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.