The 2022 season of

Our Community Reads

from the Friends of the Aptos Library
has ended most successfully.
Thank you to all who participated in our events.
Stay tuned for news of our next season !

Four books were initial candidates (curious? click here)
for this program designed to bring members
of the Santa Cruz County community together around one book.


The winning book for the 2022 Season of OCR

Red Letter Days
by Sarah-Jane Stratford
February - March 2022: A series of special events related to themes in the selected book.

“A vivid portrayal of artistic life during the Red Scare and the challenges women screenwriters faced in the era’s entertainment industry. It is also a witty and harrowing tale of intrigue, friendship and romance. Stratford imbues the text with lively energy and a wry voice…. Red Letter Days is a timeless and relevant story about the dangers of bias, conformity and groupthink.” -- BookTrib
To learn more about the author click here.
Picture
Find out more! Click on the book cover to access the SCPL site search page; then click "full display."
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible (Tax ID: #94-2612557).
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Calendar of events for the 2022 Season of OCR.

Our events aim to create a shared experience that will increase appreciation for our community libraries and for our local bookstores; foster pride in the varied experiences that our area offers; and the enrichment –– culturally, intellectually, and emotionally –– that comes from the joy of reading!
  • All events will be free and open to the public.
  • Due to Covid restrictions, attendance to in-person events will be limited and require preregistration.
  • Masks will be required for in-person events.
  • Please continue to visit this page for up-to-date details on registration, locations and links for access to online events.

February 2022

February 4 - Friday - Viewpoints: Good Night and Good Luck
  • With Brad Kava ~ A link to a recording of this event is available here.   
  • Hosted by the Friends of the Capitola Library
  • Brad Kava, long-time San Jose Mercury News reporter and current Chair of Journalism at Cabrillo College, will discuss themes from the film “Good Night and Good Luck.” This 2005 film recounts CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow’s courageous challenge to Senator Joe McCarthy.  The obstacles faced by Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly can be seen reflected in contemporary American politics and journalism. Professor Kava's talk will be focused on the film, journalism (especially during the 1950s), and censorship.  There willl be a Q&A session at the end.
  • Brad Kava ~ Journalism chair at Cabrillo College, long-time reporter with the San Jose Mercury News, and publisher of Growing Up in Santa Cruz.

February 8 - Tuesday -   From McCarthyism to Today: Demagoguery Then and Now
  • With Isebill "Ronnie" Gruhn ~ A link to a recording of this event is available here. 
  • This event is co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute of UC Santa Cruz.
  • Setting the stage for the era in which Red Letter Days takes place, Professor Emerita Ronnie Gruhn will describe world events during the 1950’s and developments leading up to current day.  She will define the various "isms"(authoritarianism, socialism, etc) that are often misused in today’s political discussions and explore the similarities, if any, of the McCarthy era to today.
  • Professor Gruhn arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1969 as a member of the Political Science department and an affiliate of Stevenson College. Gruhn served in diverse capacities at UC Santa Cruz over the past four decades. She twice chaired the Political Science department (1973-1975 and 1980-1981) among other accomplishments, and today is a regular lecturer for the Osher Lifelong Learner Institute.

February 12 - Saturday - Red Letter Days Art Project  
  • With Jo-Neal Graves and Sharon Ferguson ~ Location: Aptos Village Park Meeting Room, 100 Aptos Creek Road.  ~  1 to 3 p.m.  ~  Click here to view photos of this event.
  • Using the medium of collage, participants will create fanciful artwork based on the book cover using authentic images from the McCarthy Era. Presenters, Jo-Neal Graves and Sharon Ferguson are local artists and art educators, who will provide background information, collage techniques and materials, and encouragement. 
  • Jo-Neal Graves and Sharon Ferguson participate in the Open Studios Art Tour produced by Arts Council Santa Cruz County. You can see some of Jo-Neal's art here. You can see some of Sharon's art here.

February 15 - Tuesday - Invasion of the Communist Body Snatchers: The Supreme Court, Weird Science Comics, and the Red Scare
  • With Michael Pebworth and Nick Rowell ~ A link to a recording of this event is available here. 
  • Cabrillo College political science professor Nick Rowell will focus on an analysis of two Supreme Court decisions about protected speech and the Communist Party as it relates to American presidential candidates. Michael Pebworth, Cabrillo College history professor, will address 1950’s Science Fiction and Horror comic books and their critiques of the Red Scare and Cold War. This event should not be missed!
  • Michael Pebworth, Chair of the Global Studies Department at Cabrillo College, has a Doctorate in History from the University of Oregon.  His courses focus on 20th Century US and World History Since 1500, emphasizing how popular culture illustrates and provokes change over time. He is a life-long comic book nerd.
  • Nick Rowell earned his PhD in Political Science at the University of New Mexico in 2012. He teaches US Government, Comparative Politics and International Relations at Cabrillo College. His research focuses on analysis of Latin American politics, especially interactions between civil society and the state. His teaching emphasizes the robust civic engagement required to sustain the health of democracies.

February 17 - Thursday - La Selva Beach Film Night ~ Trumbo
  • With an introduction by Robert Strayer ~ See notes of Robert Strayer's introductory remarks here. ~ 7:00 p.m.
  • In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Academy Award Nominee Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood’s top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. TRUMBO (directed by Jay Roach) recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice of the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger. The film also stars Diane Lane, John Goodman, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
  • Robert W. Strayer, Ph.D., taught African, Soviet, and World History for many years at SUNY College at Brockport, New York. Since moving to California in 2002, he has taught World History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, California State University, Monterey Bay, and Cabrillo College.  He has written many books, including Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? (1998), The Communist Experiment (2007), and Ways of the World: A Brief Global History (now in its fifth edition). He has also been published in a number of academic journals, including the Journal of World History, and has served as co-editor of the McGraw-Hill series, Explorations in World History.

February 24 - Thursday - Passionate Readers Book Discussion Group at La Selva Beach ~ Red Letter Days
  • Led by Margie Bowles, Red Letter Days is this month's selection.  Location: La Selva Beach Library. ~ 10:30 a.m.

February 24 - Thursday - Red Diaper Babies: Growing Up During the HUAC Years of the 1950s 
  • With Bettina Aptheker, Julie Olsen Edwards and Dena Taylor ~ A link to a recording of this event is available here. ~ 7:00 p.m.
  • This event is co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute of UC Santa Cruz.
  • Growing up closer to home than the London scenes depicted in “Red Letter Days,”  three “red diaper babies” discuss how their lives were impacted by the McCarthy era and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). They will share some of the lessons learned that they have carried into the present. 
  • Bettina Aptheker: Distinguished Professor Emerita, Feminist Studies Department, UCSC. Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech and Became a Feminist Rebel (2006) and The  Morning Breaks: The Trial of Angela Davis (2nd edition, 1999). My book to be published in 2023 is called Communists in Closets; Queering the History, 1930-1990s. 
  • Julie Olsen Edwards: Cabrillo College Early Childhood faculty (retired), writer, Anti Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (NAEYC), consultant, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) .
  • Dena Taylor: Cabrillo College Program Manager (retired), author, poet. Dena's most recent books are Tell Me the Number Before Infinity: the story of a girl with a quirky mind, an eccentric family, and oh yes, a disability (co-authored with Becky Taylor) and Exclamation Points: collected poems.

February 28 - Monday - What's Black and White and Red All Over?
  • With Claudia Sternbach
  • We will focus on the hunt for communists in the world of writers and filmmakers in the 1950's, in particular on the role of women in that time period, and the hidden meaning in the popular TV series Robin Hood. 
  • Claudia Sternbach, former Santa Cruz Sentinel columnist, is the author of three memoirs: Now Breathe, (Whiteaker Press),  Reading Lips (Unbridled Books), and her most recent, Dear Goldie Hawn, Dear Leonard Cohen, released by Paper Angel Press in December 2021. She has often published in The San Francisco Chronichle, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Chicago Tribune. She is former Editor-in-Chief of the literary journal Memoir.

March 2022

March 3 - Thursday - Trivia on Tap at the Steel Bonnet  ~ Location: Steel Bonnet Brewing Company, 20 Victor Square, Scotts Valley. ~ 6:30 to 8:00 PM
  • Hosted and moderated by Jenn Hooker, librarian with the Santa Cruz Public Libraries — Trivia on Tap will feature questions selected from Red Letter Days, challenging teams of no more than six persons to answer 30 questions.
  • Does trivia make you hungry? You can get snacks at Steel Bonnet, a greater variety at outlets in the same complex, or even make food at home and have a picnic-style meal while you ponder the questions. Winners will receive the grand prize of a $25 gift certificate to the Steel Bonnet.

Our
Community
Reads
Review our 2021 season here
Review our 2020 season here
Review our 2019 season here
Review our 2018 season here
UC Santa Cruz Humanities Institute is a co-sponsor of two of our events
Chapters of the
Friends of the
Santa Cruz Public Libraries are actively involved in
Our Community Reads

Deluxe Foods will donate 5% of sale to Friends of Aptos Library. All you have to do is mention the Aptos Friends to the cashier and they will take care of the rest. Click here ~ and ~ here for news article.

Contact us by e-mail at [email protected]
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible. 
(Tax ID: #94-2612557).
Donate to OCR | Donate directly to support Our Community Reads