There really are a million things you can do at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival. Misty and I often fret over, discuss, and plan out which speaking engagements each of us are going to attend. Unfortunately, even with two of us, there are so many fascinating things going on that it’s hard to make a decision. Here, I’ve provided just a very small sampling of books that will be featured at the event; books that are definitely worth your time if you’re interested in the subject.

Hawaiki Rising

Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūleʻa, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance tells the story of Hokule’a’s creation at a time when Hawaiian culture was almost lost. The book tells Nainoa Thompson’s story for the first time. The book is populated by the ‘ohana wa‘a, the family of the canoe – those men and women who shared the vision of raising distant islands across the sea. For a more in depth synopsis, visit Sam Low’s Hawaiki Rising website.

It’s a really straightforward and easy book to read with great recollections, personal insights into the Hōkūleʻa and Hawaiian Renaissance, and an account of the spiritual and cultural growth of such respected men as Nainoa Thompson. The text is supplemented with beautiful full-page black & white photographs, content-specific maps, and fascinating star charts and graphs. I especially love the star charts and diagrams explaining how the navigators use the natural tools around them in the sky and sea to masterfully find their way–with pinpoint accuracy–across thousands of miles of ocean.

At the Hawaii Book & Music Festival (HBMF), Sam Low will be discussing his 1983 film The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific, the new book Hawaiki Rising. Navigator Nainoa Thompson will also be there to talk about the Hōkūleʻa Worldwide Voyage (WWV) coming up where Hōkūle‘a and her sister canoe Hikianalia will sail 1,000-miles statewide, from May-October 2013, visiting 30 ports in the Hawaiian islands before departing for Tahiti in May 2014. This event will take place inside the Mission Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 P.M.

A Straight Road with 99 Curves: Coming of Age on the Path of Zen

Another book you might find interesting is  A Straight Road with 99 Curves: Coming of Age on the Path of Zen, a memoir by Greg Shepherd. It’s an “achingly honest” memoir of Greg’s quest for Zen and spirituality in America and Japan.  It follows his meandering path from seeker to disillusionment, and, over a decade later, his way back to Zen and inner peace. Readers experience Zen practice in Japan and Hawaii, as Greg introduces Zen masters Yamada Koun Roshi and Robert Aitken, the ”dean of American Buddhism.” From Greg, we understand why Zen was so appealing to the American counterculture and how its profound lessons of focus and detachment remain insightful and important.

No less an authority on the subject, Zen priest James Ishmael Ford had this to say about the book:

My short take away is, I like the book, and I recommend it as among the best of those Zen memoirs that are beginning to appear on shelves… The reasons I like it are several. First it is a compelling narrative. I can taste and smell and see the territory, and the people he describes live. It is just a good read.  And, another reason I appreciate it is how Gregory (we’re part of an extended Dharma family, at least as I see it, and I hope he wouldn’t mind the familiarity of using his first name here) plainly addresses his struggles, his projections, his intimate experiences, and, very much, his failures.

Greg Shepherd will be discussing his memoir A Straight Road with 99 Curves on Sunday, May 19 at Noon at the Authors Pavilion Makai. He will also be participating in the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities Pavilion panel “Life Quests: Memoirs and Beyond” along with Perle Besserman and Malcolm Nāea Chun on Saturday, May 19 at 4:00 PM.

Kalaupapa

At the 2013 Ka Palapala Poʻokela Awards, Anwei Skinsnes Law’s book Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory won the Samuel M. Kamakau awards for Hawaiʻi Book of the Year. As somebody who read through much of the book and praised it highly among a few of my peers, it was no surprise to me this book was selected. Here’s a few revised notes from the KPP judges comments:

Passionately researched, Kalaupapa collects more than 200 hours of interviews combined with archival documents and over 300 letters and petitions, many of which are translated from Hawaiian. The book is beautifully realized by UH Press, including personal photos of people, places, and documents that accentuate the stories with striking visual components that pull you further into the atmosphere of the time and place. The stories inside are real accounts of Hawaiians taken from their homes and forced to live in isolation for the rest of their lives. It also gives them voice; you may find it surprising that despite being physically cut off from the rest of the world, many of these men and women took active roles in government. Kalaupapa is a powerful reminder of Hawaii’s history, one that will resonate with you for a long time.

Anwei Skinsnes Law will be active at HBMF discussing Kalaupapa, both her book and its stories, along with photographer Wayne Levin and Kerri Inglis (who all collaborated on the book Ili Nā Hoʻomanaʻo o Kalaupapa: Casting Remembrances of Kalaupapa). That session will take place at the Alana Hawaiian Culture Pavilion on Saturday, May 18 at 11:00 A.M.

As I’ve stated, this is just a drop in the bucket of the wealth of amazing speakers that will be present at the festival, sharing their deep knowledge and literary works with all of us. Either way you choose, go ahead and sit down in the shade of that pavilion, give the speaker your full attention, and you’ll be guaranteed to learn something interesting.

New to the Hawaii Book & Music Festival this year and a very welcome addition is the Keiki Read Aloud Pavilion.

The Pavilion will be located at the end of the new Hawaii Publishers Village on the King Street side. Wally Amos is the emcee and will read a lot of the books, too, as will an assortment of authors, teachers, and other very talented folks.

They put together as many multicultural books as possible and the line-up is great for an audience that represents the rich rewards of living in a multicultural society.  Books not displayed at a local publisherʻs booth can be autographed and or signed at the Native Books booth or Barnes & Noble tent.

Unfortunately, the schedule of books and readers isn’t listed in the official HBMF Program. However, we are lucky enough to have a list of the program schedule in PDF format. View the schedules for Saturday and Sunday in the following files:

• Keiki Read Aloud Pavilion – Saturday Reading Schedule
• Keiki Read Aloud Pavilion – Sunday Reading Schedule

In addition to Wally Amos, there are some great author/readers appearing on Saturday including James Rumford, Sue Cowing, Lavonne Leong, Dr. Carolan and much more. On Sunday you have Maya Soetoro-Ng, Waimea Williams, Richard Tillotson and even more.

This is a great new inclusion to the Festival, one that is perfect to bring your keiki, to keep them captivated with some engaging storytime while you rest your feet and cool off.

Maya Soetoro-Ng

Riding on the technology wave, the Hawaii Book & Music Festival recently announced the release of official an HBMF smartphone app. The app is free and is available on both the Apple Store and Google Play. Ideally, this means that you will no longer need to lug around a hard copy of the program or be one of those people wondering (and asking others), “Hey, where can I get that?” You can begin planning ahead with the HBMF app and then whip your iPhone or Android phone out at any time to see what’s coming up next.

Official description:

The app features profiles on all presenting authors, musicians, cultural performers, and personalities. A fan wall, Facebook, twitter, and individual author sites are all tied into the app so a festival visitor can remain in touch with their favorite experiences and presenters. This app lists all exhibitor information and provides company information and website links to preview product. Also included are video, audio and book previews for users to access content and information related to the presented topics , authors and musicians.

Dave DeLuca, whose company Pass-the-Projects developed the app, will be doing a presentation on the app at the Festival on Saturday, May 18 at 4:00 P.M in the Authors Makai Pavilion. So if you’re interested, be sure to mark it down on your HBMF itinerary.

I haven’t had a chance to test out the app’s full capabilities as of yet, but I plan on trying it out during HBMF this Saturday on my Galaxy S3 and will be sure to give you my thoughts. Ultimately, irregardless of the app’s functionality, we think this is definitely a step in the right direction. We’re eager to see how technology can help promote more people to get excited about local books, authors, and literary events.

You can download or view more information on the Google Play app here.

You can download or view more information on the Apple Store app here.

HBMF Note: Four SinC/Hawaii (Sisters In Crime- Hawaii) members, Laurie Hanan, Gene Parola, Ray Pace, and Gail Baugniet will give a panel discussion on Saturday entitled “Why Men Join Sisters in Crime” in the Author Pavilion Mauka at 1pm. They will also have a SinC/Hawaii booth where books will be sold and signed.

The Hawaii Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a local group of crime and mystery writers, will be participating at this year’s Hawaii Book and Music Festival. Since there will be four authors and their books at one table we decided to do some mini-reviews to give you some info on each one.

For Every Action There Are Consequences by Gail Baugniet
If the exotic character name of the protagonist, Pepper Bibeau, is any indication of the clever surprises to be found in this book you won’t be disappointed. The story takes place in 1960′s Chicago but our main character Pepper is from Hawaii, trying to carve a life for herself post-Vietnam. Pepper uses her past skills as a war-nurse to investigate insurance claims. While unraveling the truth about medical claims and insurance fraud, and coming to grips with her past, Pepper is compelled to solve the murder of a friend–a friend who died while wearing Pepper’s coat. The personal and racial struggles of this local girl come mainland transplant is as applicable in the past as it is now.

Almost Paradise by Laurie Hanan
You know how they say some people write with personality? Laurie Hanan is one of those people. This is the first book in her mystery series based on Oahu. Protagonist Louise Golden is a mail carrier in Kaneohe and a local transplant. She’s good at her job and keeps to herself but soon gets caught up in a missing persons case. Rife with witty details, this book has it all–smugglers, car chases, even entitled celebrities. The third book in the series, Another Day In Paradise, is my favorite of all three, with just the right amount of humor and intrigue, a unique plot and colorful local characters. Hanan also gives a portion of her book proceeds to help rescue dogs. Follow her on Facebook for more adventures and interesting on-goings.

Hemingway Memoirs of Les by Ray Pace
This is an intimate look at the life of Les Hemingway, the brother of Ernest Hemingway, who was in his own right a talented and accomplished writer. This is a fast and easy read, mostly because you’re eager to learn more about this kind and humorous man who was just as talented and well-traveled as his brother. It’s both sad and interesting to learn the details of Les Hemingway’s life constantly overshadowed by his siblings accomplishments. Les’ personality really comes through in Pace’s writing. It’s not a mystery novel… but  Pace is active with the SinC/Hawaii group and has other book published or in progress.

Lehua, Ka’ao a ka Wahine by Gene Parola
Parola crafts a work of fiction that takes place in one of the most tumultuous periods of Hawaiian history–just after the fall of the kapu system when native Hawaiians struggled to find structure and meaning in the wake of social and cultural devastation. Kudos for choosing such a meaty time-frame and topic. I’ll admit that Parola has done his research and weaves his tale with accurate details. There’s a little bit of mystery and a little bit of love surrounding our main character, but it’s mostly political. I wanted to love this book more, but it’s hard since I have very specific opinions about this time period. I also felt Lehua, the main character, was a little one dimensional. She’s ali’i and beautiful. She runs like the wind and surfs like she was born in the water. Her hula is a gift from the gods and on top of all that she’s a thinker… and she challenges the old ways, and sees things that the other ali’i do not. *snore* She’s the Hawaiian version of a “Mary Sue”. Parola is also the author of several other mystery novels.