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#bittersweetread
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julesG
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#BitterSweetRead #buddyread

And we're done!

What do you think about the book? Thoughts, quotes, questions?

@Dulcinella @BeaG @AceOnRoam

Will post my 2 cents later.

AceOnRoam I really wish my hold had come through, I still stuck at 7% 😯 7y
julesG @AceOnRoam I wish I could lend you my ebook. 7y
MinDea I loved this book! 7y
See All 12 Comments
S3V3N I'm so glad you suggested a buddy read because I have had this book for a year and hadn't picked it up. I loved the character development, the storyline and the ending. @julesG do you think his wife hid letters from Keiko to Henry when he wasn't getting any letters? Do you think that was Keiko he saw when he was hugging his future wife in the street? I had to put my book down and "woo-sah" at that point. 7y
julesG @BeaG I don't think Ethel hid the letters. I think his father arranged for someone else, higher up, to hide the letters. It might have been Keiko on the sidewalk, or someone similar looking. I'm not sure. I don't think it was his imagination conjuring up her image out of thin air. Someone was there, whether it was Keiko, don't know. 7y
Dulcinella I will comment when I‘m finished:-) 7y
julesG @Dulcinella We'll keep on spoiler tagging. 7y
Dulcinella Haha 😂 sitting on my fingers now:-) 7y
julesG Okay, there is something I've wanted to say about Sheldon. He's Henry's fairy godmother, isn't he? There were two things in the story that I didn't truly understand, probably a cultural thing - Henry, hesitating to share his story with his son; Henry's father, forcing Henry to speak English, sending him to an all-white school but then wanting to send him to China for his education. 7y
S3V3N @julesG I didn't understand wanting to send him to China. Now, being black, my dad sent me to a predominantly white school. They are known to provide a better education because back in the day other schools did not have up to date textbooks etc. I wasn't on scholarship and didn't have to work to go there. I could connect with the importance of getting an education at the white school. 7y
julesG @BeaG I could connect with sending Henry to a white school, but I did not understand the U-turn to send him to China - which was probably planned before Henry met Keiko, but them getting involved made it all the more important to H's father that H go to China. I did get that. Still, organising white school so H becomes more American and pre-planning to send him to China afterwards to make him more Chinese doesn't make sense to me. 7y
60 likes12 comments
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julesG
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Dulcinella You have finished? I‘m catching up... 7y
julesG @Dulcinella Not yet. I have about 20 minutes left, says kindle. 7y
Dulcinella Super! 7y
See All 7 Comments
S3V3N @julesG @Dulcinella I can't wait to hear what you two think. I'm finished. 7y
julesG @BeaG Finished while sitting at the hairdresser's. I cried, my hairdresser thought it pretty sweet that I'd cry over a book. She's not a big reader (Yet) 7y
S3V3N @julesG It got me too. LOL luckily, I have home alone. 😂😂 7y
Dulcinella Super! For me it will be anywhere this weekend @BeaG 7y
72 likes7 comments
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julesG
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Shooot! It's Saturday already.

How are you doing, buddy readers? @AceOnRoam @BeaG @Dulcinella

Any questions/quotes/thoughts you want to share?

Off to start on the last leg of our #BitterSweetRead #buddyread.

Dulcinella Not doing well 😕 I love the book, but I find it a rather slow read. This might be entirely due to my reading in a non native language. What I find extremely fascinating is the insight in this period of time. There are a lot of things I didn‘t know about. And I think it is a beautiful book, beautifully written too, and portraiting characters so vividly. 7y
julesG Being German and having had to study our German history makes me see a lot of parallels - not as extreme as in Germany of that time, though. But it reminded me of eyewitness accounts I had to read through, about the concentration camps. 7y
Dulcinella @julesG I know, it reminds me of peoples stories here too. I live in Belgium, near Antwerp, so lot of people beeing transported. 7y
See All 9 Comments
S3V3N @julesG @Dulcinella I love everything about the book. The only part that I didn't like was when he snuck in to see the girl, he blended in with the dinner crowd. The next thing we knew he was back in the truck with the cafeteria lady. I was nervous waiting to see if he got caught, or even how he would get out and there wasn't anything mentioned 7y
S3V3N @julesG and @Dulcinella when his father disowned him after his return when he turned 13 I was almost in tears. I never knew about the Japanese concentration camps here in America. It is not taught in depth, if even mentioned in the history books. I was shocked to learn of the treatment of Japanese Americas during this time. 7y
julesG @BeaG @Dulcinella - I knew about the camps. But probably from an American History class at uni, or because I dove into the topic after reading 7y
Dulcinella I also knew about the camps but never knew the way they organised it at such a scale @BeaG @julesG It is strange it isn‘t thaught in history books. I learned of it at uni in a course on american history too. 7y
AceOnRoam Oh, my loan expired, but I'm back on hold, I will read it as soon as it comes in! 7y
julesG @AceOnRoam Then don't read all our near spoiler comments. 7y
63 likes9 comments
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julesG
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😂😂😂😂😂

I don't do #TBR, you know that, don't you?

Anyway, I signed up for a few #buddyreads so:
📚 finishing Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet #BitterSweetRead
📚 Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore #LitsyBuddyRead
📚 The Colour of Magic #OokBOokClub

@Jess7 @TricksyTails

All three on #MountTBR and one is a physical copy, for my personal #challenge - reading 12 actual books this year.

Tamra I don‘t either because who knows where my whims will take me?! Plus it may take me a month to finish Luminaries. 😂 7y
Jess7 Yay!! 🤗🤗 7y
DivaDiane I keep trying to stick to my plan, but then, inevitably something else catches my eye. Luckily 🤪, I have so many books to choose from on my own shelves and no bookstores around that I‘m not tempted to by new books. So, you read mostly ebooks? 7y
julesG @DivaDiane Yes, I read mainly ebooks. There are just not enough good bookstores with a selection of English books around. That said, there are still 120+ unread physical books on my shelves and in boxes. I'd have more physical books if I could browse in a bookstore. So, as it is, it's much better for my tight book budget. 😉 7y
64 likes4 comments
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julesG
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How's it going #BitterSweetRead #buddyread members, @BeaG and @Dulcinella?

Do you have any questions, we should talk about? Or any good quotes?

S3V3N @julesG I'm loving it so far. I was on edge once I found out the tree was from a tree in Kobe Park. I'm anxious to see what happened to Keiko and her family. I love the set up the book going back and forth from past to present day. 7y
Dulcinella Planned my next read for this weekend, looking forward to it! 7y
S3V3N @julesG Share your thoughts please. 7y
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julesG @BeaG @Dulcinella - I like the book very much. The back and forth is good, we get to see both young Henry and elderly Henry. I thought of 'Snow falling on Cedars', when reading the beginning of the book. I fear something terrible is going to happen to Keiko's family. 7y
Dulcinella But until now, I really like it very much. We get to know Keiko better, while we can allready feel she might be doomed. It gives an overall sadness @julesG @BeaG 7y
AceOnRoam Oh, did I miss it? I have the book out now on overdrive ! 7y
julesG @AceOnRoam You can still join in. I'm sure you can catch up with us. 7y
julesG @AceOnRoam We're reading up to 'Moving' until Friday. 7y
AceOnRoam Ok, let me wrap up another couple I'm reading now. Yay. I'm excited. 7y
62 likes9 comments
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julesG
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#BitterSweetRead #buddyread starts today.

We'll be reading the chapters "The Panama Hotel" to "Downhill" until Friday next week, Feb 23.

@BeaG @Dulcinella

Sherlock and I are diving in.

jbhops Great buddy read! This is one of my all time favorites. 7y
S3V3N I plan on starting today. It is a rainy day so I'm sure I will start reading today. 7y
Mommamanzi Just finished this today. It was so beautifully written. 7y
70 likes3 comments
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julesG
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Just a quick reminder to @BeaG and @Dulcinella, we'll start tomorrow.

#BitterSweetRead #buddyread

S3V3N Thanks! 7y
Dulcinella Ok! Thanks:-) 7y
69 likes1 stack add2 comments
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julesG
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#BitterSweetRead #buddyread starts Friday 16th February.

@BeaG @Dulcinella

CarolynM Such a lovely book. 7y
GatheringBooks oohlala! so many buddyreads!! :) 7y
SilversReviews Wonderful read. 7y
79 likes1 stack add3 comments
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julesG
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Anyone interested in joining @BeaG and me for a buddyread of this book?

#BitterSweetRead

Details in the fine print. 😉

@LitsyHappenings

Eggs One of my favorites 7y
julesG @Dulcinella - here's the plan I have come up with 7y
Dulcinella Super! 7y
See All 10 Comments
CarolynM Good book choice-lots to talk about 7y
SilversReviews Have a fun buddy read...a GREAT read. 7y
Bourriquet76 Loved this! 7y
S3V3N @julesG will you post a reminder when it's time to start? 7y
julesG @BeaG Yes, of course. 7y
AceOnRoam I just started! 7y
julesG @AceOnRoam great! 7y
57 likes10 comments
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lauren.lerner
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So I guess I forgot that Anne McCaffrey passed away five years ago??? This must be why I've put off reading this one for so long: it's her last #Pern work, & while her son Todd may continue her legacy, it will never be quite the same. I always appreciated how McCaffrey's stories evolved over time, eschewing earlier homophobia & sexism et al, & making that growth part of the world-building. #ialmostdontwanttoreadityet #lastfirst #bittersweetread 😢