Richmond Reads

Richmond Reads is a community one-book program designed specifically for the Richmond Memorial Library community. The goal of the program is for the community to join together in reading the chosen title, and then to participate in subsequent discussions and programs.

Marjan Kamali will visit the Richmond Memorial Library on Monday, October 20 at 7 pm for an author talk and signing! Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. 

2025 Selection:

 

 

Past Selections: 

2019 Selection: Southernmost by Silas House
2020 Selection: Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens
2021 Selection: The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin
2022 Selection: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
2023 Selection: Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls 
2024 Title: The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

Richmond Reads is sponsored by The Friends of Richmond Memorial Library!

 

 

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation.
Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”
But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.
Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. 

Marjan Kamali, born in Turkey to Iranian     parents, spent her childhood in Kenya, Germany, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Columbia University, and New York University. She is the 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award. She is the author of The Lion Women of Tehran, The Stationery Shop, and Together Tea. Marjan lives with her  husband in the Boston area. They have two children. (bio from simonandschuster.com)

Copies are available to borrow at the library in regular print and large print! Audio and ebook copies are available to borrow through Libby.

You can also purchase a copy of the book for $20, cash or check made out to the Friends of the Richmond Memorial Library. We also have copies of Marjan's other books, Together Tea and The Stationery Shop, for $15 each. 

Join us to discuss The Lion Women of Tehran on Monday, October 6 at 6:30 pm and Wednesday, October 8 at 9:30 am. 

The review contest will open at 9 am on Monday, September 8! All details will be provided here at that time. 

Richmond Reads is an independent initiative of Richmond Memorial Library and sponsored by the Friends of Richmond Memorial Library.  We welcome all support of the program.  Should you wish to contribute financially, forms are available at the front desk or at the reference desk.

Marjan Kamali will visit the Richmond Memorial Library on Monday, October 20 at 7 pm. 
Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. 

Contact Samantha Stryker, Interim Director and Richmond Reads coordinator at sstryker@nioga.org or at 585-343-9550 x7.

Find us on Facebook: Facebook.com/richmondmemoriallibrary

Instagram: @batavialibrary

YouTube: youtube.com/richmondmemlibrary

Sue Briggs
Leslie DeLooze
Cynthia Hagelberger
Jennifer Reardon
Rita Nan Tresco
Samantha Stryker, Program Coordinator