Foot and Fire

The Republic of Imagination (America in Three Books) Azar Nafisi Hardbound, 328 pages I loved her in Reading Lolita in Tehran because she reminded me not to be a passive reader and to appreciate fiction more, especially when I am in my reading stage when I devote most of my readings on non-fiction, memoirs and autobiography to be specific. I have a long list of readings after Lolita. Her stories in Lolita captivated me because of the fear and danger attached to her founding a reading circle in a totalitarian Iran. Her hunger for readings made me appreciate my freedom to read and I took it upon myself as responsibility to read more. And here comes this book. This is not as fast-paced and as interesting a story as Lolita but Author Nafisi made me rethink here of my reading. In my reading infancy years, reading excites me with stories of varied settings but when I have already made some travels, my reading interests shifted to culture and nonfiction and as I mature as a reader, I...

Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi Memoir, Randomhouse 2003. Paperback, 347 pages This memoir is a sure delightful read among readers as they can immediately connect with the relish of the author in reading in a way that only readers can savor. Though I do not read fiction nowadays, I still can relate to the joy of reading. But amazingly, this book offers more.  While the author and her students reflect on their lack of freedom in their country, Islamic Republic of Iran, in every character or circumstance in the novel that they read, I cannot help myself from reflecting as to how in my country, Philippines, freedom is disregarded simply because it is just around. I can only conclude that want is always a good motivator in achieving something. The memoir tells of a reading circle hosted by the author for two years at her house at the time when universities were either closing or being dictated by Mujahideen (holy warriors) and when the author was out of he...