The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

"In 1986, Henry Lee joins a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has discovered the belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II. As the owner displays and unfurls a Japanese parasol, Henry, a Chinese American, remembers a young Japanese American girl from his childhood in the 1940s - Keiko Okabe, with whom he forged a bond of friendship and innocent love that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family were evacuated to the internment camps, she and Henry could only hope that their promise to each other would be kept. Now, forty years later, Henry explores the hotel's basement for the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. His search will take him on a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for his family, for love, for country."

What a wonderfully touching book of distance, history, family, love, loss and memory. The characters were so well developed that I was taken into the story immediately. Another historic fiction for me, yet from a different ethnicity and the impact to that family. So well done that I truly didn't want the story to end!

Comments

Books That Help Me Through

Today I'm recreating my version of Oprah's "Books That Help Me Through" with a stack of my own version. These amazing books are each part of my growing stack of 'helpers'. Each came into my life at a different time and helped me through what I was going through at the time. Now is one of those times in our country, with our family and friends that we need to finish the year strong. Here's my stack: 10% Happier - Dan Harris Leaving the Enchanted Forest - Liana Beckett Learning to Breathe - Priscilla Warner Rising Strong - Brene Brown Real Happiness - Sharon Salzberg A Year by the Sea - Joan Anderson A Woman's Journey to God - Joan Borysenko Tell Me More - Kelly Corrigan I'm also in gratitude for my awesome new t-shirt from Jocelyn who makes the most amazing products. She designed my graphic and also a really great raising mental health awareness water bottle! She's fantastic. Please visit her Etsy shop Marked by Jo. There's a link on home ...

Becoming

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 What a wonderful experience to spend 18 hours of Michelle Obama sharing stories, advice, struggles and accomplishments hearing it in her voice. "An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former first lady of the United States In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As first lady of the United States of America - the first African American to serve in that role - she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the United States and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media...

My daily bag

My daily bag! Here's a tote made lovingly by my husband. I chose the leather color and texture as well as the color of the straps. It was custom-made! My one request was a large pocket on the outside - particularly for sunglasses and keys. And yes, there are two additional pockets on the inside. During quarantine and all our time at home he taught himself leabthercrafting and this is one of many of the projects he has completed. Since then we've attended a few leather shows together where crafters share the work as well as suppliers allow you to demonstrate their tools and machines. Its fascinating and I've gone from 0 to 50 in a short time learning all about his new hobby. The great part is that there's always a quiet corner that I can find with my book when I've exhausted by interest and he's still at it. So now to this book! The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian (April 2021) " Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Souther...

Book Love & Coffee Mugs

Search This Blog