"Nobody cares about books anymore," you might hear from time to time. Azar Nafisi begs to differ.
She taught great American works of fiction to students in repressive conditions in Iran and told the story in her book Reading Lolita in Tehran.
Now Nafisi tells the story of the importance of fiction in democratic societies--ours included--in The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books.
She visits The Exchange to talk about the three books and their relevance in today's world.
Followup links: Azar mentioned Dick Davis... here he is.
Also mentioned: Mage Publishers, with many titles that originated in Iran.