Weekly Roundup of History, Archaeology and Writing Wisdom March 1-7

Tucson Festival of Books is fast approaching, March 14-15. If you live in Arizona and love to read, this is the place for you. Definitely worth a drive down either day or both. You’ll be amazed at the authors who are speaking this year. Do check it out. A good chance one of your favorite authors is going to be in Tucson next weekend.  The schedule of events can be found by clicking here on the Tucson Festival of Books Event Schedule page. I’ll be there all weekend. I have two signings of Hand of Fire and two panels I’m moderating. I’d love to see you at some of these activities. Here’s my schedule:

Signings:

Saturday 11:50-2:00 in the Arizona Authors Association booth 158

Sunday 1-2 in the Desert Sleuths Sisters in Crime booth 122

Panels:

Saturday 2:30-3:30 “Strong Female Protagonist” UA Bookstore, with authors Alex Kava, Becky Masterman and Susan Cummins Miller

Sunday 10:00-11:00 “Distinctly Different Voices” UA Bookstore, with authors Elizabeth Gunn, J.M. “Mike” Hayes and Thomas Perry

I’ve spent much of the last few weeks reading the novels of the authors I’m moderating—a very enjoyable project. I highly recommend coming to hear these smart writers talking about their fiction. I’ve worked hard on some compelling questions to put to them and I’m sure they’ll enjoy your questions also.

Because I’ve had my nose buried in the books of the above six authors, my time reading around the web was pretty minimal this week. Here are the bits I did pick up that I enjoyed:

Mary Tod started a series on “social reading” with a list of 12 thoughts about what social reading is and how the landscape of reading has changed. I like her list and I enjoy the interacting with readers that this new world opens up. I also think when we focus on the social media readers we sometimes forget that a lot of people are still curled up with a good book or a Kindle and not going online with their thoughts or questions. Which doesn’t decrease the need for a writer today to converse with the “social” readers, but I think we need to seek face-to-face environments with readers also, because that’s where the non-online “social” reader will join in. Click here for Mary Tod’s blog A Writer of History “10 Thoughts on Social Reading”

A post about one of the most acclaimed Turkish writers, Yasar Kemal, who died last week. This blog, by the way, “Turkey: Istanbul and Beyond” is written by my friend and guide Sevil Çonka. If you are ever going to Turkey I recommend her for those who love history and want to understand what they are seeing or go on an unbeaten path. This photo is from my trip with her near Troy. She’s the one in the white shirt. Her blog is a fun place to arm chair travel also. Click here for “Yasar Kemal, the Hero of Turkish Literature” on Istanbul Walks and Turkey Blog by SevilÇonka