Reading Lolita in Tehran

by Azar Nafisi

Azar Nafisi conducted a class in her home in Tehran, Iran for 2 years. During this class, Nafisi and seven of her former female students studied forbidden western classic literature. Nafisi writes her memoir through a series of four books they read, each paralleling a particular time in the turbulent uprisings in Iran during this time period. She also flashes back to her time as a student in the US, her return to Iran and the time of the Iran Hostage Crisis. She laments the loss of freedoms for women, especially the loss of university education. She details her part in student protests as well as her own refusal to change her teaching or to wear the veil. She explains the events of the revolutions in Iran from a personal perspective, but without a fanatical approach. It is a very believable story.

I felt one of the most effective ways she portrayed the different views on the revolution was through her discussions on the different perspectives of her students regarding the wearing of the veil. One of the ladies wore the veil before the laws requiring it. She and all the women in her family had worn it as a symbol of their religious beliefs. She felt the laws requiring all women to wear the veil were belittling to her religious beliefs, it not longer had significance to her. While, at the other end of the spectrum, you have Nafisi, refusing to wear it while she taught and always being reprimanded for wearing it incorrectly.
The best part of reading this book for me what the timely manner in which my book club chose to read it. I finished the last chapters in the book just as the protests against Ahmadinejad’s election began. At the end of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Nafisi comments that the younger generation in Iran is ripe for change. Maybe this is the beginning.

Rating - B+

Friday Fill-Ins

1. The last thing I ate was Zaxby's Zensation Chicken Salad and a Coke.

2. Two pairs of Cole Hann shoes is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it is cause for celebration!

4. My husband was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are best when they come from your kids.

6. A homemade quilt is extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Bunco, tomorrow my plans include not much of anything and Sunday, I want to enjoy my book club meeting!

For more great answers, visit Friday Fill Ins.

Salt - A World History

By Mark Kurlansky

Salt – A World History traces the production of salt through history, from the first recorded salt production in China in 800 B.C. to 1997, when Morton Salt officially becomes the largest salt company in the world. Kurlansky addresses salt production on all continents (except Antarctica) paying particular attention to the ways salt is mined, evaporated, transported, taxed and used both in cooking, medicine and chemical production. But, the best parts of the book deal with how history has been shaped by salt. For example, when the Greeks and Romans conquered a territory the first thing they did was either take over or build a saltworks. The medieval trading superpower, Venice was built first on the trade of salt, then on other spices, fabrics and exotic goods. The first revolts of the French Revolution were over the taxation of salt. Gandhi started his campaign against the British rule of India by purposefully breaking the British salt laws. These are just some of the interesting historical facts the are based in the trade and production of salt.

This is the second book of this type I have read. The first was And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis. It is one of my favorite books of all time. The author is in fact one of my Facebook friends. I enjoyed this one almost as much. It is interspersed with OLD recipes using salt, such as how to make salt cod and herring, proscuitto de Parmi, parmesano reggiano and even soy sauce. In a sea of boring world history books, this one is unique, offering a very interesting perspective on what might have caused history to take some of the turns it has.

This is the third book I have finished for My Cozy Book Nook's Summer Vacation Challenge. Read my list of books and other reviews here.

Rating - B+

Booking Through Thursday 7/9

From Booking Through Thursday

An idea I got from The Toddled Dredge (via K for Kat). Here’s what she said:
“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’

I am almost embarrassed to post this list (almost). There are 27 book on my immediate must read list. This does not include at least 30 others sitting on my shelves that I have no idea when I will get around to reading. This quite an eclectic list, I teach geography which explains all the geography related books. I am also teaching Advanced Placement European History for the first time this year, so there are several books to help me research different time periods I will be teaching. Others are just a random selection of recommended books as well as those that were just too good to pass up at the book store. And, the one sci-fi-ish book, Fahrenheit 451 is my book clubs pick for August. Now, I need several days (weeks) to just read!

Why Geography Matters by Harm de Blij
The Sea Monsters by Rick Riordan
In the Wake of the Plague by Norman Cantor
Vive la Revolution by Mark Steel
Freefall by Anna Levine
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
What to Read When by Pam Allyn
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Sisters by Mary Lovell
Land of a Thousand Hills by Rosamond Carr
The Diplomat’s Wife by Pan Jenoff
Delivered from Distraction by Dr. Edward Hallowell and Dr. John Ratey
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
The Romanov’s – The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie
The Essential 55 by Ron Clark
Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman
Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan
Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund
Teaching Geography by Phil Gersmehl
The Annotated Mona Lisa by Carol Strickland

Snow Falling on Cedars

by David Guterson

I read this book as part of My Cozy Book Nook's Summer Vacation Reading Challenge. Here is my original list and other reviews for this challenge.

In 1954, on San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, a Japanese American is on trial for the murder of a local fisherman. Coming so soon after the events of World War II, specifically, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the evacuation of the island’s Japanese descendants to interment camps, the proceedings are just a little twisted. Add to this a long ago romantic connection between two people closely related to the case and you have a story.

The story jumps from the trial to the investigation to events occurring before and during the war. This is the only thing that keeps the story interesting. I could not get into the story at all, probably because I did not like the characters very much. In fact, I really didn’t care what happened to them in the end. They seemed lifeless and passionless for such important events to be taking place. One of the reasons I kept reading was because I knew something dramatic just had to happen, but it never did.

The writing however was excellent. I enjoyed the descriptions of the scenery of the Pacific Northwest. I specifically enjoyed how the author set the stage for the snow storm that takes place during the trial. The flashback scenes were some of the best in the book. From the Manzanar interment camp to the island battlefields of the war, the descriptions and writing were what kept me reading the book.

Rating - C+

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Vacation Book Challenge

Molly at My Cozy Book Nook is hosting a Summer Vacation Reading Challenge at her wonderful blog. Since I just finished the Spring Reading Thing Challenge I was looking for another challenge to keep me modivated. This one looks like a lot of fun. It made me really think about the books I chose, as one of the requirements is the books should take you on a "literary vacation". I love that phrase!

Dates: Friday, May 22 - Monday, September 7, 2009 (Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day weekend)Requirements: Summer vacations are meant to be relaxing and fun - not stressful. However, some people interpret "fun" by doing nothing but going to the beach and vegging out -- while others like to maximize their sight-seeing adventures. To that end, I have developed two different levels of participation:

Beach Bumb: you will read 3 books during this time frame (a leisurely book-a-month); cross-over book selections from other challenges may count; and you do not have to list books in advance -- after all, summer vacation is a time for spontaneity.

Globe Trotter: you will commit to reading 6 pre-selected books during this time frame, but you may substitute up to 3 books due to changes in travel plans. Cross-overs for 5 out of the 6 books are allowed, but ideally one book will be read for this challenge alone.

I decided to be a Globe Trotter -

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (small town Alabama)
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (Washington State)
Salt - A World History by Mark Kurlansky (around the world)
Vive La Revolution by Mark Steel (Paris)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (London and Paris)
the Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Nazi Germany)

I will link a review to each book as they are finished.

Thanks Molly for hosting this challenge!