Since last weekend my soul has been haunted by the images of Neda, dying before our very eyes, in the streets of Iran. She could be me, I her. The heartbreak is painful but bittersweet - aren't we lucky to here and not there? Still our hearts grieve and our humanity empathizes. Pain, injustice, tragedy, oppresion sometimes knows no boundaries.

I thought I would put together a list of books to learn more about, celebrate and honor Iranian culture and shed light on the issues at hand:

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey From Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution by Sattareh Farman Farmaian

Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison by Marina Nemat

The Quince Seed Potion: A Novel by Morteza Baharloo

Let Me Tell You Where I've Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora by Persis M. Karim

The Septembers of Shiraz: A Novel (P.S.) by Dalia Sofer

Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran by Shahrnush Parsipur

Cry Of The Peacock by Gina B. Nahai

Young and Defiant in Tehran by Shahram Khosravi

Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour and Sara Khalili

The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story by Freidoune Sahebjam