Community Reads

Concord, New Hampshire, (2010)

Brentwood City Read (CA), 2009

Carlsbad Reads Together (CA), 2009

Bensenville, Illinois 2008
Wood Dale and Ithasca (IL) 2008
The Big Read, Dayton, Ohio 2008
Lamorinda Reads 2008
Berkeley Reads 2006
Palo Alto Reads 2006
Cape Ann Community Reads 2006
One Book, One Whittier 2005
Orange County Reads One Book - 2004

“We chose Funny in Farsi as our first community-wide read book in Palo Alto, and it was the perfect choice. The book is very readable – both humorous and touching – and it is quite accessible to everyone from middle school students to adults. It is also excellent for promoting cultural understanding, which is always a good thing in these times. In addition, Firoozeh Dumas is an absolutely wonderful speaker; she is as funny as any stand-up comedienne. We also invited Firoozeh to work with high school classes, and the students enjoyed the book and her presence so much that they clamored for her to return later in the school year. I would unhesitatingly recommend Funny in Farsi to any community looking for a great book for a community read.”

–Maya Spector, Coordinator of Library Programs/School Liaison, Palo Alto City Library

“What an unexpected pleasure it was to work closely with Firoozeh Dumas!  Not only was her book funny–which made it extremely popular–but she made it fun to have her at the myriad events we sponsored.  What a trooper she was, regaling audiences in schools, libraries, or wherever.  Whether elders or children, the audiences always found something both heartwarming and hilarious in her remarks.  Firoozeh showed us that we truly have more in common than we have differences. We would do it all over again in a minute!”

– Mary E. Barton, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Orange County Reads One Book

“Concord Reads 2010 was a great success in large part because we were able to bring Firoozeh to our town to talk about the books in person. She’s a fantastic speaker and I’ve never seen to so many young people at a community reads event.  We chose Funny In Farsi and Laughing Without An Accent partly because of their appeal to a wide range of readers of all ages, and our chair did a great job of engaging the Concord High Global Connections club. We also discovered that the local Catholic high school had chosen Funny In Farsi as their school-wide summer read; partnering with them was another wonderful component of our program this year and I would recommend that other community read groups reach out to high schools and coordinate programming. Another successful component of Concord Reads 2010 was our film programming; Firoozeh recommended great titles. Rick Steves’ Iran special was well received, but the best attendance, except for Firoozeh’s events, was for the showing of Our Summer In Tehran at our local independent movie theater. The World Affairs Council of NH joined us and invited an Iranian American college professor to lead the post-film discussion.  Firoozeh’s books are terrific, she’s a great resource for programming suggestions, and most of all, she went out of her way to accommodate our requests that she speak at the community college as well as our public program and high school event.”

–Deb Baker,  Concord Reads committee member and Events Coordinator at Gibson’s Bookstore