Tag Archives: book reviews

What We’re Reading: Persepolis

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Available at the Main Campus, located in our Graphic Novel collection, downstairs in front of the center stairwell

Title: Persepolis
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Genres: memoir, history, graphic novel
2022 Read Great Things Categor(ies): A book about travel; An Artsy Book; A book about community

Political protests in Iran have been in the headlines over the past two weeks, with numerous demonstrations in the country propelled by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died while in police custody. Today I’m highlighting an accessible and personal history of conflict within and surrounding Iran from the perspective of a young woman, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, which is available at the library.

This book was read by Main Campus Reference Librarian Kyle Minton, who loves graphic novels mixed with a history lesson. (It’s also available as a streaming film, click to read more.)

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Instead of judging a book by its cover…

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 Shows an open book with a few pages tucked back into the spine to form the shape of a heart.

Try picking a book based on it’s description!  Below are a few descriptions of some of the library’s new books. The descriptions are written a little like dating profiles (though you may never want to date these individuals!) with just a bit of information.  See if any of these books interest you.  The titles and call numbers are at the bottom of the entry, if you’re interested in reading them!

  1. I’m a poet at heart. Bilingual and bicultural, I straddle the world of modern America and the nostalgia for Cuba, passed down to me by my exile parents. I am spirited, young, and have excellent rhythm.
  2. The last of my kind, I am beautiful and powerful. I can really get inside your head. I try to use my powers for good and keep to myself, but drama keeps finding me. I am continually pulled into adventure.
  3. I am really interested in female drama, especially the relationships between mothers and daughters. I have a lot of secrets and heartache, but I can be very tender at times, especially in trying to protect others.
  4. I may be young, but I’ve been through a lot. My family and I have been attacked, and we fought back. I have done bad things, but I feel justified, and besides, you can’t take back the past. You’ve got to be strong to face the future, and I’ve got to help fight for the kind of future I want to live in.
  5. When I took power, people were hopeful about me and the promise that I had. I’ve been a real disappointment, though, and brought pain and violence to many. I keep causing problems for those around me. Read more to find out what went wrong and what the future might hold.

The descriptions above are for the following books:

1) City of a Hundred Fires by Richard Blanco. Call number PS 3552 .L36533 C58 1998.

2) Fire by Kristin Cashore. Call number PZ 7 .C26823 Fi 2011.

3) A Grown-up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson. Call number PS 3610 .A3525 G76 2012.

4) Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Call number PZ 7 .R7375 Ins 2012.

5) Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad by David Lesch. Call number DS 98.6 .L475 2013.