Last week, I went to a book party for Frances Moore Lappé, inspirational author and activist, and inspirational mother of Anna Lappé and Anthony Lappé. In addition to writing about the place of the individual in politics and society, she published Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad in a totally individual way. Eschewing traditional publishers, she decided to “walk the walk” and form Small Planet Media to retain full control over the creative aspects and production values of the book. She found a union printer willing to print with soy ink on recycled paper and adopted a Creative Commons copyright to help encourage the dissemination of the book’s message. Buy a copy here, or check out a short webumentary first. I’m just sorry your screening won’t come with awesome vegan hors d’oeuvres.

In other book news, Not Quite What I Was Planning is coming together quickly. We’ve gotten some early press, and some of the book’s best six-word memoirs are taking a warm-up run in the Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, available now.