Her book Reading Mystical Lyric: the Case of Jalal al-Din Rumi ( 1998 ) analyzes the poetic contribution of the medieval Persian poet and mystic Rumi. Her other literary study Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetic Sacred Making in Twentieth Century Iran (2006) deals with expressions of spirituality in present day Iran. Both these works received the Choice Magazine Award. Her latest book Jasmines and Stars: Reading more than Lolita in Tehran (2007) blends personal memoir with literary analysis and social commentary. It was described by ALA Booklist as an “excellent counterpoint” to Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran.