If you read it, post your thoughts in the comments section below.
If you didn't read it, post an explanation of why not.
Our Summer Reading Program choice for 2024 is Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of a Global Citizen, by Firoozeh Dumas.
Storytelling about life's adventures and opportunities is where Dumas shines in her 2008 New York Times bestseller. Dumas' wit, humor, and candid look at the world around us provides a glimpse into the commonalities we all share despite our varied backgrounds. Laughing Without an Accent shows how perspective has a lot to do with success. Much like becoming a college student, Dumas encounters unchartered territory while embracing challenges as opportunity for discovery about herself and the world around her.
We hope you will join us in welcoming author Firoozeh Dumas to MTSU on Saturday, August 24, 2024. As the university's 23rd Summer Reading keynote speaker, Dumas will address MTSU's incoming class at this year's Convocation.
I appreciate the honesty that is present in the storytelling of Laughing Without an Accent.
ReplyDeleteHunter Dickson
I had no idea there was summer reading, if I did I definitely would have read it. I'm sure I was notified at some point but I must have missed it.
ReplyDeleteI did buy the book, the the weeks after were fairly busy for me, however, I do intend to read it soon or by the end of September. Recently I have not been reading much, so when I did have some down time I forgot about even owning the book as I normally ready horror or mystery books.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot? Steve Martin used to do an amusing routine where that was the punchline.
DeleteI'm glad you read horror and mystery. But don't limit yourself. There are whole worlds of written discourse out there, and reading widely is still the best virtual reality technology we've devised.
Dear Dr. Oliver,
ReplyDeleteI read the book two months ago. First, it is about the cultural differences between Americans and Iranians. Dumas, of course, humorously compares her childhood life in Iran to her life in the States, the hardships of translating humor across languages, and her culture shock. I found the book funny and insightful at the same time. She highlights that cultural differences can actually bring people together.
I could relate to this book only because I'm an Indian student studying in the US. I honestly agree with her on most of the points she makes about the educational system, food culture, family values, and cultural celebrations. After reading the book, I found that Iranian culture is almost similar to Indian culture but very different from American culture.
While it is true that jokes made in one language or culture might not be as humorous when done in the other, I feel that, as humans, each one of us can understand and relate basic warmth and comedy.
Overall, I loved the book and enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend it, especially to those interested in cultural differences and comedy.
Maheswari Ramesh
Thanks, that's a terrific review.
DeleteGavin Cooley
ReplyDeleteWhile I had begun to read Laughing Without An Accent some time back, it swiftly found a home at the back of my bookshelf, unlikely to be picked up again. I have no quarrel with the content or the creator, it just simply wasn't a piece of literature that would have been able to hold my attention for longer than a few hours. The book was, in a sense, too "bland" for my liking. This sentiment was amplified due to the fact that I had began Dumas's book shortly after finishing The Undertow by Jeff Sharlet, which I affirm as one of the greatest pieces of political commentary from the past decade. This alone was a hard switch in subject matter, making it difficult for me to keep pace with the book's story and themes. Inline with this sense of unfortunate circumstances, I had just started Dumas's book when I discovered another striking piece of political-religious commentary. The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory by Tim Alberta immediately captured my attention and stole my mind away from Dumas's writings. In summary, Laughing Without An Accent took a hit from poor timing within my literary world, a blow which it was unlikely to recover from.
I was somewhat amused by the numerous short stories Firoozeh Dumas relayed in her memoir Laughing Without an Accent. Navigating her way in a new world with unfamiliar holiday customs like Thanksgiving yams, Dumas weaves her native Iranian traditions such as Persian New Year and khoresh (that Persian dish) into her story to point out her differences are what makes her unique. In an effort to hold onto some customs and embrace new traditions, Dumas examines how differences should be celebrated and nurture personal growth.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, I laughed out loud when Dumas recounted how her family was pulled over when bringing home the desks that barely fit through their house door. After spotting multiple U-Hauls when moving into my dorm, I wonder if some students experienced this same dilemma? Nevertheless, we all share some common threads - we value education and hopefully become better people. In her memoir, Dumas encourages the reader to embrace differences and accept each other
Roman Phillips
DeleteSo did I absolutely loved the chapter and I liked the way she made her fathers stubbornness sound almost endearing
DeleteI loved the book I found the emotional chapters extremely compelling such as her discussion of the lose of her older relative Kazeem I loved the way she managed to truly humanize and familiarize her stories as if you were in the room having a conversation with her and express a wide range of human emotion. Additionally I found the way she managed to engage and get the reader truly enveloped and invested in the story within only a few pages truly awe inspiring
ReplyDeleteI am 4-5 chapters in and plan to finish it, but I was late to acquire the book and then I was caught up with moving. Now that I have time between classes, I plan to finish it. I think her writing style is incredibly easy to digest while still being engaging and thoughtful. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into the chapters in order to make them entertaining and intelligent. I hope to be able to provide a review at a later time.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the book until Saturday, and originiallly I put off reading it because it was advertised as a comedic book. I usually read historical fiction, science fiction.. a bit of every genre except for comedy and romance, so knowing that it's retelling of her story I will definitely be reading it. Her speech at Convocation really spoke to me, so I hope the book does as well!
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear about what you think of the book when you get a little bit into the chapters.
DeleteCan't say I knew we had summer reading. I did not read or buy this book but the cover looks fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI did read the book and I didn’t ever truly get into the story. I didn’t really dislike it and some of the stories on their own were charming but nothing special. It was fun to learn about Iran and the differences and her parents were kinda funny.
ReplyDeleteThis was written by Aidin Card
DeleteI didn't read this because I wasn't aware of this book or the summer reading at all that being said it sounds interesting simply based off the fact that it deals with the topic of how different cultures can have a different view of the world.
ReplyDeleteI never got around to reading the whole book. I read chapter one and thought it was cute, but I guess I wasn't entirely hooked by Dumas's sense of humor. I was more interested in the theme of cultural differences and bridging gaps between people, but unfortunately, I never found the motivation to sit down and open it up again. And, then, it was too late.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of fun reading this book! I really love her way of storytelling. Personally there was never a moment I got bored with and felt like I wanted to skip. It was also really great to learn about all of the cultural differences. Another thing I enjoyed about the book is the way she broke up all of her stories. I think writing her experiences "out of order" instead of sequentially was really interesting. It made me want to keep reading just to see if she would talk about her husband or her childhood next. Overall I thought this was a great summer read and It had me laughing out loud even at work!
ReplyDeleteYour comment has inspired me even more to go buy the book! I really like where you mentioned she tells her stories out of order. I feel like that would be a fascinating concept.
DeleteI personally did not read the book, honestly because I wasn’t sold on it when I went to the CUSTOMS meeting during the summer, but I did go to the convocation and after hearing her speak, my mind was changed. She had some interesting points on what she wrote about, and her perspective and the changes of them intrigued me. So I will definitely be looking into it soon.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the chance to read it this summer because I was working. It seems like it would have been an interesting eead though.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read it because I did not know there was summer reading. I don't know if it was already announced but I probably should have payed more attention to it.
ReplyDeleteI did not take part in the summer reading. After listening to the author speak at convocation, I wish I had considered it. The reason I did not read it was because I never got around to it. I love to read, however do not have a ton of excess time on my hands to do so. Times when I had the opportunity to sit down for a few moments over the summer, I worked through my already very excessive stack of, "want to reads." I am working through multiple books at the moment. I will definitely consider reading, "Laughing Without an Accent" in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad to see that people shy away from this book because of disinterest or ignorance. If you're reading this and gave the book a chance, nice try! That being said, I wanted to share my thoughts on this incredible book in an attempt to persuade you to finish it.
ReplyDeleteThis book opened me up to the idea of "true conversation." I'm not talking about the half attempts at talking we make in class. I can't tell you how many times someone's asked for my major, talked for like 5 minutes, and continued to be silent this week alone. I understand that most of us are new to making new connections. However, something that I learned from this book is that we may be approaching this idea wrong. For a person like Dumas, living in America was practically the opposite to her life in Iran. While she attended American schools, college was a different ballgame. She struggled for a year before making a single worthwhile connection despite her dedication to meeting new people. Wherever she went, the same shallow conversations continued with no new progress. Despite being innately "different," Dumas trudged forward with the goal of having "true conversation" with her college student counterparts. She was so tired of the shallow nature of her conversations to the point where she moved out on her own accord to create situations to learn about other people. This behavior inspired me, and I believe it can inspire everyone reading this comment to do the same. Putting yourself out there is hard, but chances are that by reading this book, you'll find a way to do it!
#H1
ReplyDeleteI did not read Laughing Without an Accent. I was not made aware there was summer reading until it was too late, however, I was present when the author made a great speech at freshman convocation. Hearing the author go into detail comparing how she was raised with misinformation about dogs to how people interact with each other today was very interesting and definitely left me thinking about it afterwards. If we live each day in fear of each other and judging books by their covers similarly to how the author did with dogs, how are we going to understand one another? I thought the authors speech was inspiring and put things into perspective that if we want to interact with people and build relationships, we cannot be afraid of each other and we must pursue the truth about people and ourselves rather than hearing from outside voices.