Today’s Topic: Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!
It’s still 8:30pm here in Hawai’i, which gives me plenty of time for our entry! The topic focuses on books outside of the mainstream buzz received upon by the book blogging community. In the case of Hawaii Book Blog, this is a little bit difficult (or easy depending on how you look at it). Given the niche nature of the books we read, I could easily select most anything in our Book List that I would love to receive more attention from readers across the country.
I considered picking a book that might be more readily available on the mainland. Fierce Heart is a fantastic book, with a great message detailing the history of a region with the universal appeal of surfing. Facing Future is a part of a popular music series of books (33 1/3) which in this version highlights the world-renowned Hawaiian musician and iconic figure Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.
Still, I wanted to take this a bit further and choose a book which I initially read without knowing very much about—especially because there was very little written about it on the Internet. I picked up a copy of Written in the Sky by Matthew Kaopio from the Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale at McKinley High School because it was in good condition and the description on the back cover interested me. I thought the premise of a homeless teenager living in Ala Moana Beach Park would prove intriguing. I was right. It may not be easily accessible, but if you get the chance, I would highly recommend it. For more about Written in the Sky you can read my review of the book here.
As I stated before, I’d love for any book on our book list (and many more that we haven’t gotten to yet) to be read by other book blogs. Our mission here has always been to spread the word about the great literature coming out of Hawai’i to not only people in the islands, but to everyone around the world. In fact, a couple months ago I was excited to see that our friend Becky at One Literature Nut started getting into Hawaiiana this past summer. Of course it helps that she appears to stay here every summer, but if you can get your hands on some Hawaii books, we’d be more than happy to hear from you.
Happy reading everyone.
