The Chicago Reading Series hosted by Bookslut's own Jessa Crispin is tomorrow night and Paula Kamen will be there in addition to Beth Lisick and Peter Manseau. I was vaguely familiar with all of the authors but I followed a link in the Bookslut blog a few weeks ago to an amazing Salon essay by Kamen on Iris Chang. It's a gorgeous piece of work, and worthy of a lot of readership - an excellent elegy to a lost friend in all respects. Chang's book, The Rape of Nanking, has long been one of those titles I keep bumping into, but have yet to pick up. Well, it is certainly on my list for next year (which is humming along btw and looking quite fascinating.) I worked in a bookstore in Fairbanks for several years when Chang's book came out and it was quite popular. I know such a tiny bit of Chinese history, which is stupid when you consider how our two countries are at constant loggerheads, and even more embarrassing when I tell you I have a degree in American History. China was just a blip in all the classes I took though - hardly more than an afterthought. So, I'll be picking it up as I go along. I am also going to read Anchee Min's Red Azelea because her interview in Writers on the Air was so fantastic. I don't know how I missed her all these years, but then again I shouldn't be surprised. I missed China for God's sake!
I took a bunch of photos at my son's birthday party yesterday and realized this morning that really, I have to get my act together photo wise. Mine are all actually in order in photo boxes, but I never did a baby book for my son and I want to do that. I kept everything, all the little tidbit pieces of paper from the hospital and doctor visits and I keep an appointment book where I write notes about him (first word, first step, first time he said shit.....:), so I have it all, I just haven't done anything complete with it all. I'm a huge fan of illustrated journalling, Dan Eldon is a personal hero (both artistically and otherwise) and I love the book his mother and sister did after his death, The Journey is the Destination. I also adore Peter Beard's work, and I have his latest book Zara's Tales which is a must for everyone and anyone, regardless of age, who is a fan of Africa and animals everywhere. (Get this - Donna Seaman is the one who reviewed Zara for Booklist, and she calls it a "gem." Is it a small world or what? Donna is everywhere!) I reviewed Zara for Eclectica Magazine and sent a note to Peter's gallery letting him know about the review. And in return, I received a letter in the mail from the man himself! Pretty awesome moment for me as I love his work so much. That pretty much cemented my resolve to get some illustrated journals of my own going. It's a nice way to leave a mark on the world. I guess that reading about Iris Chang gets me thinking about immortality. She changed history with her book, I just wish she had saved herself in the process.
Sometimes life truly is not fair. We are all here for just 15 minutes really - 15 minutes that will go by so fast. My son is 4 years old now but he was born just yesterday, I swear it. Making my mark is something I can never lose sight of.
In National Book Award news, my review of Walter Dean Myers's Autobiography of my Dead Brother will be up in the November issue of Bookslut. This is just a first class book all the way, I can't recommend it enough. Don't think of it as a "message" book, just read and enjoy it as a book about kids in America today. You probably will learn something, but it will be a painless lesson, I promise.
