By the Book/Alex Brubaker
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Previewing the Harrisburg Book Festival
t’s August, and that means it’s time to hurry up and finish those books you promised to read by the end of the summer. Maybe you’re devouring Book Lovers by Emily Henry, or sitting in suspense with Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake, or binging the latest hit from Colleen Hoover. Whatever you’re reading these days, it’ll soon be time to look ahead to the fall. For us at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, fall means something else entirely — and that’s the 10th Annual Harrisburg Book Festival, which will take place from Wednesday, October 19th to Sunday, October 23rd. This will be the first in-person festival since 2019, way back when we didn’t know if there’d be another festival, let alone another year of bookselling. The good news is we’re back, we’ll be meeting in-person again, and we anticipate hosting the largest free book festival in Pennsylvania with over 7,000+ attendees across five days. So, what happens at a book festival? We’ve got the exclusive teaser details below — from author events and signings to an outdoor tent sale, blind-date-with-a-book, children’s activities, and more! Outdoor Tent Sale Perhaps the most popular and crowd-favorite addition to the festival lineup happens in a 30’ x 60’ tent across the street from the bookstore on the corner of Verbeke and 3rd. The outdoor tent will include over 10,000+ used books at bargain prices, ranging from $1, $2, and $3 across fiction, history, biography, art, poetry, classics, children’s literature, and more. Open from Wednesday, October 18th - Sunday October 23rd from 10am- 6pm each day, so make sure to send out the alert notice to your book club and tell your friends! Author Events and Signings The festival wouldn’t be what it is without the creative voices behind those books we love—the authors. Over the years, the festival has hosted conversations and signings with such beloved authors as Ibram X. Kendi, Stephen Chbosky, Tayari Jones, John Grisham, and Madeline Miller. This year, we’ll feature an author conversation and signing each day with a celebrated author working in their genre. While we can’t unveil any authors quite yet, we’re excited at the upcoming lineup!
Children’s Activities If you have children, you won’t want to miss the festival’s party for the kiddos on Saturday, October 22nd. We’re doing something a little extra this year for the little scholars — and that includes face painting, story time, drawing activities, author signings, and a special visit from a furry costumed friend. Harrisburg’s very own Caldecott Winning illustrator Lauren Castillo will make an appearance for her new chapter book, Our Friend Hedgehog: A Place to Call Home. Rare Book Annex We’ve tried to keep this one under wraps for as long as we could, but it’s official - we’ll be opening our brand-new rare book annex next to the bookstore. If you like rare books, first editions, pamphlets, maps, out-of-print editions, collectibles, and ephemera — you won’t want to miss this grand opening, browsable for the very first time this October. Blind-Date-with-a-Book Here’s the premise — we wrap a book in brown paper, write some clue-ridden keywords on the outside about the book (replete with bookselling drawings!), and you pick the book that looks the most intriguing. Never heard of the book before? Good! We love to introduce readers to new books they might not have otherwise selected. It’s one of our absolute favorite activities as booksellers — and we can’t wait to see what you pick up. For more information on the book festival, author updates, and more, visit our website at www.hbgbookfest.com. 7 Alex Brubaker is the manager of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore and director of the Harrisburg Book Festival. Previously, he was the editorial assistant at Rain Taxi Review of Books and the exhibit coordinator for the Twin Cities Book Festival. He is a graduate of Millersville University and now lives in Harrisburg.
Nourishing Bites/Andrea Reed
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Best August Bites for Gut Health
hoosing foods we know we can’t completely digest seems like a strange concept, but these foods are essential to maintaining a healthy balance in our gut. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain different types of fibers that we can’t digest, known as prebiotics. We often hear a lot about the “good” bacteria or probiotics in food, but little about what we need to do to help them thrive within our bodies. The “good” bacteria rely on these prebiotic fibers that pass through the stomach undigested. Our gut bacteria ferment these fibers to create short-chain fatty acids that supply energy to the digestive cells, assist with immune functions, fight inflammation, and more! If you aren’t used to including some of these foods in your diet, now is the time to take advantage of August’s best produce one bite at a time. 10 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE AUGUST 2022
Improving the nutrition on your plate can be as simple as taking a bite of all the best things August has to offer. By choosing foods that are in season and local you can ensure they have the most nutrients and the least bitter flavors to keep both body and taste buds happy. If they aren’t your favorite foods, taking just a bite can help you learn to tolerate new flavors and textures. Small changes, such as just one bite, ensure you can be successful in your quest for your best health. The three primary types of prebiotics are resistant starches, inulin, and pectin. Good
