Some of you might notice the new countdown widget on my sidebar that says, "30 days until Hawaii!!" That's right, I'm going to Hawaii. Eeeee!! This time next month I will be in paradise.It's actually a family vacation. And we are not one of those families that normally jets off to tropical islands or goes skiing in Vail. Um, no. We've gotten around the country quite a lot on our many camping trips, but we've never gone nearly so exotic before. So this is a huge deal for us. We've all been looking forward to it for months and months.
But this post wasn't just to make you all jealous. ;) I've been collecting some books to read this month that are set in Hawaii, to make the wait a little less intolerable. So far, I've got:
Hawaii, James Michener (I'm not exactly sure I'm going to get to this one, actually, as it's about a million pages long, but who knows)
The Shadow and the Star, Laura Kinsale
Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy, HelenKay Dimon
Anyone have any other recommendations for books set in Hawaii? Or just advice about Hawaii would be good too. We'll be on Maui for 7 days. *sigh*
15 comments:
I read Outlander on the way to and from Hawaii, and have no Hawaii-themed reads to recommend. (Awesome vacation, btw.)
I ended up using a Oahu Revealed by Andrew Doughty as a guidebook -- it worked better than my sister's Lonely Planet guide. There's a version available for Maui, too, if you're interested.
Wow, lucky girl Jennie :D I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun! and I know that the month will go buy quite quickly :) Sorry, no recs.
Err... no recs either, but wow, what a fantastic holiday! Completely jealous over here, it's freezing as well!
Hey, I went to Hawaii last April - it was beautiful! And not too crowded.
I don't have book recs but I do have Maui recs - go to the Maui Ocean Center and be prepared for serious breezes. Maui is windy!
Did you know the second largest banyan tree in the world in on Maui?? Now you do! ;-)
*quietly steals Jennie's countdown widget to use for my upcoming cruise*
Oooh, Hawaii. Lucky girl.
As for Hawaii books, "Whispers" and "Echoes" by Robin Jones Gunn both partially take place on Maui. Both are sweet romances--but I like "Echoes" more.
Hawaii!!! How lucky for your family!! One book I read that was pretty good that took place in Hawaii was Glass Beach by Jill Marie Landis. It wasn't my favourite by her - but it was pretty good.
Kristie beat me to it.... I was just going to suggest that title. I can't remember a lot about it but I do know it was pretty good (in the B range). I love Maui. We went there in February one year and yes, it is windy. This is the time of year for what they call "trade winds" but it was warm and dry. But it is the best time of year to see whales. You can look out over the ocean almost anytime of day and see their water spouts and giant splashes where they jump out of the water. And you won't need binoculars to see them. Just stand on the beach. You must go snorkeling at Black Rock on Kaanapali beach. My favorite part of our trip. There are oodles of tropical fish and we saw giant sea turtles swimming along the bottom of the ocean. If you want recs on good places to eat right along the water where you can watch the whales, or in the town of Lahaina, let me know. I'm so jealous!
Nice! That sounds really wonderful! I recently read an old category set in Hawaii: Mr. Family, by Margot Early. The setting is really important to the story, too.
JMC--I think that is the guidebook that I have actually. My mom bought different ones for everyone in the family, so there'll be no lack of information. ;)
Nath--I'm afraid this month will drag by because I'm so impatient. But you're right, I'm sure it'll be here before I know it.
Li--I'm already dying for spring, and it actually is warming up here (ahhh, the south--love it!) Early april should be really nice in Hawaii. What am I saying? It's always nice in Hawaii I think. ;p
C2--I'll write the ocean center down on my list of things to see. And I'll keep an eye out for the huge banyan tree (whatever that is) :D
Rachel--Thanks for the recs -- I've never heard of that author. I'll have to see if they're on PBS.
Kristie--Thanks! I haven't read that author either. :)
Renee--Woo hoo! I definitely want to go snorkeling, so I'm writing that one down. And I think we're near Lahaina -- it's on the west side of the island, right? And the whales sound cool. :)
Rosario--Hmm, a category. You know I've been looking for good examples of categories. I'll have to see if I can find Mr. Family used. Thanks!
Hi Jennie, I have one for you Eden Burning by Elizabeth Lowell. Although, I have to say, I rated it a C because the hero is kind of a jerk. At one point he is really mean to the heroine. It is definitely set in Hawaii though. I don't remember which island. I think it might be neat to read it when you are there because I remember that the herione is an artist and she draws the natural fauna. She also was a dancer and danced some kind of hula dance in a club.
Woohoo!! I'm so thrilled for you!
There is an Anne Stuart category where they are in Hawaii but I need to figure out which one it is. Not sure you would like it but of course, I love Stuart ;)
Cindys
Jill--You know, I've never read Elizabeth Lowell, which is surprising because she's a really big name. I'll put it on my list -- hula dancing could be interesting. ;)
Cindy--I really loved the one Stuart I read and have more of her in my TBR. Just not enough time to get to everything. :)
I'm so jealous you're going to Hawaii!! Unfortch, I don't have any recs. :(
I'm reading Hawaii right now with my online bookclub. It's really good. I'd love to go. You're so lucky.
Am going to Hawaii in a week and was thinking about re-reading my favourite book of all times once more but this time i'll actually be there: Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux.
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