Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Book club in November was great.  We had a good group and a great discussion about the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!  We watched a YouTube video on the old Panama Hotel, we experienced some Seattle Jazz, and we listened to an interview of the author, Jamie Ford.  We had an excellent discussion on topics like actually Japanese attack on the US during WWII,  the internment camps, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, our favorite characters in the book, the Chinese button and more.  We also answered the four discussion questions:

• If Ethel knew what was happening with Henry's letters. (Probably)
• If Henry gave up on Keiko too easily.  (They were about 13.  How many of your old boyfriends from that age are you in touch with?)
• If Keiko make enough of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp.
• (The romantics said, "no," the realists said, "yes")
• If the US government was right or wrong to "relocate" Japanese-Americans. (Hindsight said definitely and we hope something like that never happens again!  In those frantic early days of the war, the absurdity of what was done to these Americans was not nearly as clear.  120,000 Japanese were interred.)

 
We also thought these facts from the book and interviews were interesting:

•The man who killed an internee was fined for the unauthorized use of the bullet.

•Interracial marriages were against the law.

•“Families hadn’t even left, and people strolled right in and took lamps, furniture, anything that wasn’t nailed down.

•"Hotel has been translated into 24 languages. I’m still holding out for Klingon (that’s when you know you’ve made it)." ---Jamie Ford

 

Here's our new graphic!

The Undaunted by Gerald Lund

Our book discussion on The Undaunted by Gerald Lund was very lively.  Twenty-eight people attended book group on Wednesday, September 15th.  Many of the group participated in the discussion.  The main focus of the discussion was a debate on whether the expedition to Hole in the Rock was foolish or worthwhile.  We all agreed that it took a great deal of faith on the part of the pioneers to participate in this arduous journey.  Some people felt that the initial goals of the expedition were not met, since many of the settlers left the area within 3 or 4 years of their arrival.  Others argued that experiences like this in early pioneer times is what makes us a strong group of people now.  Some felt that the personal growth those pioneers experienced made their trials worthwhile.  We were all overwhelmed that there were so many children and expecting mothers in the group.  We also were amazed that they took a journey in such challenging wilderness without scouting out the trail first.  Many were touched by the account early in the book of conditions for coal miners.  It was noted that it was a blessing that men with the talents that were needed had agreed to go on the journey.  It was indeed a act of faith by undaunted pioneers.

Our book for October will be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  We will meet on October 21st at Lee Hassard's home.  Please feel free to comment on our blog.  I will show you how to post entries at a future meeting.  You may want to check this out.  It is an interview with the author that gives you a good feel for the book:
http://is.gd/fcQ3y