In the Catskills, reading is alive and well, according to author Glynnis MacNicol.
“This idea that people aren’t reading is not actually true,” she said. “It’s not my experience as an author, it’s not my experience as a writer. I think that increasingly, we’re craving off-screens, real-life, something to hold in your hands.”
MacNicol is the author of the 2024 memoir, “I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself,” which was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024. She also authored the 2018 memoir, “No One Tells You This.” Both books address what she described as widespread societal narratives regarding women’s experiences.
“The themes are trying to counteract the narratives that we have around, in my case, women’s lives,” she said. “I really get frustrated when the culture is not reflecting how people are actually living.”
Both of MacNicol’s books were for sale at the inaugural Catskills Book Festival, which brought over a hundred readers to West Kill Brewing on Spruceton Road on Saturday, Aug. 8.
The festival, organized by Nick Aster and Jo Piazza of popup book shop Bookcase Books and Casey Sciezka and Steven Weinberg of the nearby Spruceton Inn, offered books for sale and a chance for visitors to connect with authors and each other.
Saugerties-based Thorn Tattoo was on-site offering literature-inspired designs. The Dorraine Scofield Duo, from West Shokan, performed live throughout the day. And, of course, visitors had their pick from West Kill Brewing’s selection of craft beers.
Several authors discussed their books on stage during the event. Early in the afternoon, Weinberg, author of “The Fly Fishing Book: An Artful Guide to Angling,” spoke in conversation with author Brant MacDuff of “The Shotgun Conservationist” and West Kill Brewing co-founder Mike Barcone. Later, Sciezka took the stage with author Isaac Fitzgerald.
Sciezka’s debut novel, “The Fountain,” was published in March.
MacNicol, former artist-in-residence at the Spruceton Inn, spoke on stage with Piazza, who, in addition to co-founding the festival, has authored 14 books.
“I’ve written five of them up here in the Catskills,” she said. “Specifically in this valley.”
Piazza’s most recent book, “The Parisian Heist,” got a lot of attention from shoppers at the festival. The book, published last month, follows the story of an American artist in Paris as she becomes entangled in an art heist at the Musée d’Orsay.
“I do mostly thrillers, histories, and a little bit of historical fiction,” Piazza said.
For Piazza too, the festival itself was a contradiction to the notion that reading is a dying hobby.
“People are reading, people are talking about books,” she said. “I think that people are desperate to see books out in the wild.”
A hunger for the written word is part of what sparked Piazza and Aster, who own a home in West Kill, to launch the festival.
“We found that, ironically, with more and more things being published, people enjoy having a little bit of curation,” Aster said. “When friends can recommend things and you can meet people and talk about books, it makes the whole experience a lot more fun.”
For Aster, the event was a trial run of what he said would hopefully be more to come.
“It’s kind of an experiment,” he said. “We want to see how this goes, and if it’s a success and people love it, we’ll definitely do it again.”
John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.
