lunch and Learn
The Oral History Project will host a lunch and learn event at May Memorial Library on September 19 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. Lunch is included; click here to register or call (336) 229-3588.
Author Events
We have two events featuring American Refuge’s author, Diya Abdo, on Thursday, Sept. 26. Abdo will be speaking at Elon Community Church from 12:30-2:00 p.m., and at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Burlington at 6:00 p.m. Both events are free; the Elon event does require registration. If you would like to support the North Carolina African Services Coalition, they accept monetary donations to help purchase needed items.
For our companion title for younger readers, When Stars are Scattered, we will have a virtual visit from co-author Victoria Jamieson! This program is for ages 10-16, and the attendees will be able to ask Victoria Jamieson questions and participate in an interactive drawing exercise. Call 336-229-3588 for more information.
More About Alamance Reads and Our Book Selections
Alamance Reads is a civic event designed to encourage reading and significant conversation among Alamance County citizens by gathering people around a common book and providing a shared reading experience. Alamance Reads 2024 will be the ninth time this event has taken place in Alamance County, and the first time since 2018.
This year’s selection is American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience by Diya Abdo. In this eye-opening book, Diya Abdo shares the stories of seven refugees from around the world who begin their American journeys in North Carolina. They are welcomed by Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR), an organization Diya founded. Over the course of the book, we get to know these refugees and learn about the trauma they carry and the challenges they face in their new home.
The Alamance Reads Selection Committee has also chosen a companion title for younger readers. The selected book is When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the New York Times Bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson.
Copies of both of the Alamance Reads titles will be available for checkout beginning in mid-July. Book discussion opportunities will begin in August with additional programming in September. The program will culminate in a series of author events in late September.
We are looking forward to exploring these two inspiring titles with our community over the coming months!
Alamance Reads is funded by the Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) corporation, using money raised through annual book sales and other events. All Alamance Reads events are free and open to the public.
For questions about the Alamance Reads program, contact Amanda Gramley at agramley@alamancelibraries.org.
About Alamance Reads
A Community of Readers
Our selection committee is working hard to find our next great read!
Do you have a title suggestion for a future Alamance Reads selection? If it meets our criteria, send us a selection worksheet today!
- Living Author
- Ties to the Region – N.C. or South
- Wide audience appeal
- Available in multiple formats.
