It’s time…it’s time…it’s Book End Time!  Welcome to this week’s Book End, highlighting the weekend’s literary and library events here in Hawaii.

Celebrate Reading

Teachers, Students, Readers, Writers… save the date:  April 16, 2011.  That is when the 14 Annual Celebrate Reading Festival will take place on Oahu at The University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Matt de la Peña (Ball Don’t Lie) and Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) will be the special guest authors from the mainland who will be speaking about their work.  Included in lectures and individual workshops will be a number of Hawaii authors including Kate Elliott, Alexei Melnick, Michelle Cruz Skinner, Todd Shimoda and many, many more.

Hawaii Book Blog will be a special guest, speaking about blogging during one of the individual workshops!  We’re both excited and a little nervous, but will proudly do our best to provide those who come with the knowledge we’ve accumulated while blogging over the last couple of years.

This festival is a great opportunity for students and readers to engage with and discuss issues relevant to literature and writing with authors that they are encouraged to read.  Over the next month, HBB will bring you more information about the festival, the writers involved and their works.  They need your support, so if you know a teacher or class interested, please be sure to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

For more information on Celebrate Reading, check out our dedicated page to the event by clicking here or on the “Celebrate Reading” text in the menu bar underneath our banner.

Unfamiliar Fishes

As the March 22nd release date for Sarah Vowell’s Unfamiliar Fishes—a book on 19th century Hawaiian history—looms closer, all kinds of bits of news, early reviews of the book, and teasers are popping up left and right on the Internet.  One of the most buzz-worthy of news items is the release of the trailer for Unfamiliar Fishes—a three and a half minute reading by Sarah Vowell, punctuated visually by scenes portrayed with something akin to “plate lunch” ingredients.  Here, take a look:

The book is officially coming out next Tuesday.  Not wanting to pass up a good deal, I finally pre-ordered the book on Amazon, for delivery sometime next week (hopefully).  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get an advanced copy of the book despite writing to Riverhead Books and appealing to all sorts of people much more important than myself.  It probably worked out for the best; I am still buried under a pile of books that need to be read.  So, for anyone interested, go out and buy the book and let us know what you think!

Family Recipes

Do you have a favorite family recipe that has the potential to become famous? Now’s your chance to submit a recipe that could be featured in an upcoming cookbook from Mutual Publishing!  Each finalist will win a free book!  Top 20 will be spotlighted in a photo essay! Follow this link to get started: Hawaii’s Ohana Cooking Submission Form.  Then just save the completed form and email it to info@mutualpublishing.com or fax it to (808) 734-4094.

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Now on to the events…

Friday, March 18

  • 09:00am – It’s the annual Friends of the Waianae Library (FOWL) Book Sale at Waianae Public Library from 9am – 4pm, Friday and Saturday!  All proceeds benefit the Waianae Library – particularly the children’s programs. The Waianae Library is located at 85-625 Farrington Highway. For more information on the event, call 697-7868.  They are soliciting donations, so if you have any extra books, CDs, DVDs or tapes, please think about donating.

Saturday, March 19

  • 09:00am – It’s the annual Friends of the Waianae Library (FOWL) Book Sale at Waianae Public Library from 9am – 4pm, Friday and Saturday!  All proceeds benefit the Waianae Library – particularly the children’s programs. The Waianae Library is located at 85-625 Farrington Highway. For more information on the event, call 697-7868.  They are soliciting donations, so if you have any extra books, CDs, DVDs or tapes, please think about donating.
  • 10:00am – Maui…Barnes & Noble in Lahaina will be hosting their weekly children’s story time event!  For more info, click here.
  • 10:00am – The Friends of the Mililani Library are hosting a book sale at Mililani Public Library from 10am – 3pm.  Support the community library by donating books and becoming a library member at this regional book sale.  Call 627-7470 for more info.
  • 11:00am – Take your keiki down to Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall or Ala Moana for “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Story Time!  They’ll be reading Eric Carle’s classic children’s book plus more!  More info here.
  • 12:00pm – Come down to Barnes & Noble in Ala Moana Shopping Center for a fun, book event!   Meet the bartenders from Duke’s in Waikiki, Jesse Greenleaf and Amie Fujiwara.  They will be demonstrating cocktail techniques from their new book, The Cocktail Handbook: Cool Drinks From Hawaii’s Hottest Bartenders [read our review here].  This dynamic duo will be available to answer questions and sign their book.  For more info, click here.
  • 01:00pm – Book Launch event at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  Celebrate the launch of African Americans in Hawai’i (Images of America Series)with the author, D. Molentia Guttman.  There will be a reading from the book and a Q&A session, followed by a book signing period.  For more information on this event click here.
  • 01:00pm – Book Signing at Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall.  Go to the store as they welcome author and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawai’i Christine Yano.  She will be signing copies of her books, including her newest title, Airborne Dreams: “Nisei” Stewardesses and Pan American World Airways.  For more event information click here.
  • 02:00pm – Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie Event at a local Borders store near you!  Enjoy a trivia contest, games, Wimpy activities, and more at this special event.  Fans of the books can even submit their very own book review for possible publication on Borders.com.  Please call your local Borders to see if they are participating in this event.  More info here.

Sunday, March 20

  • 02:00pm – Author Event at Borders in Ward Centre!  Meet Wayne Levin, renowned photographer and the author behind the beautiful book AKULE.  He will be on hand at Borders to talk story and sign copies of his book.  You can check out his work from AKULE currently on display on the staircase gallery at Borders Ward.  More info here.

The Week After (March 21 – 24)

There are a ton of awesome events happening next week, with a majority of them free events hosted by branches of our public library system.  You gotta love the HSPLS!  I’m really interested in the “Confederates in the Pacific, Hawaiians in the Civil War” discussion happening on Thursday, but unfortunately I won’t be able to attend.  Anyway, check out what’s happening next week:

  • An Evening of Irish Music – Come and listen to Irish music performed by a musical group featuring Rebecca Carlson (harp), Amy Gold (fiddle), Keith Lane and Russel Carlson (Irish Whistles), and Randall Allred (guitar). Then enjoy some snacks and refreshments; while supplies last.  Tuesday, March 22, 6:30 p.m at Kahuku School & Public Library.
  • The Blue Tomato Dinner – Experience the endless possibilities!  Prix Fixe Menu featuring recipes from Chef Alan Wong’s latest cookbook, The Blue Tomato [read our review here]. Each diner receives a special “Behind The Blue Tomato” DVD gift to take home.  $85 per person/$125 with wine pairing.  For reservations call 808-949-2526.  More details and a full listing of the menu available on thebluetomato.netWednesday, March 23, 5:00pm – 10:00pm at Alan Wong’s Honolulu.
  • Galliard String Quartet – Considered Hawaii’s premier string quartet performs programs including Mozart, Hayden, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.  The group’s repertoire also includes Strauss waltzes. romantic interludes, light classics, Hawaiian music, popular music, and more.  Wednesday, March 23, 3:00 p.m. at Molokai Public Library.
  • The Further Adventures of Tikki Tikki Tembo – Maui!  The Maui Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA) will present a musical: “The further adventures of Tikki-Tikki Tembo.”  This humorous performance tells the story of a mischievous boy with a long name who learns a lesson about the consequences of pranks. This 45-minute program is suitable for ages 3 and older.  Two performances:  Wednesday, March 23, 2:00 p.m. at Wailuku Public Library and Thursday, March 24, 10:00 a.m. at Makawao Public Library.
  • Chinese Lion Dance and Kung Fu Demonstration – See Kong’s Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association – Waipahu Branch present an exciting Chinese Lion Dance and dazzling kung fu demonstration.  Wednesday, March 23, 6:00 p.m. at Waipahu Public Library.
  • Used Book Sale at Makiki Community Library in Makiki District Park. (1527 Keeaumoku St.) Proceeds to benefit the all-volunteer library.  Call 542-3334 for more info.  Wednesday, March 23, 2:00 p.m.
  • Confederates in the Pacific and Hawaiians in the Civil War – Les Eldridge, author of a series on the American Civil War at sea, will discuss the actual history of Hawaiian Civil War involvement and how he based a story line on that history.  Click here to download an interview with the author. For more info, please call the library at 697-7868. Thursday, March 24, 10:00 a.m at Waianae Public Library.
  • Meet Author Margaret Peterson Haddix – the award-winning author will be signing copies of her 2010 Nene Award winning book, Found among other of her classics like Sabotaged, Into the Gauntlet, and SentThursday, March 24, 4:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall. More info here.

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Remember, all events listed above may be subject to change.  Please contact the venue beforehand if you plan on attending.  We encourage you to click on the links that are included with the events in the timeline above.  More events can be found on our Hawaii Book Blog Events Calendar.  You can also keep up with events through us on Twitter by following @HawaiiBookBlog.

If you have an event you would like us to help promote, please leave us a comment here or e-mail me at aalba@hawaiibookblog[dot]com. Replace the [dot] with a ‘.’ when you compose the message.  Mahalo and have a great weekend!

The Cocktail Handbook: Cool Drinks from Hawaii’s Hottest Bartenders