Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel | 
“I had my chance, and sometimes in life, there are no second chances. You look at what you have, not what you miss, and you move forward. He'd do what he always did, find the sweet among the bitter.”
#Rainy
#SummerSouls
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
The end of the school year has us clearing spaces and slowly prepping for next year. One of the perks of cleaning our spaces is purging things that we no longer want or need. Well…one teachers trash is another teacher ‘s treasure! I scored this baby and I can‘t wait to crack the spine!
“Henry looked up and down the empty avenue—no cars or trucks anywhere. No bicycles. No paperboys. No fruit sellers or fish buyers. No flower carts or noodle stands. The streets were vacant, empty—the way he felt inside. There was no one left.”
pickMy book club‘s selection for April. Truly a story of the bitter and sweet of first love during World War II, when American government deemed it appropriate to imprison Americans of Japanese descent and their families. Just a disappointing moment in American history (one of many…).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickOh how I loved this story and how it was both bittersweet and engaging. I was totally swept up from the beginning and I was both sad and angry at times knowing although this story was fiction the book was based off of true events. Have kleenex handy. Such a very good story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
pickThis book is so sweet and so sad. It is also unfortunately relatable. I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and the pacing felt just right. “I hope you‘ll think of the good, not the bad… Of the time we spent together, not the time we‘ve spent apart.” Beautiful
This one has been on my shelf for awhile and I figured now was a good time to dive in. I‘ve seen great reviews on this one. #3 of 2023
pickYoung Chinese-American likes Japanese-American girl in start of WW2 Seattle and also alternates with his 1986 life. The romantic in me liked this. Somewhat like Snow Falling on Cedars.
I am giving this one a try also.
pick
pickSo glad I finally read this one. Great book!
pickLove Jamie Ford❤️
#Sweet #BigJuneReadathon @Clwojick
pickI‘m ever so slowly chipping off the books that have been on my TBR the longest. This one, added in 2016, I almost skipped because it‘s yet another WWII book. I appreciated the different spin on this one though, and liked the background about jazz on the West Coast. I‘m glad I finally got to it.
I braved the bitter wind to clean out my front bed. I knew I‘d be kicking myself all week if I didn‘t pull some weeds. Thank goodness for the company of audiobooks.
Finally reading this in advance of Jamie Ford‘s engagement with our library system this summer; this is SO beautifully written, but so heartbreaking. 😭 #hotelonthecornerofbitterandsweet #jamieford
pickThis book opens our eyes to how terribly Japanese Americans were treated during WWII, but it also reminds us how one seemingly small choice can set us down a path. A really sweet book!
I needed a break from thrillers and my son offered his beat-up copy of a book he had to read in high school. So far, I am enjoying this new-to-me author and loving this bittersweet story. 🧡
pickThis is one of the few books I‘ve read twice - the first time years ago as a hardback & this time as an audiobook. The story takes place in Seattle in dual timelines, 1940‘s WWII & 1980‘s. It deals with father-son relationships, bullies, first love, Japanese-American internment camps, Chinese culture, an unlikely friendship, and Jazz. I‘m always surprised when people give negative reviews of a book I really like. 😂
pickSuch a sad, tender, beautiful, and hopeful book. This was written with such gentleness about relationships that develop during a turbulent time in the history of the world. The time line moves between the 1940s and current day life of the MC, Henry, and his life as an Asian-American during the time of Japanese internment. I was thoroughly captivated by the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February #bookspinbingo card. I was hoping for a bingo, but didn‘t finish Pretty Little Wife last night. I finished 9 books, including my #bookspin which I loved! Looking forward to March! @TheAromaofBooks
Diving in to my #bookspin pick. Thank you for moving this up my TBR, @TheAromaofBooks ! I‘ve heard such good things!
Mid-month check in on #bookspinbingo (just a little late 😊). I‘m hoping to finish Jazz tonight and start Migrations for our book club discussion next week. Then on to my #bookspin pick, which is tagged. Currently listening to This Time Next Year and Pretty Little Wife is due in from Overdrive early next week. 🤞🏼 for a bingo this month! 📚
Whoop! Whoop! My February #bookspinbingo card!
#bookspin—Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (this has been on my shelf for AGES)
#doublespin—The Four Winds
Book Club Read—Migrations
Q1 #chunksterchallenge2021—Grant
Looking forward to a great reading month! Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks
Excited for February‘s #bookspin and #doublespin picks! Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks
Hoping to have a bingo this month! 🤞🏼
pickWhat a beautiful story about young love, prejudice, and the act of time. I was transported into this story from the very beginning. As Henry and Keiko find solace together at a young age and ripped apart due to Japanese interment during the 1940s, this story does an excellent job of weaving memories together. If you enjoy historical fiction, I recommend this to you with no hesitation.
#BookReport 24/20
Another good reading week. I am happy with the variety of the book I read thanks to the challenges. These three were all so different but I enjoyed them all!
pick“I am Chinese”.
This is the text on the button his father makes 12 year old Henry wear to school so his American classmates know he is not one of Seattle‘s despised Japanese population. The button is at the heart of this touching book that taught me about the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII but is also a story of first love, pride, jazz, fathers and sons.
Thanks for this wonderful gift Cindy!
#ATY2020 book with emotion in title
I love historical fiction!! #ww2 #jamminjune @Eggs
I loved this book when I read it years ago. I learned a lot about the internment of Japanese Americans by reading it. #Sweet #BoundTogetherJune
Found this copy at a second hand store. When I started reading I realized that someone had made some notes in it! I don‘t mind if I find notes in books as long as I can still read it. It was interesting to see notes written in what I assume is japanese, but I could be wrong!
pickIl finally read this book! And I loved it! Children are taught to be racist by the errant example of adult(s) in their lives, but this book reminds us that sometimes that example has no hold. I often see the tagged in the ‘School Reads‘ section of books. Today, I wish I were in a.classroom so I could speak aloud of the beauty that is this story.
#ReadTheUSA2020 Washington
pickSuch a good book! Henry, a Chinese-American boy, meets Keiko, a Japanese-American girl. But it‘s World War 2, and Keiko‘s people are the enemy. The story hops back and forth from the 1940s — Henry and his complicated relationship with his parents, and his growing bond with Keiko, who is not a suitable friend for him — and 1986, Henry‘s complicated relationship with his son after Henry‘s wife dies.
Beautifully told story, with a satisfying end.
Beginning the interminable process of binding off the body of the sweater in knitting, which requires some lighter reading than what I was already in the midst of.
#alwaysknitting
pickMy 3☆ rating is simply because I expected a bit more of a climax but at the same time a bigger climax may have ruined the simplicity of the story itself. Racial discrimination and cultural norms/expections aren't to be taken lightly and the characters feelings, attitudes, and expectations feel so detailed and real that the emotions will continue to stay with me awhile. Preferred Monica Hesse's The War Outside regarding domestic internment camps.
Spending my Sunday on the corner of bitter and sweet... 😉 So far it is turning out to be a very interesting story! 🤗
Mixed reviews on this one but a “pick” for me
#antonymsintitle
#auldlangreads
@OriginalCyn620
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickAt the last Friends of the Public Library book sale the stranger browsing next to me thrust this book at me and told me that if I hadn‘t read it, I needed to. I hadn‘t read it and even though I had read another by the author I didn‘t particularly enjoy I couldn‘t refuse that kind of enthusiasm. While I didn‘t love this as much as she did, I am glad I took her advice. Sweet, moving, and touching upon history that too frequently gets brushed over.
pickA lovely meditation on interpersonal relationships, set during the Japanese internment during WWII. When a hotel discovers lost belongings of Japanese families, Henry sees a familiar parasol. It prompts him to search there for his rare record of Oscar Holden. In reality, the search leads to a better relationship with his son and a reunion with his childhood love Keiko.
#PopSugar: a book with title containing "sweet", "salty" "bitter" or "spicy"
Warming up this cold evening by starting a new book with a fall scented bath and IPA. 🍂🍁
Jamie Ford is at my library this evening!
BTW...love this book!
pickThis book wounded me, but in the best way possible. It was nice to learn about the part of WWII that always gets glossed over in US history classes.
so-so
