Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran by Elaine Sciolino

Persian Mirrors

4/5. American journalist on Iran from 1979 to 2000. Largely recollections of her extended time in country organized thematically – women's lives, religion, money, etc. Excellent.

Persona and Icon by Genevieve Valentine

Persona and Icon

3/5. Pair of short novels about a woman who is the face of a nation (sort of ambassador, sort of pawn, sort of mascot) in a nearish future surveillance world. She is a lot sharper than she is given credit for, and she's going to need to be.

Exactly the books about celebrity and surveillance and media that I expected out of the author of those famous red carpet recaps. These books are about power and image and narrative, with a twist of nihilistic sadness through them. I picked them up thinking they would be a continuation of the general theme of digital futurism I've got going. They are, but they are also much more political fiction than I was expecting.