OC Read Presents
Literacy Advocate and Motivational Speaker:
Oliver James
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 5:00pm
In his videos, Oliver often introduces himself by saying “I’m a 36-year-old man who struggles with reading.” However, it wasn't long ago that he would say “I can’t read.” You see until Oliver was in his thirties, he was functionally illiterate.
His story has been so inspiring that he ended up being interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America, the Jennifer Hudson Show, NPR, and other major outlets. He was featured in People magazine and in December, Oliver joined Tamron Hall on her show to discuss his reading journey. Oliver was also awarded the 2023 National Literacy Honors Award by the Barbara Bush Foundation for the light he shed on being functionally illiterate. Now, Oliver speaks to schools, conferences, and educators about many topics. He talks about the importance of literacy as well as opening up about many deep struggles he has gone through with learning to read as an adult, his challenges, triumphs and his mental health.
Tustin Library
345 East Main Street
Tustin, CA 92780
No registration is required.
OC Read is the literacy division of OC Public Libraries.
For more information, please call 714-566-3070 or email readoc@occr.ocgov.com