Jersey Collective Reads Action Park
Meet our March selection!
Our March selection
Our pick for March is ACTION PARK by Andy Mulvihill and Jake Rossen!
About the book & why we picked it
From the publisher: “The outlandish, hilarious, terrifying, and almost impossible-to-believe story of the legendary, dangerous amusement park where millions were entertained and almost as many bruises were sustained, told through the eyes of the founder's son.”
Courtney says: “Few things in New Jersey lore compel me quite like Action Park does. Growing up, I begged my Brooklyn-native parents to regale me with tales of their teenaged excursions to Vernon Valley—stories that ended with trips to the infirmary or being doubled over laughing to the point of tears (or both). Andy Mulvihill and Jake Rossen's ACTION PARK marries the family insider's view of the legendary amusement park with the journalistic depth that obsessives like me crave in a nonfiction book. Action Park is more than a moment in Jersey culture: it's a sacred tri-state area rite of passage. I couldn't be more excited to chat about it with the authors, our community, and anyone who has nostalgic Action Park stories of their own.”
Kerri says: “Whenever I hear an Action Park story, I find I have to remind myself the speaker isn’t being hyperbolic—it really was like that. Andy Mulvihill’s book (cowritten with Jake Rossen) is proof. The book skillfully his father’s story with the stories of park employees and attendees—and, of course, his own. I’ll admit when I first saw that there was an Action Park book coming out, before I even saw who wrote it, my initial reaction was to think it was going to be a sensationalized account or that it would ignore the heavy parts of the story. After all, some people to got seriously injured at Action Park, in ways that are hard to laugh off. And there are people who walked into the park and never walked out. But I was blown away with how delicately this book balances those darker stories with the absurd ones. It’s really well written, comprehensive, and it’s good nonfiction whether you already know anything about Action Park or not.”
From the reviews: “The lore of the place — the scars and stitches, the wipeout tales, and the sheer notion of a theme park so slapdash, unregulated and deserving of nicknames like ‘Traction Park’— has inspired oral histories, a documentary and a movie helmed by no less a connoisseur of bodily harm than Johnny Knoxville of ‘Jackass’ fame. But the truest version may be the latest ... Beyond painting a compelling portrait of Gene Mulvihill, Action Park captures the frenetic energy of a place very much a function of its time: parental supervision and safety precautions — low; teen hormones, illusion of infallibility and recklessness — high."
— The Washington Post
Other info: 352 pages, published by Penguin Books (June 2020).
Attend our chat with the author(s)
Register to join us for a fun discussion with both authors on Zoom on Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 PM EST. The meeting will be recorded and shared on our YouTube channel.
If you want to read the book beforehand, get it from your favorite New Jersey bookseller, from Bookshop.org, or borrow it from your local library.
If you don’t have time to read it but want to come a little prepared, you can learn more about Action Park from these recommended sources:
An excerpt from the book is published on Esquire
The documentary Class Action Park, available to watch on HBO
This collection of anecdotes and photos from Weird NJ
This New Jersey is the World podcast episode on our state’s amusement parks
An Instagram post will go up on Sunday; please share it, and invite your friends!
February Recap
Last week, we talked to Marcy Dermansky, author of our February selection Hurricane Girl about her novel, swimming pools, telling people you’re from New Jersey, and whether book number five is any easier to write than book number one.
If you missed it, we recorded it and you can watch (or listen) to it here:
About Jersey Collective Reads
Jersey Collective Reads promotes homegrown books and authors. We feature a mix of fiction and non-fiction, new releases and backlist titles, on a variety of subjects, from presses big and small.
We feature one selection a month–sometimes a book and other times essays, longform journalism pieces, or short stories–and host a virtual event with the author.
You won’t have to read the books ahead of time to enjoy the events (but of course you’re encouraged to)! We host Zoom-based events to keep it accessible to all, no matter where you’re based. We will also host some in-person casual meetups and outings that pair nicely with book selections throughout the year, so you can connect with other New Jersey booklovers in person.
Team Members
Kerri Sullivan, founder of Jersey Collective as well as editor of New Jersey Fan Club (Rutgers University Press 2022) and public librarian. Her Instagram is @ksulphoto.
Courtney Preiss, an Asbury Park-based writer and creative director. Her debut novel WELCOME HOME, CAROLINE KLINE is about baseball and recovery on the Jersey Shore, and is forthcoming from Putnam/Penguin Random House next year. You can find her on Twitter + Instagram @cocogolightly.