Julie Otsuka, author of “When the Emperor Was Divine” (Anchor, 2003), is scheduled to speak at the Los Altos main library 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 as part of Silicon Valley Reads Month.
Otsuka’s novel is the story of a Japanese-American family forced to leave their Berkeley home for an internment camp in Utah during World War II. Otsuka was born in Palo Alto, and her mother, uncle and grandparents spent time at internment camps during the war.
Otsuka’s book and Louise Steinman’s “The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father’s War” (Plume, 2002) are the selections for the fourth annual Silicon Valley Reads program, which invites participants in Santa Clara County to read the books and discuss their themes with family, friends, co-workers and community.
Both of this year’s selections focus on the long-lasting effects of World War II on California families.
More than 30 public events are scheduled in February at locations throughout Silicon Valley.
The public can also participate in an online discussion forum to share wartime memories.
Silicon Valley Reads is presented by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the Santa Clara County Library and the San Jose Public Library Foundation. Major sponsors include Adobe Systems, Intel, Applied Materials, the Silicon Valley Library System, the San Jose Mercury News, NBC11, KLIV and KRTY.
The Otsuka talk is free and open to the public. The library is located at 13 S. San Antonio Road in Los Altos.
For more information, visit www.siliconvalleyreads.org or call (408) 354-1242.
