2027 Our Community Reads Book Selection: The Music of Bees

Our Community Reads

The Results Are In!!!!

Thursday evening, October 8, the Our Community Reads Voting Parties took place in three Santa Cruz County locations. Voters enjoyed refreshments as they discussed the four books that were presented: California Against the Sea, by Rosanna Xia; Shade by Sam Bloch, The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin; and The Tree Collectors by Amy Stewart. After lively small group chatter and some difficult decision-making, the votes were cast and the selected book was The Music of Bees.

The Music of Bees “is a transportive tale to lighten the heart…Every page hums with hope gleaming with a message of our inextricable interconnectedness, both within our own species and to our home of the natural world” – Kira Jane Buxton

The story follows three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life’s curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing–and maybe even a second chance–just when they least expect it.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don’t turn out the way you expect.

All of the library branches will have copies of the book. Local bookstores will carry it as well – details to follow.

The Our Committee Reads Book Selection Committee is thrilled to begin planning a series of events that are sure to have people reading, learning, and heading outdoors to discover the world of bees! Events will begin in late January and run through early March 2027.