The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is an eloquent and beautiful novel depicting the lives of "picture brides," young Japanese mail order brides who came to California early in the twentieth century.  The author uses a unique, lyrical first person plural voice throughout most of the book.  "We sometimes lay awake for hours."  "Secretly we hoped to be rescued."  Seldom are personal names used and yet the author skillfully conveys the variety of experiences and emotions that these nameless women encounter.  Some are only children, no more than fourteen, when they arrive.  They find love, but not always with their husbands.  They become mothers, raise and bury children, work hard, and build very different lives from the ones they left behind.  Otsuka follows them as their children grow up and adopt  American customs, forgetting the Japanese ways their mothers cling to.  Finally the author revisits the time and place of her previous novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, as she follows them into the dark days of World War II when their lives were uprooted once again.  It is a moving, haunting portrait of first generation Japanese American women.   This title is also available as an audiobook and a downloadable ebook. 

Do you want to learn how to download library books onto an eReader?  Are you interested in buying an eReader but don't know which one is best for you? Find out about the different types of eBook collections available and learn how easy it is to borrow free library e-books on your device!  Bring your own eReader to this event or try out a variety of other popular devices and learn how to download a library e-book.  See a demonstration of how easy it is to read and enjoy these collections.  May programs will be held in the following locations:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library  May 12  10am

Berryessa Branch Library  May 16  11am

Willow Glen Branch Library  May 19  3pm

West Valley Branch Library  May 30  1pm 

I shared the love of reading as I celebrated World Book Night on my way home from work.  Begun in the UK last year, World Book Night spread to the US in 2012.  Celebrated on April 23, the anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and death, the goal of World Book Night is to go to a public place where you might encounter reluctant adult readers (not libraries or bookstores) and pass out 20 free copies of a selected title.  As soon as I heard about the program I decided I wanted to distribute books on the light rail on my way home from work.  Back in January I registered online and was asked to select three possible choices to give away.  There were many great possibilities.  I asked for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Because of Winn-Dixie, or Q is for Quarry.  I was later notified that I would be receiving Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton.

Libraries and booksellers supported the event by serving as distribution sites.  About a week before delivery night, I was notified that my copies had arrived at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and were ready for pick up.  I selected this location since I work there, but other book givers picked up their books at local bookstores such as Hicklebee's or Barnes and Noble as well as other area libraries. 

World Book Night books are specially-produced, not for resale paperbacks.  There was no charge to me or other book givers for these special editions.  Authors gave up royalties to make this event possible, and American book publishers, the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association,  UPS and others paid for the production and shipping.

As I left for my walk to my light rail station I was excited about the books I'd be handing out and the people I'd meet.  Volunteers like me from around the country would be giving away 500,000 volumes before the night was done.   I even gave out three copies before I reached the station!  Not everyone I approached took one, but many did and everyone was polite.  One recipient said I'd made her day.  Another gentleman recognized the author's name and said the list of selected titles provided on the book's back cover gave him a whole reading list.  Check out Facebook to read about the experiences of other book givers.  And mark your calendar now for April 23, 2013.  I plan to celebrate World Book Night as a book giver again next year.  I hope you'll join me and spread the love of reading person to person. 

San Jose Public Library's Online Book Club is a monthly feature that encourages readers to share and discuss a given book each month.  Selections are made based on  local interest and relevance.  

Our selection for this month, Dubliners by James Joyce was chosen to coincide with with a similar program in one of San Jose's sister cities.  During the month of April, residents of Dublin, Ireland are participating in the One City, One Book program sponsored by Dublin City Public Libraries.  We invite you to share your thoughts on Dubliners not only here, but also with fellow readers across the sea.

Question for Week 4: Is Dubliners a modern, international piece of fiction - or is it dated by geographical and historical context?

I believe that Dubliners is an example of modern fiction, both in style and theme.  Undoubtedly the stories do have aspects that may cause them to initially appear somewhat dated.  I struggled myself to understand some of the language and references when I first picked it up.  Yet, many of the themes I most related to, unfulfilled dreams, love and loss, are timeless.  I also think that Joyce's decision to use a single setting to tie together a set of stories involving unrelated characters is a very modern, more forward looking convention.  What do you think?

See more information about this book and previous week's questions

San Jose Public Library's Online Book Club is a monthly feature that encourages readers to share and discuss a given book each month.  Selections are made based on  local interest and relevance.  

Our selection for this month, Dubliners by James Joyce was chosen to coincide with with a similar program in one of San Jose's sister cities.  During the month of April, residents of Dublin, Ireland are participating in the One City, One Book program sponsored by Dublin City Public Libraries.  We invite you to share your thoughts on Dubliners not only here, but also with fellow readers across the sea.

Question for Week 3: To what extent does one's birthplace determine one's identity or destiny? Is it less of a factor with today's global economy and communications than it was when Dubliners was published nearly a century ago?

Before reading the book, I thought my answer would be that of course birthplace had a greater impact on one's life and life choices when Dubliners was written than it does today.  Now I am not so sure.  Even though transportation and technology have vastly improved,  I think other factors sometimes have a greater impact on the choices we make.  Joyce's character Eveline had the opportunity to leave Dublin and choose a very different life in another country and yet she chose to stay even though her life there held little promise of happiness.  Perhaps it is not the opportunity to move, but the courage or determination to risk the unknown that is the bigger factor in how one's life plays out.  My father was born in a small Midwestern farming community.  He was valedictorian of a graduating class of 13.  Determined to get an education, he went to college on a scholarship and later finished on the GI Bill.  After graduation and marriage he accepted a teaching job in California and began a career in education far different from the lives of the friends and cousins with whom he'd grown up.  I, on the other hand, had many more options open to me and yet I still live in the same city in which I was born.  Is it because I had choices that I didn't need to move, or is it that, like Eveline, I was not willing to give up the familiar for unknown possibilities?  What do you think?  Is birthplace still as much a determining factor in one's destiny as it was when Dubliners was first published or are there other more critical factors one needs to take into account? 

See more information about this book and preview the next week's question

I hope you have been enjoying the variety of programs the library has been able to offer as we have explored the topic "Muslim and American" over the past several months.  Silicon Valley Reads 2012 continues to run through the month of April.  San Jose Public Library will be offering the following upcoming events to engage with others in a discussion of this relevant subject.

• Sumbul Ali-Karamali, author of The Muslim Next Door will speak at the Cambrian Library on Saturday, April 14 and the following week at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Library on Saturday, April 21.  Both programs begin at 2:00.
• Todd Parr, author and illustrator of the children's book It's Okay to be Different will appear on April 21 at both the Pearl Avenue and Almaden libraries.  The Pearl Avenue program begins at 2:00 pm and the Almaden presentation begins at 3:00 pm.
• The Berryessa  Library will screen the film "Allah Made Me Funny" at 11:00 am on April 21.
• The Pearl Avenue Library will also host Willow Wilson, author of The Butterfly Mosque on Friday, April 27 at 4:00.

Take part in the conversation!  Plan now to attend one of these special events.  Silicon Valley Reads 2012 concludes on April 29 with a closing event to be held at the Santa Clara Central Park Library.