The Complete Persepolis

Title: The Complete Persepolis

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Genre: Memoir/Graphic Novel

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's coming-of-age story. Starting in 1979, Marji is 9 and the Islamic Revolution is about to start in Iran. Persepolis follows Marji through the next 15 years of her life, through war and peace, adolescence, her teen years, into young adulthood and marriage (and out of it). We follow her from Iran to Austria and back, in and out of relationships and through it all we watch her struggle to realize who she is despite - or because - of her background, religion, and surroundings.

There were times I wanted to cry for Marji, cheer for her braveness, slap her for her cowardice, and just plain hide from the regime I could sense around every corner, looking for a stray hair from beneath her veil or the wrong color socks beneath her trousers.

Persepolis is amazing. At once simple and complex, it manages in 340 pages of words and pictures to capture what no novel could ever do: the experience of growing up Iranian during one of the most violent and terrifying periods of the 20th century.

Looking for God in Harry Potter

Title: Looking for God in Harry Potter
Author: John Granger
Source: Border's
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This book is one of my favorite pieces of meta. I'm a Christian attending/working at a Christian college, and a huge fan of the Harry Potter series. This book is interesting to read there - it's certainly a conversation starter.

Granger (no relation to the character by the same name) goes in depth looking at the Christian imagery and heritage of the Harry Potter books. The topics he writes on range from the imagery of alchemy to the choices one makes affecting one's life and one's walk with God. Granger's theology is sound, based directly on the Bible, and not necessarily on any one denomination or theologian.