Hawai‘i Book & Music Festival is Changing and Moving to UH Mānoa This Year
Don’t book the Hawai‘i Book & Music Festival just yet—it’s changing months, moving locations and shaking up its lineup.
Books
Inside HONOLULU: Dear Writers I Interviewed For This Article ...
Don’t hate me. Oh, go ahead. Hate me.
Remembering Rap: A New Book Tells the Story of Hawai‘i Humorist Rap Reiplinger
The book shines a light on the man behind the laughs through untold stories of his success and struggles, as well as news that state officials reopened an investigation into his mysterious death.
Paniolo Pandemonium: The Untold History of Hawai‘i’s Cowboys in “Aloha Rodeo”
Island rodeos give local heroes a chance to rope, wrassle and get bucked into the dirt. A new book and summer events honor the spirit of the three paniolo who took on the world’s best in 1908 and won.
Book-Lovers All Over America Can’t Get Enough of Hawai‘i’s New Genre Writers
These aren’t your grandmother’s romances, kid sister’s sword-and-buckler fantasies or Michener middlebrows.
Check Out The ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Language) Versions of “Harry Potter” and Other Literary Classics
Fans of the “Harry Potter” series can now read the first book in Hawaiian (with more to come!).
50 Essential Hawai‘i Books You Should Read in Your Lifetime
Need something to read—or hand to someone who does? Here’s HONOLULU’s first-ever list of the most iconic, trenchant and irresistible Island books, as voted by a panel of literary community luminaries.
Roll of Honor: The Next 37 Titles on Our List of 50 Essential Hawai‘i Books
The voting was close enough we’re recognizing books that just missed making the list, as well as plays and guidebooks that our judges suggested. More to read this summer—and all year.
The Fine Print: How We Chose the 50 Essential Hawai‘i Books
What defines greatness? What matters most to us today? What will people actually (really) read? Those were some of the questions we faced while winnowing HONOLULU’s first-ever list of books every Islander should know, if not own.
Having Our Say: Two Gen X Writers on Their Essential Hawai‘i Books
Acclaimed poet Christy Passion and Kristiana Kahakauwila, author of short stories and a forthcoming novel, celebrate their literary communities and personal favorites.
This Local Book Helps Children Deal With Absent Parents
A new book by a successful banker who abandoned her family for drugs could prove useful to young children who’ve been left behind, whatever the reason.
Meet the 96-Year-Old Author Sharing the Untold Stories of Japanese Picture Brides
After 35-plus years as a dressmaker, author Barbara Kawakami went back to school, earned a college degree and published her first book—about plantation clothing—at age 53, followed by the award-winning “Picture Bride Stories” in 2016.
Take a Look Back at 1960s Honolulu in This Former Reporter’s Breezy Memoir
David Butwin paints a dated portrait of Honolulu in “Barefoot Days, Electric Nights.”
29 Must-Read Local Books You Won’t Want to Put Down This Holiday Season
Epics, eras and albatrosses—we’ve got your book-lover gift bases covered.
Sen. Dan Akaka Refutes Critics, Supports Thirty Meter Telescope in New Memoir
In “One Voice,” the senator recalls his roots and confronts his critics—gently, as is his style—while making the case for a lasting legacy.
Quote Unquote: Comic-Book-Writer-Turned-Filmmaker Shares Veterans’ Stories “Journey of Heroes”
Stacey Hayashi spent thousands of hours interviewing veterans, then shared their stories in a comic book called “Journey of Heroes,” which won international acclaim and pushed her to her next project: finishing a feature-length film about the heroes.
“The Descendants” Author Kaui Hart Hemmings is On Fire
Hemmings’ latest is partly written as an entry in a cookbook contest for mothers.
Chris McKinney’s New Book Dives into Honolulu’s Mysterious Underworld
As if writing a novel about his descent into Honolulu’s hostess-bar and criminal scene wasn’t enough, the Kahalu‘u native is going Hollywood with his trademark brashness and chessmaster gamesmanship.
The Adventures of Mark Twain: How He Launched a Literary Career in Hawai‘i
We recount Mark Twain’s adventures in the Islands as a young rascal, 150 years ago, and the impact that Hawai‘i had on the rest of his career.
4 Fall Books About Hawai‘i Are Making a Splash
These books get Hawai‘i right.
15 Hawai‘i Books to Read This Summer
Our annual quest to track down this year’s can’t-miss books from local authors and publishers.
Quote Unquote: Constance Hale Describes Seven Stages of Manuscript Grief
Constance Hale is a writer, editor and teacher.
An Excerpt from ‘Hell-Bent’: Ronnie Ching, Hawai‘i’s Most Notorious Hit Man
Author Jason Ryan delved into the darker side of Hawai‘i during the 1970s and 1980s to write: ‘Hell-Bent: One Man’s Crusade to Crush the Hawaiian Mob.’ This is an excerpt from his recently published book.
