At last!  The Winter Olympics are almost here. Opening ceremonies take place this Friday.  Once every four years we are treated to a festival of the world's best athletes on snow and ice. I know we had the Summer Olympics in Beijing two years ago, but I'm one of those people who enjoy the Winter Olympics more. It's smaller and cozier, and it has all that snow and ice, cool stuff we don't see living in Hawaii. Before the show begins this week in Vancouver, I'm feeling nostalgic for the 2006 Winter Olympics from Turin. Here's what I wrote then about some of the nice-on-ice highlights, including some lessons for writers. Read the rest of this entry »

In the New York Times Writers on Writing series, Miami novelist Carl Hiaasen wrote: "I can't tell you how often I get asked if Elian (Gonzalez) will turn up in my next book. The challenge is too daunting, and not because the real life drama defies satire. It is satire."
This quote came to mind as I read Wayfinding Through the Storm: Speaking Truth to Power at Kamehameha Schools 1993-1999. This book tells the story of the epic battle between Bishop Estate trustees and Kamehameha Schools faculty, students, and alumni in a series of quotes from the play [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Price, speed, and convenience will probably determine how information that is carefully argued and presented in book form will be distributed. Read the rest of this entry »

I last blogged that Kekuhaupi`o trained Kamehameha to be the excellent fighter he’d become – all detailed in a book. So, you’d assume this master teacher stood eye-to-eye to the future king, who was over 6’2” – as were many of the other warrior-kings.
Nope…`A`ole! Kekuhaupi`o was about 5’8”. But, stocky, with “…square shoulders and strong, long limbs and fingers.” (pg. 6) I conclude he was body-builder muscular, having great strength and endurance – had to be.
More, he’s the pint-size, who was ordered take a short spear and use it in a deep-sea battle to kill a 20` feet niuhi (tiger) shark; i.e., if he wasn’t chewed to bits first. Then eat its eyeballs. All as a final test to prove his bravery and skills.
Gosh, why wouldn’t you want to re [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Born and raised in the most multicultural state in the union, President Barack Obama bears the indelible stamp of his native Hawai‘i. Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris’s book, The Dream Begins: How Hawai‘i Shaped Barack Obama (Watermark Publishing, 2009), is a coming-of-age story set in Hawai‘i’s storied “melting pot”—a revealing look at the island state that is surely a core part of what makes Obama tick. Read the rest of this entry »

“Sixteen deceptively simple stories comprise Michelle Cruz Skinner’s much-anticipated follow-up to Balikbayan and Mango Seasons, many of them about Filipinos tongue-tied and alienated in the motherland, or scattered across the map of heartaches and homesickness in the company of strangers called countrymen, family, lovers. A book of quiet gems definitely worth the wait.” --R. Zamora Linmark, author of Prime Time Apparitions and The Evolution of a Sigh
“The essential subject of these captivating stories is memory, but [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace is a harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling—nonfiction, fiction, and poetry—spanning five wars and written by those most profoundly affected by it.
For more than fifteen years, National Book Award-winning author Maxine Hong Kingston has led writing-and-meditation workshops for veterans and their families. The contributors to this volume—combat veterans, medics, and others who served in war; gang members, drug users, and victims of domestic violence; draft resisters, deserters, and peace activists—are part of this community of writers working together to heal the trauma of war through art. On Friday, May 25, 2007, Bill [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Bill Teter, ed.
From the powerful opening words of the Kumulipo to the propulsive rhymes of contemporary slam poetry, Hāpai nā Leo celebrates a diverse range of voices that explore, carry, and regenerate Hawaiian culture. Editor Bill Teter created Hāpai nā Leo as a literary companion to Malcolm Nāea Chun’s historical and philosophical works, the Ka Wana series, published by CRDG, and No Nā Mamo, to be published by University of Hawai‘i Press. This anthology responds to Chun’s work with a wide range of voic [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

A delightful and intriguing story introducing the shy Cassowary, one of the world's largest endangered birds whose feeding habits help create tropical rain forests for some of the world's oldest, most unusual and most endangered animals. Written in appealing poetic form for children aged 4 to 8 by Tamara Montgomery, with a short post-story section on animals by Jodi Parry Belknap, it is beautifully illustrated by Joseph D. Dodd.
As Cassowary treks through the uplands in New Guinea he dines on colorful fruit—red rambutan, orange pa [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

When an elderly couple’s daily toil for water during a drought fills them with despair, a mysterious dream reveals an unexpected source of water. With hard work and faith, the life-giving water gives way to hope to many in O‘ahu’s Mānoa Valley.

This is the third book in the Ku‘una Series, a collaboration between Kamehameha Publishing and Hale Kuamo‘o.
About the Author and Illustrator
Kawehi Avelino is a graduate of the Kahuawaiola Hawaiian Medium Teacher Education Program and currently [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

BUSS LAUGH: Stand Up Poetry From Hawaii
Edited by Lee Tonouchi
Nationally recognized Pidgin author Lee Tonouchi, the "Pidgin Guerilla", presents a varied collection of stand-up poetry reflecting Hawaii's distinct diversity and cultural representation.
"The imagery and ideas in Buss Laugh: Stand Up Poetry From Hawaii really stay with you. What a delight to have a collection of ono poetry from such powerful, unique and witty writers."
- Lee Cataluna, Author of Folks You Meet In Longs
"These poems all say someting honest and impo [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Poke, Hawai‘i’s favorite food has taken off—sold, served, and savored everywhere.  In his new coffee table book, Sam Choy shows poke’s versatility as well as the creativity with which it can be prepared.
This new book will make a great holiday gift, with over 140 recipes, including contributions from his friends, demonstrating the full gamut of tastes and flavors for this amazing dish. 
This book will make an ideal gift for just about anyone in Hawaii who loves this unique food. Even if you’re not an experi [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

For the first time, BeachHouse Publishing brings you our best-selling board books to be viewed and read on your iphone or ipod touch as an interactive, animated app. In addition to the colorful, whimsical illustrations and text in the printed book, our ibeachhouse books are narrated and animated so children can enjoy the book on a whole new level in English or Hawaiian.
Diving for Colors in Hawaii can be downloaded at the itunes store or app store. Search for ibeachhouse books.
G [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Be taken on an unforgettable journey of suspense, adventure, mystery and romance in a coming-of-age story about the small town of Kailua, O'ahu in November/December 1941.  Sands of Lanikai takes us back to the days just before December 7 and imagines a spy entering the waters of Kailua Bay.  Will the spy be discovered?  What is his mission?  What impact will his presence have on the opening days of World War II?
As tensions mount towards the inevitability of war, suspicions escalate about who can be trusted and who can't.  As the mys [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

FORTHCOMING DECEMBER 2009
Originally serialized in the Hawaiian language newspaper Kuokoa Home Rula from January 1909 to April 1910, this new edition of Ka Mo‘olelo Hiwahiwa o Kawelo presents Ho‘oulumahiehie's text in modernized Hawaiian with notes and an introduction by Native Hawaiian scholar Hiapokeikikane Kichie Perreira.
Ho‘oulumahiehie's telling of the Kawelo story is the longest and most comprehensively written in Hawaiian on this larger-than-life historical figure, fro [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

BRIGHT TRIUMPHS FROM DARK HOURS: Turning Adversity into Success,  the latest book by DAVID HEENAN
Bright Triumphs From Dark Hours examines the lives of ten extraordinary people who overcame great adversity in their personal or professional lives by applying winning strategies that guided them out of the darkness of near-defeat and into the light of success. These inspiring profiles include:
•  high-tech entrepreneur Steve Case rebounding from the ill-fated AOL Time Warner merger to lead a philanthropic revolution;
Read the rest of this entry »