To celebrate the Month of the Book every October, Kitsap Regional Library chooses to engage the community in a discussion of a single book.

KRL programming leading into October, during that month, and for the first couple of weeks in November, is based on the chosen book and themes from the book.

We encourage you to join with us each year by reading the One Book selection and participating in programs and discussions about the book.

This Year's Book

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

By Jamie Ford

This year, KRL is proud to encourage Kitsap residents to read the debut novel of a writer who graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1986. The novel is set in Seattle's International District, with one story line taking place in 1941-42 and another in the mid-1980s.

Ford's book is a story about a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl who are both 12 and attend the same private Seattle elementary school at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The book is about their respective families, the Asian immigrant experience in Seattle and the Seattle jazz scene at the time. Through the decades, the reader follows the complex love story traced by Henry and Keiko.

Members of the selection committee noted that the book addresses "the myriad of crossroads one can encounter in life and the paths chosen" and described the novel as "an enjoyable and satisfying read"  that "makes a strong impression because of the appealing characters and their relationships" and "captures the times in a particularly vivid and unique way."

"Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" has been extremely popular with book discussion groups at KRL's branch libraries.

See author Jamie Ford's discuss his book in videos posted on his web site

Jamie Ford talks about the themes in the book. 

View this Expanded Books video about places around Seattle that have a role in "Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet."

Visit Jamie Ford's web site. 

See a list of books Ford recommends and other books that address some of the themes in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Click on the linked titles on this list to see these books in our catalog.

The History of ONE BOOK at Kitsap Regional Library

Our past book choices:

2010: Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

2009: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

2008: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee