‘One Book, One Coast’ Reading Initiative Unites 140+ Libraries

From April 1–June 6, more than 140 libraries in California, Oregon, and Washington will collaborate on One Book, One Coast, a public reading and event series dreamed up by Skye Patrick, director of Los Angeles County Public Library. 

One Book, One Coast organizers are encouraging patrons to read George Takei’s 2019 graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, and illustrated by Harmony Becker. In the Eisner-winning comics autobiography, Takei recalls his Japanese American family’s incarceration during World War II and his path to becoming an actor and civil rights activist.

Extra copies of They Called Us Enemy are in circulation at participating libraries. Unlimited digital copies are being made available through Hoopla, and unlimited digital e-books are available in English and Spanish through OverDrive and its Libby app.

Events for One Book, One Coast will include in-person and virtual book club meetings, film screenings, and panels. On May 31, Takei will join LACPL’s Patrick and Long Beach Public Library director Cathy De Leon for a conversation and book-signing at East Los Angeles Library, to be livestreamed on YouTube.