UMGC Alumni Association Virtual Book Club

Looking for a new way to engage with your UMGC community?

Your UMGC Alumni Association is excited to introduce the Virtual Book Club! Join today and start connecting with fellow alumni and current students through a love of reading, lifelong learning, novels, and other books. Continue below for more information.

Current Selection

Join us for the October–December book selection, The Lion Women of Tehran by author Marjan Kamali.

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.  On the first day of school, she meets Homa. Together, the two girls play games, cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”

But 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, 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.

Grab your copy now!

 

Reading Schedule

  • Section 1: by October 23rd, finish reading through Chapter Eight
  • Section 2: by October 30th, finish reading through Chapter Seventeen
  • Section 3: by November 5th, finish reading through Chapter Twenty-Six
  • Section 4: by November 20th, finish reading through Chapter Thirty-Five
  • By November 27th, finish reading the book and join the After the Book forum discussion

Live Q&A Author Talks

Click below to register today to join a virtual live Q & A discussion with authors to learn about the thoughts behind their books and more.

 

Join the UMGC Virtual Book Club

Join our community to connect with your fellow UMGC community and enjoy reading, lifelong learning, personal growth, novels and other books. Participation is free for the UMGC community!

Have Questions?

Have questions about what books you'll read, how discussions will run, or the time commitment? Find those answers and more in the FAQs.

 

Virtual Book Club FAQs