Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi There are a lot of good comic books out there. And there’s a lot of good “contemporary women’s fiction,” aka book club books out there, with enough heft to carry over an hour or so discussion. This memoir fits nicely into both categories. Satrapi (five years older than me) tells a story of growing up in Iran in the 70s and 80s, moving from one repressive regime to another. The illustrations are very simple black and white, expressive and occasionally stunningly beautiful. The stark contrasts are especially telling as they illustrate the story of a girl learning that life isn’t black and white. Comic fans will probably already have read this. Everyone else should put it on their lists now.