Reading Lolita in Iran? Try, Tony Robbins

A recent article by Mehr News briefly discusses best selling books in Iran. The article looks into the hottest-selling books in bookstores in Tehran, Qom, Sanandaj, and Masjed-e Soleiman.

Some of the popular titles were predictable (such as the Harry Potter series, or Khaled Husseini's stuff), but others, such as the works of self-help guru Anthony Robbins were surprising. Tehran and Qom book-mongers mentioned a particular interest among their customers for Anthony Robbins and similar self-help literature. For some reason I get a big kick out of imagining seminarians in Qom mixing Tony Robbins' tips for success with their legal and religious studies. Perhaps Western leaders should delve more into neuro-linguistic programing before the next round of nuclear talks.

On that matter, I think it's pretty clear that the Ahmadinejad administration is not going to budge an iota while Bush is still in the White House. Right now, Ahmadinejad and the rest of the hardliners (including the Supreme Leader) are gearing up for the upcoming election season in Iran, and they run the risk of alienating their radical base if they are seen as "compromising" with the West.

[Image: Tony Robbins, big in Iran and loving every minute of it.]