A Library for All (updated Q1 2026)
Through written experiences, we learn from history, understand the lives of others, and envision our collective future. Not only does JFAVC organize quarterly book clubs themed around democracy, women’s rights and more, but we also support the book clubs of our allies by providing free access to books, regardless of income or background.
A Library for All is our commitment making social justice literature accessible to all, especially in an era where autocrats seek to erase books, knowledge and fact checks they don’t like. Below are five books clubs we support — simply click a book link, follow the instructions that appear, then click “Download” for the PDF of the book you need!
Justice for All Ventura County:
Book Club
Our next book will be Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy by Joyce Vance. So if democracy is your jam, then signup for book club notifications, then click to grab the relevant book below. We’ll meet on 14 April 2026, 6:00 PM at Bright Spark Brewing!
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Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy
Author: Joyce Vance
Print length: 224 pages
Publication year: 2025
Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict
Author: Erica Chenoweth, Maria Stephan
Print length: 320 pages
Publication year: 2012
Abundance
Author: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
Print length: 304 pages
Publication year: 2025
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
Author: Heather Cox Richardson
Print length: 304 pages
Publication year: 2023
A People’s History of the United States
Author: Howard Zinn
Print length: 784 pages
Publication year: 2015
Diversity Collective Ventura County:
The Pride Nook
“Join the Diversity Collective book club, The Pride Nook. For more information or to get the current book we are reading, please register. We meet the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6-7 PM PST.”
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Coming Out Stories: Personal Experiences of Coming Out from Across the LGBTQ+ Spectrum
Author: Emma Goswell
Print length: 240 pages
Publication year: 2021
Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel
Author: Casey McQuiston
Print length: 448 pages
Publication year: 2019
Mrs. Dalloway
Author: Virginia Woolf
Print length: 214 pages
Publication year: 2017
Hell Followed with Us
Author: Andrew Joseph White
Print length: 416 pages
Publication year: 2022
League of Women Voters of VC:
Civics, Climate & Justice Reading List
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“Over 20 years ago, the League of Women Voters launched a campaign focusing on five key indicators of a healthy democracy. Two of these indicators are civic education and civic participation — because, as a nonpartisan policy organization, the League knows civic information and involvement are key to a healthy American democracy.”
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Author: Timothy Snyder
Print length: 128 pages
Publication year: 2017
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
Author: Jared Diamond
Print length: 512 pages
Publication year: 2019
No Miracles Needed
Author: Mark Z. Jacobson
Print length: 454 pages
Publication year: 2023
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Author: Bryan Stevenson
Print length: 384 pages
Publication year: 2015
Planned Parenthood Central Coast:
Book Club
“The Planned Parenthood Central Coast Book Club strives to engage our community through the joy of reading. We will choose a new book each quarter to read and discuss. Meetings will be twice each quarter and focus on the book’s themes, how the themes relate to our current lives, and any other discussion topics that members facilitate.”
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Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Author: Azar Nafisi
Print length: 400 pages
Publication year: 2008
The Color Purple: A Novel
Author: Alice Walker
Print length: 304 pages
Publication year: 2019
The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service
Author: Laura Kaplan
Print length: 334 pages
Publication year: 1997
Ventura Land Trust:
Book Club
“Join our community of environmentally-focused readers like you with the Ventura Land Trust Book Club.”
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The Overstory: A Novel
Author: Richard Powers
Print length: 512 pages
Publication year: 2019
Borealis (Spatial Species)
Author: Aisha Sabatini Sloan
Print length: 144 pages
Publication year: 2021
What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds
Author: Jennifer Ackerman
Print length: 351 pages
Publication year: 2023
Women on Nature
Author: Katharine Norbury
Print length: 432 pages
Publication year: 2021
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
Author: Suzanne Simard
Print length: 368 pages
Publication year: 2021
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Print length: 408 pages
Publication year: 2015