Heat
July 12, 2009

I’ve always found it a bit weird to see heat described as “shimmering,” though I will grant the term is usually used in conjunction with “waves. Shimmering waves of heat. Anyone who has experienced heat sufficiently hot to want to lie down and weep is likely familiar with the visual experience of “shimmering waves” of it, of watching something invisible like heat actually take on a physical quality. 

Granted, heat a la Santa Barbara, California, is likely to evoke snorts of derision from those in Arizona, Texas, New York, Louisiana—eeek!, humidity too—and other places I wouldn’t even think of stepping into, but let me tell you it gets hot here too. At least it does for those of us who think cold rain and dense fog are the ideal “season.”

We’re not in my ideal season.

Though relatively mild by most standards,  today’s summer heat is soaking into everything—my skin, my lungs, the outdoor furniture, the small, private roadway in front of my home, and the hills beyond my windows where not long ago the monstrous Jesusita fire spit flames and smoke in all directions. I can’t see any shimmering waves, but when I opened the sliding glass door to the patio that gets the morning sun, I felt them coming at me in the same way the heat from the opened  oven door on Thanksgiving Day greets me.  

As far as I’m concerned it’s too hot to go anywhere or do much except read and drink cold water, which is what I plan to do as soon as I finish this letter. American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century is awaiting me on my sofa. It’s a thus-far riveting story of the destruction of the Los Angeles Times printing plant in 1910—a crime born out of the early twentieth century’s volatile mix of capitalism, unionism, anarchism, patriarchism—and the repercussions it had for people, businesses, and politics both near and far removed from the crime itself. It’s a hot story thus far. It may even be in the running for “shimmering.”

Upcoming Book Festivals:
This year is the inauguration of the Iowa City Book Festival, which will take place on Saturday, July 18, in Gibson Square on the University of Iowa campus. Among the day’s activities will be vendors, a music stage, children’s activities, book arts demonstrations, author readings, and panel discussions (“Start a Book Group.” “Book Tech Showcase,” “Write a Literary Blog,” and more). There is also a special Pre-Festival Dinner on Friday evening with the authors that includes cocktails, a dinner, and a film screening. Other than the dinner, all events are free.

The Pub House:
History Press is a bit unusual for a house with more than a few books in print. They focus on “preserving and enriching community by empowering local history enthusiasts to write local stories, for local audiences, as only a local can.” But it’s not just for one geographical area. Instead, this publisher, located in Charleston, South Carolina,  now has more than 500 books in print that cover local history in twenty-nine states from the east coast through the Midwest.

Their series include American Chronicles, Brief History, Definitive, History, Disaster, Forgotten Tales, Haunted America, History & Guide, Landmarks, Narrative, True Crime, Murder & Mayhem, Wicked, Vintage Images, 101 Glimpses, Lost, and Picturing the 20th Century. Other than the series they also offer books in individual subjects such as African American, Art & Architecture, Maritime, Military, Nature, and Sports.

Their strongest work is probably southern related, not surprising given their location, but they have a superb selection of works in all the above areas. Do check this out if you live in, have an interest in, or will be traveling to any of the states whose local history they have published. 

Of Interest:
Over in the London, Oxfam, the organization devoted to fighting hunger, has enticed authors and celebrities to work in its bookstore to highlight and celebrate its inaugural Oxfam Bookfest, a book festival that began on July 4 and continues until July 18 in hundreds of venues around the country. Oxfam is the third largest bookseller in the UK with 130 shops, but their goal is to provide food, clean drinking water and education to people in the third world. “Book sales have been helping us in our fight against poverty for more than 50 years, as we've sold everything from the first ever Sherlock Holmes story to the latest Harry Potter novel," said David McCullough, Oxfam's director of trading. "During Bookfest, we want people to donate to and buy from our bookshops so they can really see the impact that buying a book from Oxfam can have on the lives of poor people around the world.” If you are or will be in London during those dates, join the festival. Buy some books and help some lives at the same time.
 
This Week . . .
is a good time to go to the moon. We Choose the Moon is a fantastic site set up to celebrate and recreate the Apollo 11 mission that resulted in humankind’s first landing on the moon on July 29, 1969. Click in here, and experience the entire mission from pre-launch to the successful conclusion, each with its own countdown.  You’ll follow both Mission Control and the astronauts throughout the entire mission if you download this onto your desktop or your favorite social network. Highly recommended for all astro fans. 

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren