Cultural experiences of a book-loving girl from Mashhad / A thousand books and one cultural path

Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) Provincial Service – Marjaneh Hosseinzadeh: Dolaram Rafiei, a teenager from Mashhad, recounts a compelling story of her boundless love for books. This young girl, who has been familiar with books since childhood, has now become a professional reader and hopes to share this interest with others.

Launching a Book Club

In an interview with IBNA reporter, she said: If I were the mayor of Mashhad, I would establish small book clubs scattered throughout the city and purchase more copies of books chosen by members through voting, so that children could read and discuss them together. This would make the story path more interesting for them and encourage them to read.

Rafiei continued: This space would also allow individuals to find good friends with similar spirits and have someone to talk to about books. Since these clubs are small and widespread throughout the city, people could enter whenever they wanted, for example while walking in the park or on their way to school, and perhaps find something in that very moment that helps them.

She spoke about her childhood memories with books and her interest in fantasy and imaginative stories, mentioning her father’s influence in shaping this interest. She added: She has built her own world from childhood with her father’s stories and imagining about books.

Dolaram Rafiei said about how she chooses her books: As soon as I see the cover of a book, I know whether it is *my* book or not.

She also pointed out the importance of the publishing house, author, and translator in choosing her books and said: I spend most of my savings on buying books.

This Mashhadi teenager has read more than 1000 book titles so far and keeps some of her favorite books in a small library in her room. "Nastenka" (A Gentle Creature) by Dostoevsky and "The Shadows Between Us" by Tricia Levenseller are among her favorite books, which she has read multiple times.

Dolaram is not only an enthusiastic reader, but sharing books with others is also important to her. She donated her childhood books to the Imam Khomeini Library and held a book exhibition at school last year.

Regarding her future plans, she said: I plan to spend more time active in the library. I also want to read more books in different styles. I want to get to know Persian literature better and study famous contemporary Persian works with focus and a fresh perspective.

This book-loving teenager presented a list of her suggested books, including works by major domestic and foreign authors, books such as "Nastenka", "Symphony of the Dead", "Wrong Time, Wrong Place", "The Disabled Collection", "The Shadows Between Us", "I Hoped in My Heart", "If He Were With Me", "An Ember in the Ashes" and "Pride and Prejudice".