Arts & Entertainment

Book Lovers Converge on Collingswood

Haddon Avenue clogged with authors, readers and even literary characters during the ninth annual Collingswood Book Festival.

They came to escape in a world of fantasy, to picture running with abandon with the Tarahumara Indians, to get lost in New Jersey’s history and even to go collect specimens for an alien zoo.

No matter why book lovers converged on the Collingswood Book Festival Saturday, they found a genre that suited their literary preferences.

In a nine-year and counting tradition, Haddon Avenue turned into a mixture of outdoor library, bookstore and festival grounds as thousands milled around absorbing the wonder of the written word.

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“Just unbelievable,” attendee Carol Sickler said as she looked around. As a borough employee, “I know how much work goes into this day, and to see it all come together, and see people have a great time, is just wonderful.”

Sickler and husband Mike couldn’t stick around long to chat, though—3-year-old Kylie Davis was pulling them away to show off her homemade book, My House, created at the festival.

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Elsewhere along Haddon Avenue, readers encountered authors with slightly more experience than Kylie. Christopher McDougall, who wrote Collingswood’s town book of 2011, Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, was on hand to talk about his experiences with the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, who effortlessly run long distances.

Jerry Blavat, “The Geator with The Heater,” proved a big draw to people who came out to hear more about his career as a Philadelphia disc jockey. With a line snaked down halfway down the block, Blavat signed copies of his autobiography, You Only Rock Once: My Life In Music.

Sue Flynn of Collingswood was among the people waiting in line for Blavat’s autograph. An avid reader, Flynn has attended the Collingswood Book Festival for years. Looking around at the thousands of books on sale, Flynn ruminated on the printed word versus the increasingly popular e-readers.

“I have (an e-reader), but I mostly like it for the free classics you can get on it,” she said. “It’s just not the same; there’s something about holding a book itself.”

Writer, Meet Reader

Collingswood Book Festival is a time for authors to connect with their readers, an especially valuable tool for less well-known writers.

An author like Stuart Clark, for example, can talk more with science fiction fans about the genre face-to-face at an event like the festival. Clark, who lives in Little Silver, NJ, pens the Project U.L.F series.

“They’re science fiction adventure novels about a futuristic zoo of alien life forms, and the people who capture the aliens for exhibits,” Clark explained. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved science fiction, and this takes the alien invasion trope and flips it on its head.”

For history writer Cheryl Baisden, the book festival is a time to share her knowledge of South Jersey history. Baisden has penned five books in the Images of America series, which focuses on one town or one institution in an area. Baisden’s installments include the Delaware River Port Authority, South Jersey Farming and Camden.

She especially enjoys meeting readers interested in the Camden book, as the city has rapidly transformed in just a few generations.

“What is seen in Camden today wasn’t the case in the past,” Baisden said. “For people 50 and older, they likely have very different memories of Camden and hold them in their heart. I like to hear those stories.”

Count supernatural and horror author Christine Dougherty among those who also like to talk with readers. For those who got past the pale, bloody ghoul guarding Dougherty’s table, she stood ready to dish on her chosen genre.

“I’m impressed,” she said of the festival. “There are a lot of people here and, really, there is no better way to connect with your readers than meeting them in person at events like this.”

 

Check out a photo gallery of Saturday's event at .


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