This spring, Santa Clara County Library District is joining more than 190 libraries across California, Washington State, and Oregon in the One Book, One Coast initiative. This brings readers together all along the coast around a shared book, which this year is They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. All participating libraries will read and discuss the book, as well as host programming centered around the book’s themes!
They Called Us Enemy is a graphic memoir telling the story of George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American incarceration camps during World War II, and how those experiences planted the seeds for his extraordinary future as an actor (Hikaru Sulu of Star Trek USS Enterprise), author, and equal rights advocate. Confronting questions of patriotism, family, loyalty, and community, George’s work is a stunning examination of what it means to be American, both long ago and today.
The book is available to check out with your library card, whether it be a physical copy or an e-book on Libby or Hoopla! See where it is available or place a hold on it here.
Programs
There will also be programs held at many Santa Clara County library locations:
Learn how to create the Awaji Knot with Mizuhiki (Japanese Paper Cords) or a washi paper collage and take home your own handmade card! Registration is required for these programs and opens 30 days before each event.
Los Altos Library – Friday, April 17th 10:30 AM
Gilroy Library – Sunday, April 26th 2 PM
Milpitas Library – Saturday, May 2nd 2 PM
Cupertino Library – Thursday, May 7th 11 AM
Saratoga Library – Saturday, May 9th 2 PM
Campbell Library – Sunday, May 17th 11 AM
Morgan Hill Library – Saturday, May 23rd 4 PM
San Jose Japantown: From Bachelor Society to Family
Documentarian and archivist Curt Fukuda, co-author of San Jose Japantown Community: A Journey, takes us on a multimedia journey through the past as San Jose Japantown transformed from a bachelor society to a family community. Joining Curt is fellow history detective, Robert Ragsac, who grew up in San Jose Japantown during the 1930s and 1940s.
Saratoga Library – Sunday, April 26th 2 PM
Enjoy a live screening of the film “Kintsukuroi” hosted by the cast and crew of the film! With a stroke of his pen President Roosevelt destroyed the lives of 120,000 Japanese Americans at the onset of World War II. From the windswept prison camps of the American West to the battlefields of Europe, "Kintsukuroi" follows the lives of two of those families who lost everything except their dignity. There will be a live screening of the film as well as a Q & A with the cast and crew following the movie.
Saratoga Library – Saturday, May 9th 1 PM
Campbell Library – Saturday, May 30th 11 AM
This is a Saratoga Library book club that meets on the third Thursday of each month. This month they will be reading the highlighted book for One Book, One Coast, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei! Please visit the Adult Reference Desk at Saratoga Library to register and pick up a copy of the book.
Saratoga Library – Thursday, May 21st 1 PM
To close out the celebration of One Book, One Coast, we will be streaming a live talk with They Called Us Enemy author George Takei. George Takei will be sitting down for an interview at the East Los Angeles Library, and it will be streamed at each of our library locations! Please join us for this culminating event!
Sunday, May 31st 2 PM
This event will be hosted at the Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, & Saratoga Libraries.
Please join us and be a part of the biggest book club on the West Coast!
