OC Reads

OC Reads is a program designed to bring people together through literature by encouraging them to read the same book and participate in discussions and other events centered on that book.

Each year, the OC Reads Committee selects a book and invites community members to read and discuss this book together. The reading experience is supplemented by a series of free programs offered at the library in the form of book discussions, presentations, and activities related to the book’s themes. The series of events culminates in a visit by the book’s author where audience members can engage with the author and have their books signed.

We hope you will join us in this celebration of books, reading, and community.

OC Reads 2025 - West with Giraffes

Join us for a Talk, Q&A, and Book Signing with Author Lynda Rutledge
Saturday, October 18th at 2:00 PM in the Lecture Hall

This event will be free and open to the public. More details to be announced!

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

About the Author:
Lynda Rutledge has crisscrossed both literary and geographic boundaries in her writing career. She has written scores of articles for major newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and books for well-known organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the San Diego Zoo. But her first love has always been fiction. She holds an MFA in creative writing, a BA and MA in American literature, and has won numerous awards and residencies for her novels. Her first novel Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale won the 2013 Novel of the Year from the Writer's League of Texas and was made into a French film starring Catherine Deneuve. Her bestseller West with Giraffes was chosen by the Library of Congress-affiliated Texas Center for the Book as their 2023 Great Read. And her most recent novel Mockingbird Summer, set in 1964, uses the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird to tell a tale about an unlikely young friendship on the eve of the landmark Civil Rights Act. After living in Chicago and San Diego for years, she now lives with her husband and resident dog outside Austin, Texas.

To read more about this year’s book, please visit https://www.lyndarutledge.com/WestwGiraffes.htm