The 2023 Season of

Our Community Reads

from the Friends of the Aptos Library

Our Community Reads is a program designed
to bring members of the Santa Cruz County community
together around one book.
On September 22, 2022 a group of community members
voted to select the book for our 2023 season.
Four books were the finalists presented
at the voting event (curious? click here.)

We are happy to announce the winning book
for the 2023 Season of OCR

Mary Coin by Marisa Silver

During the months of
January, February and March 2023
we offered a series of special events
related to themes in the selected book.

See below description of all our events.
New this year!
Our Community Reads Passport
offers special incentives
to attend all the 2023 events.
Click here or on the passport image for details.


“… critically acclaimed author Marisa Silver takes Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photograph as inspiration for a breathtaking reinvention — a story of two women, one famous and one forgotten, and of the remarkable legacy of their chance encounter.”
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Click on the book cover to find out more !
Donate: click here to support Our Community Reads and keep it vibrant in the future!
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible (Tax ID: #94-2612557)

Calendar of events for the 2023 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!

These events have been presented by the Friends of the Aptos Library in association with the Friends of the Capitola, Felton, La Selva Beach, and Scotts Valley libraries, and in partnership with Cabrillo College and Aptos High School.

To show your appreciation and support these events and future seasons of Our Community Reads please donate!

Donate: click here to support Our Community Reads!
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible (Tax ID: #94-2612557).

If you wish to be part of the 2024 Season of Our Community Reads and wish to be invited to the voting event to select the book for the 2024 season write to us!
~ January 2023 ~

January 26 - Thursday  - 10:30 AM ~ Passionate Readers Book Discussion Group
  • Book group discussion of Mary Coin led by Marjorie Bowles
  • Sponsored by La Selva Beach Library Friends.
  • La Selva Beach Library, 316 Estrella Ave


~ February 2023 ~

February 1 - Wednesday - 10:30 AM ~ Capitola Book Discussion Group
  • Led by Judy McNeely

February 1 - Wednesday - 7:00 PM ~ A Talk with the Author
  • From her home in Los Angeles, Mary Coin author Marisa Silver talks about creating the fictional world of an iconic image.
  • You can watch online at home or join us in the Ow Family Community Room of the Capitola Library.
  • The event will be moderated by Geneffa Jonker, Cabrillo College English Professor.
  • Sponsored by the Friends of the Capitola Library.
  • Capitola Library,  2005 Wharf Road, Capitola
  • Hybrid event ~ Click here for a recording of this event.

February 5 - Sunday - 3:00 PM ~ Concert ~
The Songs We Sang in the Great Depression 
February 7 - Tuesday - 5:30 PM ~ Workshop ~ Our Community Writes 
  • Here’s your chance to create flash fiction, mini-essays, or poetry based on the world of Mary Coin. Using evocative prompts and plenty of encouragement, writer June Langhoff and members of the Monterey/Santa Cruz chapter of Shut Up & Write will focus on the joy of the creative process.
  • Plenty of writer fuel will be provided.
  • Sponsored by the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library.
  • Fireside Room, Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley
  • Hybrid event ~ Click here for a recording of this event.

February 9 - Thursday - 6:30 PM ~ Panel ~ The Photographer's Eye 
  • Local photographers Shmuel Thaler, Kevin Painchaud, and Mary Altier will talk about their work, show examples, and contrast their experience with that of earlier photographers like Dorothea Lange. The panel is moderated by Jim Bourne, whose photographs are on exhibit in the Scotts Valley Library through March 2023.
  • Refreshments will be served.
  • Sponsored by the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library.
  • Fireside Room, Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley
  • Hybrid event ~ Click here for a recording of this event.

February 11 - Saturday - 1:00 PM ~ Hands-on Art Event
  • Using the medium of collage, participants will create an “extended” pencil drawing using a photo of the Dust Bowl era to which a six-word memoir is added for deeper meaning.
  • Presenters Jo-Neal Graves and Sharon Ferguson, Open Studios artists and art educators, will provide background information, drawing pointers, memoir development, and lots of encouragement. No prior skills necessary to be successful.
  • Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz
  • In person event ~ Click here to view a photo gallery of this event.

February 16 - Thursday - 6:30 PM ~ Panel ~
Farm to Table: Smooth Road or Bumps Along the Way?
February 19 - Sunday - 1:00 PM ~ Film ~ The Grapes of Wrath 
  • Librarian with a special interest in Steinbeck, Topsy Smalley, Research Librarian and Cabrillo College Librarian Emerita, introduces John Ford’s classic adaptation of the immortal Steinbeck novel.
  • Sponsored by the Friends of the La Selva Beach Library.
  • La Selva Beach Library, 316 Estrella Avenue, La Selva Beach
  • In person event
February 21 - Tuesday - 6:00 PM ~ Film ~ Dolores
February 25 - Saturday - 2:30 PM ~ Music & Film ~
The Depression, the Dust Bowl and Dorothea
  • During the 1930s, music painted a vivid picture of a nation in crisis. Felton’s own Patti Maxine, along with Alison Steele of Sugar by the Pound, will play songs of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
  • The music will be followed by the short documentary “Dorothea Lange, An American Odyssey,” a portrait of the photographer portrayed as Vera Dare in Mary Coin, best known for her work documenting and humanizing the plight of migrants and farm workers in the 1930s.
  • Refreshments will be served.
  • Sponsored by Felton Library Friends.
  • Felton Library Community Room, 6121 Gushee Street, Felton
  • In person event

February 28 - Tuesday - 6:30 PM ~ Reminiscence: A Universal Language
  • A personal glimpse into the life of Dorothea Lange — portrait photographer, witness to the Great Depression and the Japanese Internment, visual chronicler of the Irish Country people— as told by her son Daniel Dixon.
  • Presented by Dixie Dixon, widow of Daniel and herself a photographer.
  • Sponsored by the Friends of the Aptos Library.
  • Rio Sands Hotel, 116 Aptos Beach Dr, Aptos
  • Hybrid event ~ Click here for a recording of this event.


~ March 2023 ~

March 2 - Thursday - 6:30 PM ~ Trivia Night
  • The ever-popular Trivia on Tap, hosted by the Santa Cruz Public Library’s Victor Willis, poses challenging questions from Mary Coin.
  • Book groups may participate, or you can fly solo.
  • It’s a brewery, so there will be beer available, and you can purchase eats from a food truck out front or elsewhere in Victor Square.
  • Steel Bonnet Brewing Company, 20 Victor Square, Scotts Valley
  • In person event

March 22 - Wednesday - 6:00 PM ~ Reading in the Redwoods 
  • Book group discussion of Mary Coin led by April Zilber
  • Sponsored by Felton Library Friends.
  • Felton Library Community Room, 6121 Gushee Street, Felton
  • In person event

Donate: click here to support Our Community Reads!
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible (Tax ID: #94-2612557).
Contact us | Participate, ask Q's, and/or volunteer at events. We want to hear from you!
Click here for a selection of wonderful, picture books for children of all ages!
Children’s books that illuminate the work of farm laborers.
Curated by
Julie Olsen Edwards, Director of Cabrillo College Children’s Peace Education & Anti-Bias Library.
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Author Talk: Marisa Silver on the screen. Moderator Geneffa Jonker and attendees at the Capitola Library.
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The Songs We Sang in the Great Depression. Click on the image for a recording of this event.
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A group of some of our presenters. Judy Jaeger, Bob Reid, Julie Olsen Edwards, Kevin Painchaud, Topsy Smalley, June Langhoff, Jerry Kay, Sharon Ferguson, Geneffa Jonker
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Artists Sharon Ferguson and Jo-Neal Graves leading an art workshop: extended drawings using photos of the Dust Bowl.
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Farm to Table Panel: Dr. Ann López, Dick Peixoto and Peter Shapiro with moderator Dr. Alicia Bencomo García.
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Topsy Smalley presenting the film Grapes of Wrath.
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Aptos High School students art work at the MAH.
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Aptos High School students (ages 14-18) undertook a class assignment to redesign the book cover for Mary Coin.
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Documentary "Dorothea Lange, An American Odyssey" at the Felton Library Community Room.
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Following the documentary, Alison Steele and Patti Maxine played songs of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
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Dixie Dixon offered a personal reminiscence into the life of Dorothea Lange.
Want to know more?
Here are some articles and videos about the real people behind the fictional characters in Mary Coin.
Deluxe Foods of Aptos 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 friendsoftheaptoslibrary@fscpl.org

Donate: click here to support Our Community Reads!
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible.  (Tax ID: #94-2612557).

Visit our Facebook page! 
Our Community Reads

"It is so important to support literacy and critical thinking, 
especially in these current times.  Thank you all for your hard, important work."
Jerry Solomon, Ph.D., Panelist, HIV/AIDS in the 80's

"This was a great series of events that really showed how reading is not a static, solitary thing but a rich, engaging, exploration that opens eyes and minds and ears. The dialogue and discussion were the best part."
Stephen Palumbi, Co-author, Death & Life of Monterey Bay.
"I am honored to have been a part of the Our Communities Read program!
What a fantastic model, to use books to bring people together and take meaningful action. In the case of our book, action towards the collective goal of protecting the places we love."
Carolyn Sotka, Co-author, Death & Life of Monterey Bay.