Da Shop’s Ultimate Bookish Gift List

With the holidays approaching, your local booksellers at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities have assembled the ultimate bookish gift guide to make shopping this year a breeze. From encouraging meditations by a little frog to an exploration of Indigenous knowledge and practices to a National Book Award Finalist novel about a semi-famous artist upending her life, this list is diverse, compelling, and thoughtfully curated for all ages. Here are the top books that our booksellers love to gift the loved ones in their lives.

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Kaho‘olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People

by Kamalani Hurley and Harinani Orme

Selected by Mariko

What I love is for a picture book to completely absorb me into the story, and this one does exactly that. Every time I read it, I feel a little bit worn out, like I have just experienced what Kaho‘olawe lived through. The best thing, however, is that I also feel hopeful and inspired, especially seeing the individual faces of the island’s activists and caretakers depicted in the illustrations—I feel like I know these people and can imagine myself amongst them.

SEE ALSO: A Conversation with Kamalani Hurley, Author of Kaho‘olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People

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The Serviceberry

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Selected by Kristen

In a year marked by innumerable loss and disruption, we are offered The Serviceberry by Potawatomi scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer. Potent, portable and generous, much like the eponymous berry, this rumination on reciprocity and abundance raises our gaze above the power and consumption narratives on our screens to remind us of the bounty and fullness of the natural world that nurtures us unconditionally. The Serviceberry is a book I enjoy sharing forward in the same way it entered my world: as a sweet morsel gifted to me when I needed it most.

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Selected by Spencer

Whenever the weather turns chilly and rain patters on my roof, I feel the call of fantasy, and few authors make other worlds feel as alive as Ursula K. Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness doesn’t just transport us to a vivid, icy planet; it invites us to carry our assumptions with us, then turns them inside out through its exploration of gender, identity and empathy. When I turned the final page, this work left me wondering if understanding is a worthy prerequisite for respecting other cultures, and how our biases shape the way we move through any world, real or imagined.

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Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative

by Isabella Hammad

Selected by Megan

Part literary analysis, part incisive scholarship on the Palestinian struggle for liberation, Recognizing the Stranger is an outstanding work of essay by the inimitable Isabella Hammad. Not only is Hammad one of my favorite novelists (I will recommend Enter Ghost for all time!), she’s also a brilliant thinker who brings equal parts passion and moral clarity to her prose. I have gifted this book not only to fellow writers but also to the people in my life who are actively seeking turning points during these troubling times.

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The Little Frog’s Guide to Life

by Maybell Eequay

Selected by Dimpna

The Little Frog is at it again with her mushroom hat and sassy boots, offering a brand-new treasure: The Little Frog’s Guide to Life, a compassionate companion for motivation and daily reflection as well as a blueprint for embracing life with all its ups and downs. This gentle guide encourages you to fill your world with the small, steady joys that make each day feel a little lighter. Paired with her whimsical Deck of Cards and the new Little Frog Journal, all three make meaningful, heartwarming gifts for friends, colleagues and loved ones—or even a well-deserved treat for yourself!

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Writing Creativity and Soul

by Sue Monk Kidd

Selected by Jen

Start. It’s easier said than done, but after you put down Writing Creativity and Soul, you’ll feel inspired to finally pick up your passion project. Referencing untold struggles of famous authors and sharing her own experience with rejection and self-doubt, Sue Monk Kidd reminds us to participate in life, including and especially our own. As this year comes to a close, throw out your excuses and just start.

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All Fours

by Miranda July

Selected by Sarah

All Fours is a book that surprised (and shocked!) me in the best possible ways and provided a refreshing take on what middle age, parenthood and embodying feminism can mean. I love that it challenged the status quo on what it should feel like to be a mother and appreciated July’s humorous, vulnerable, honest and, at times, embarrassing characters. More than anything, I felt the novel was a subtle rallying ray to unapologetically be yourself, flaws and all.

From Our Little Readers:

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The Night Diary

by Veera Hiranandani

Selected by Sici

I feel that you really fall into a rich, lovely and heartfelt story. You read about the past and others’ decisions. It brought me closer to the importance of our world! And how we care about others. Read this book!

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The Shark King

by R. Kikuo Johnson

Selected by Enzo

I think people should read The Shark King because it’s cool that he transformed into a shark and he was a human, and not many people noticed. I also like this book because I like swimming in the ocean, and this book reminds me of that.

Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., Kaimukī, open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl