One Book, One Coast

Read They Called Us Enemy; join the 5/31, 2PM livestream. Borrow from library. Free copies 4/1.

One Book, One Coast brings together library systems across California, Washington State, and Oregon for a shared community reading program that celebrates literacy, learning, community, and civil discourse. All participating libraries will read and discuss They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, a graphic memoir that recounts his childhood experience of incarceration alongside more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens, following Executive Order 9066 in 1942. A limited number of giveaway books of They Called Us Enemy will be available at the San Bruno Library starting April 1, 2026. 

Find and checkout a copy of the book from the library, read the eBook on Libby or read the eBook on Hoopla. Also, view our our Staff Picks list of related books in our library catalog to learn more about Japanese internment and Executive Order 9066.

View more information about the history of the Japanese internment

For more information about One Book, One Coast program visit LA County Library's website.

ONE BOOK, ONE COAST EVENTS


Virtual Author Talk with George Takei
Sunday, May 31, 2026 from 2 PM - 4 PM
Streaming live on Zoom and YouTube

Register for Zoom link-George Takei virtual author talk 5/31, 2-4PM, His book They Called Us Enemy.

Join the largest Book Club on the West Coast! Actor and author George Takei will be discussing his book They Called Us Enemy live on Zoom and YouTube from the East Los Angeles Library. Register to watch on Zoom or watch on Youtube with no need for registration.

Related Programs

Remembering Tanforan Virtual Discussion
Watch anytime on YouTube

Link to watch Remembering Tanforan virtual panel discussion & former internee interviews.

Rewatch the Remembering Tanforan: Panel Discussion, filmed in February 2022 as part of the One Book, One Coast program. Learn about the history of the Tanforan Assembly Center, hear first-hand accounts of former internees, and explore the Memorial installation at Tanforan. The Confronting History: Stories of Internment program series explores past injustices and inspires community action to combat current and future threats to our shared civil liberties. 

Printmaking Workshop
Friday, May 22, 2026 from 1 PM - 3 PM
San Bruno Library Community Room

Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Workshop 5/22, 1-3PM, Library. Class limit is 25 participants.

Join the San Bruno Library as we celebrate artist Chiura Obata and the art of Japanese woodblock printing as part of the One Book One Coast events. Learn how to create and carve your own simple linoleum block print. All materials provided. Class is limited to 25 participants. 

Chiura Obata (1885-1975) was a Japanese-American artist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley know for his woodblock prints and watercolors of Yosemite and California. He established an art school while interned at the Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz Internment Camp.