Da Shop’s Greatest Hits: Volume 2
The staff at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities round up their most memorable reads of 2024 in two parts. This is part two.
Our booksellers and staff at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities and parent company Bess Press have done a lot of reading this year, and this month, we’re bringing you part two of our roundup of 2024 books we simply couldn’t get enough of. An award-winning book from Fiji confronting the devastation of deep-sea mining and our vital stewardship of the Pacific Ocean? Check. A riveting anthology of noir fiction by some of the biggest names in local literature? Check. A gripping and acclaimed novel of a government tipping into tyranny? Check. Come with us as we celebrate the books that engaged us, challenged us, and ultimately called us to care for ourselves, our lands and our communities.
SEE ALSO: Da Shop’s Greatest Hits: Volume 1
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Cries From the Moana
By ‘Atu Emberson-Bain with Melino Bain-Vete and Siale Bain-Vete, illustrated by Auntie Fonu
Selected by Mariko
From page one, this chapter book from Fiji had me completely enthralled. I fell in love with the cousins, Mahina and Tahi, and found myself rooting for them at every turn on their magical ocean adventure. I still can’t get enough of the gorgeous illustrations (the deep-sea scenes are amazing!) by the multi-talented Pasifika artist, Auntie Fonu. I especially love the pages where words and images flow around each other, making the reading experience exciting and fun. Recommended for ages 8—12, but a great story for both younger and older audiences. These books are precious and hard to get—our current supply was hand-carried on an airplane from Fiji!
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Honolulu Noir
Edited by Chris McKinney
Selected by Lani
Finally, after 20 years and 130 volumes, Honolulu is on the map of Akashic Books’ venerated noir series. If you’re seeking a provocative local read, these atypical short stories won’t disappoint. Thirteen of Honolulu’s best writers lead readers through rough and hidden corners of neighborhoods not meant for tourists, and frankly, not even for the city’s populace. What makes this anthology most unique is the various interpretations of noir by each writer, exploring compromising situations from the despair of heartache to the cutthroat efforts of criminals to the irresistible pull of death and the supernatural. Sharply written, chilling to the core, and laced with hints of dark humor, this anthology will open your eyes to what’s beneath the sun-kissed veneer of paradise.
SEE ALSO: Honolulu Noir Exposes the Dark Side of the City
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
The Book That Can Read Your Mind
By Marianna Coppo
Selected by Dimpna
I was scanning the shelves in search of my next children’s picture book when The Book That Can Read Your Mind immediately drew my attention and I just had to see what it was about! The book begins with Lady Rabbit welcoming readers to her show and performing her usual magic tricks until announcing her next act: She will read your mind! As the book progresses, you’ll pick a member from the magician’s audience (but don’t share who you picked!) and continue paging through its “guessing game” structure that taps into the thrill of seeing if the book can actually predict what you’re thinking. The Book That Can Read Your Mind magically made its way from the bookstore to my home library—truly a fun, interactive read with playful illustrations that readers of all ages will enjoy!
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Prophet Song
By Paul Lynch
Selected by Ann
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for 2023; it’s about a fascist takeover in Ireland and how it affects one particular family. I tell people to read it so they’ll be ready. It can happen anywhere. This is also a novel about the experience of being a refugee on the run. The writing style with no paragraphs and no punctuation marks adds to the nonstop suspense. This is a beautifully written and searing commentary on “it can happen here.”
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook
By Hampton Sides
Selected by Buddy
As a lover of armchair travel and adventure stories, I jumped into The Wide, Wide Sea by Hampton Sides with personal reservations and few expectations. I was riveted by the author’s biographical details of Cook’s three voyages circumnavigating the globe, including the Antarctic circle, prior to his unexpected stumble upon Hawai‘i. His skill as a leader of 160 men for two- to three-year voyages, navigational ability, and, to a certain degree, luck and ultimately misfortune are well-researched windows into Cook’s character, while rightfully detailing and acknowledging the broader issues of colonialism, cultural appropriation, and the spreading of disease to Native populations. The circumstances surrounding his death, preceding and subsequent, should be of particular interest to all of us in Hawai‘i.
SEE ALSO: 6 Books That Left a Big Impression on Da Shop Staff in 2023
Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl
