OC Reads

Five events surround study of ‘The Violin Conspiracy’

OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Free Public Library is again turning the community into one big book club with its latest OC Reads selection, “The Violin Conspiracy.”

The library has five upcoming themed events through Our Community Reads 2023, starting with the Fiddle Club of Linwood concert this Friday and culminating with a chance to meet the author, Brendan Slocumb, on Nov. 9.

“The Violin Conspiracy” got Adult Programming Librarian Julie Howard hooked from the start.

“It’s a page-turner, sort of a mystery, suspense read,” she said. “You get invested in the character and his journey as he tries to recover this violin that has been stolen that is really precious to him.

“I wanted to see how it ended, see what happened to this character who had so much going for him and is close to having it all taken away from him.”

Ray McMillan, the main character, is a Black classical musician on the rise amid the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world when the violin, a beat-up family fiddle that turned out to be a priceless Stradivarius, is stolen on the eve of a prestigious competition and held for ransom, according to a blurb provided about the book on Amazon.com.

“There is a lot going on in the book and a lot going on for the character. Those are some of the reasons the committee was drawn to the book and ultimately selected it,” she said. 

OC Reads has a collection of local book club members who read many books throughout the year. 

“That was the book that kind of rose to the top for us. It covers a lot of great topics,” she said.

OC Reads uses the topics in the book to craft themed events, hence the start with the Fiddle Club of Linwood, which is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in the lecture hall at the library.

“We try to find themes in the book and draw those out through partnering with local musicians, local scholars, experts, and try to showcase or highlight groups or museums or programs in the area relevant to the themes in that book,” Howard explained.

“Because he is a violinist, we wanted to highlight the musical element, so we asked the Fiddle Club of Linwood. We’ve had them at the library many times. The students in the fiddle club range from younger children through adults. … it’s a nice representation of the musical interests of all ages.”

The concert theme is “Broadway and the Movies (1904-2004).”

“It should be a lot of fun,” Howard said.

At 7 p.m. Sept. 28, Joe McHugh, who has roots in Ocean City, will present an evening of stories, music and poetry celebrating the history and folklore of the violin and fiddle in a program called “Rosin the Bow: A Fiddler’s Journey through the Violin Family.”

“I’m super excited for that one because a lot of his programs will touch on things in the book,” she said. “He has interviewed members of the FBI about stolen violins over the years, which is just a crazy coincidence because that is what our book is about. He has interviewed hundreds of people over the years about how violins are built, famous ones, cases of stolen violins. He is going to talk about all of that. He may perform music, too, because he is a musician.”

The following week, from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey will present its traveling exhibit, “A Time for Change: Civil Rights in New Jersey,” in the library Atrium and at 2 p.m. Ocean City author Loretta Thompson Harris will have a book signing for the first novel in her planned trilogy, “The Westside: Ocean City in True Color.”

Howard said Hunter will be there during the exhibit to give ongoing talks as crowds gather.

Book discussion, meet-the-author

The book discussion of “The Violin Conspiracy” will be broadcast via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16. (Copies of the book are available at the library and for sale at Sun Rose Words and Music, 756 Asbury Ave.)

“It’s a very laid-back conversation,” said Howard, who will be leading the discussion. “It is just like a book club.” Anyone can join in, although registration for the Zoom link is required beforehand.

“We want people to come and have a chance to talk about the book. … It’s a good chance to discuss it before the author comes. We can get our questions ready for him.”

The events wrap up with the meet-the-author event at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9, when Slocumb will give a talk, hold a Q&A and sign books.

For that, also in the lecture hall at the library, it will be first-come, first-served for seating. The library will be live-streaming the talk and plans to record it for those who watch it live or in-person.

Getting people reading

Howard said the main goal of OC Reads is, simply, to get people reading. She added the community has been enthusiastic about the program over the years and the library excited about all the books it has been able to highlight.

“It’s a nice chance for the community to come together around the book and talk about the different themes. I’ve seen such a wonderful turnout when we’ve had the author and different events,” she said. 

“We try to make it a multi-dimensional event. We want to have lead-up to the author. We want to have other chances for community members to engage with the book and engage with the subject matter, to get them thinking, reflecting on, ‘How do I see these topics around me in my everyday community?’”

“That’s why we have the other events, to tie the book into what we do in our community already.

“It’s one of my favorite events of the year. I find that we’re really a literary community,” Howard said. “We have a lot of people who love books and love reading and this is a great way to celebrate that together. I’m excited to see everyone engage with it.”

The Ocean City Free Public Library is at 1735 Simpson Ave. Learn more at oceancitylibrary.org.

By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff