Q&A with Amy Daml: Host of Beijing Storytellers and Curator at Loreli
Amy Daml is one of the creators of Loreli China. A portmanteau of look, read, and listen, Loreli is a new arts and culture website that aims to spotlight creatives in Beijing. Below we speak to Amy about her favorite books, old and new.
Favorite book from childhood?
Where the Wild Things Are. This book has great illustrations and a good moral. Don’t be a jerk to your mom or she’s going to with hold your dinner until you hallucinate. Let the wild rumpus start!!
Book you wish you had written?
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I really wish I were witty and nerdy enough to write a popular sci-fi series with its own novelty towels.
If you only ever read one book about China, make it …
I would say Factory Girls by Leslie Chang because it is one of the best books that looks into the lives of migrant workers and even though it’s heartbreaking, it shows some girls really kicking ass at climbing the ladder.
What’s a good book to read during turbulence?
A book of crappy poetry written by a guy you made out with once (title to remain unnamed) because knowing that this is only his first published book makes you want to die.
Book you wish you hadn’t read?
The Book From Above. I only read this book of crappy poetry because I got peer pressured into buying it to support the guy I made out with once. Since it costs a fortune for Amazon to send books to China, I figured I’d read it to get my money’s worth. It was not worth my money.
What’s the last book you read?
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard. We read it for book club at The Bookworm. I like to read personal accounts of historical events that occurred in places I travel. I actually thought it was fiction because it was so well written as a story until I read the little blurb on the front cover stating that, for the most part, this is the recollection of the author’s experiences in Shanghai during World War II.
What’s the last book you bought?
The Wisdom of Yoga . An RMB 5 impulse purchase found because I happened to attend a book sale at the same time that I was thinking, “I should get in shape.”
What book do you pretend to have read, but haven’t really?
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Don’t tell my college professor, but I never finished this book for class. I got about three-quarters of the way and then just read the summary to find out what happened. I always meant to go back and finish reading it, but I got lazy. Which fictional “world” would you most like to be part of? I think it’d be cool to visit the Whos down in Whoville, but only after the Grinch gave Christmas back to them.
Join Amy Daml and the rest of the Loreli team at 4corners next Friday (Dec 4) for their official launch party. There'll be plenty of great drinks deals, DJs, and lots of prizes.
More stories by this author here.
Email: danielkippwhittaker@thebeijinger.com
Photo courtesy of Amy Daml
