Monday, March 16, 2015

Tucson Festival of Books

It's my favorite weekend of the year... and Tucson has a lot of really good weekends.
It started on Friday night with The Rock Bottom Remainders
Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Scott Turow were just a few of the authors who should keep their day jobs.
What they lacked in skill they made up for with enthusiasm.
Amy Tan has some dance moves, and Dave Barry has a love affair going on with the harmonica, and I'm still hoarse from singing along.
The concert was over by 9:30; we were told that clapping for an encore would be to no avail.
They had played all the songs they knew.

The next morning dawned sunny and warm.
I parked where I wanted to end my day, and strolled past the circus performers 
and down the UofA Mall.
It was lined with those ubiquitous white tents... tents which captured the heat as Valerie Plame and Michael McGarrity interviewed one another. 
The moderator had nothing to do but enjoy the repartee.... which, except for a grammatical faux pas or two from Mr. McGarrity, was filled with insight and rage.
Hearing Valerie Plame speak about Dick Cheney is something everyone should witness in this lifetime. 

Merle Reagle started Sunday morning off with an hour of word puzzles.
Correct answers were rewarded with chocolates in the shape of books.
The big winners received gift certificates to book stores and movies and restaurants.
I'm happy to report that I took home a $25 gift certificate to a local book store.

Brenda Starr has a journalist's crush on Leonard Pitts,
and after hearing him speak, I know why.
He read aloud from his 2012 novel, Freeman, and the characters came alive.
His take on America was depressing.... and real.

There were interactive crossword puzzles along the Mall, 
and tours of the Mirror Lab 
but the best part of the festival is how personal it can be.
Jean Kwok (Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown) has a very friendly Facebook page, on which she invited me to say hello when she came to my town.  I did just that on Sunday afternoon.  I took her up on the offer of a photograph, and here we are:
There will be more on #TFOB tomorrow.
For now, I'm going to drink green tea and soothe my throat and let the words in my head wander through my soul.  Sharing the sunshine with 100,000+ book lovers is a lovely way to spend a weekend. 




6 comments:

  1. Love Dave Barry. Miss his weekly column in the Washington Post. He always made me laugh. And what I wouldn't give to see Valerie Plame. I think what Dick Cheney did was unforgivable. He should be in jail for treason, but I will leave that for another discussion. ;)

    Thanks for sharing your weekend with us.


    Megan xxx

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    1. Ms Plame agrees with you, Megan :) She's stunning, brilliant, forceful and RIGHT!
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  2. What a great weekend. You made me soooo envious. Fortunately, I'm headed out to my Ladies Who Lunch March meet up, otherwise, I would sit here and mope. 8-)

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    1. No moping! Lunching is a great alternative. Perhaps you and the grandkids could take a weekend trip next year. The kids' area is AMAZING!
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  3. I walked the TFOB this past weekend, really could not get into any of the authors. There was a huge increase in the fantasy and graphic genre this year.

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    1. The smaller venues are always less populated, Chris. I avoid the big ones and feel smug sitting 1 row away from Jean Kwok in the afternoon. I noticed more fantasy, too.
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Talk back to me! Word Verification is gone!