What's in a name? A Reading Challenge

Jacquie and I have been talking about trying something new here at Books @ LP Reviews and we've found the perfect opportunity in a new reading challenge for 2008. Annie of words by Annie recently announced the launch of What's in a name? It's a new reading challenge that starts on New Year's Day and goes all year long. From Annie's blog, here are her instructions:

Dates: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008

The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a color in its title. Examples might include: The Amber Spyglass, The Red Pony, Blue Blood

2. A book with an animal in its title. Examples might include: The Hound of the Baskervilles, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julie of the Wolves

3. A book with a first name in its title. Examples might include: Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter books, Anne of Green Gables

4. A book with a place in its title. Examples might include: From Russia with Love, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Out of Africa

5. A book with a weather event in its title. Examples might include: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Red Storm Rising, Tornado Alley

6. A book with a plant in its title. Examples might include: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Name of the Rose, Flowers for Algernon

--You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category. (For example, you can use The Red Pony for either a "color" book or an "animal" book, but not for both.) ...

To meet the challenge, Jacquie and I will read and review the following titles in 2008:

1. A book with a color in its title: The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman (2000)

2. A book with an animal in its title: Good Dog. Stay, by Anna Quindlen (2007)

3. A book with a first name in its title: I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe (2004)

4. A book with a place in its title: Night Train to Lisbon, by Pascal Mercier (2007)

5. A book with a weather event in its title: My God!! It’s a Cyclone, by Jackson Lewis Latham, Jr. (2005)

6. A book with a plant in its title: The Rose that Grew from Concrete, by Tupac Amaru Shakur (1999)

We're looking forward to the challenge, and to reading everyone else's thoughts.

Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year from Books @ LP Reviews!

Persepolis

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (2004)

Originally published in French in 2000, Satrapi’s Persepolis draws from the author’s own story of growing up in Iran during the time of the Islamic revolution and the bloody war with Iraq.

Born into a socially progressive family, Satrapi is ten years old when Islamic fundamentalists take over all aspects of Iranian society from schools to dress codes. The author was not unlike many of her generation, who were weary of the corruption and scandals during the U.S.-backed Shah administration. However, for free thinkers like Satrapi, the revolution presents even more challenges.

The author presents herself as an outspoken and occasionally rebellious young woman. She is expelled from school following a physical altercation with a severe principal. Still more frightening is her description of a harrowing encounter with a women’s branch of the Guardians of the Revolution, a group of loyalists that were dispatched to the streets to enforce codes of dress and behavior. Young Marji is stopped, harassed, and cited for numerous violations of these rules. In spite of her Western dress, she is somehow able to avoid detention.

The most remarkable feature of the book is the author’s ability to inject humor into an often gravely serious situation. Much of Satrapi’s childhood is consumed with fears that a friend or family member will be executed, or that her block will be flattened by a Soviet-built Scud missle coming from Iraq. (Sadly, a close friend of hers is killed in this way.) In spite of these horrors, there are many light moments in this volume.

Also important is the format that Satrapi chooses, the graphic novel. One hopes that young people will be more motivated to read this important story in a visually appealing package. Strongly recommended for teens to adults.