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Mayoral Romance and Nude Beaches
The latest in Hawaiian lit

by By Samantha Campos

November 09, 2006

Saints, Sinners and Shortstops



By Jim Becker



[MEMOIR] At 17, Jim Becker became a reporter for the Los Angeles Herald-Express. He served in the army in WWII in India and China. And he spent 25 years with the Associated Press, “covering wars and international crises as well as major musical and sporting events.” He was the chief of AP bureaus in pre-statehood Hawai`i, Manila, New Delhi and South Asia, as well as a broadcaster in Europe for 12 years. He also wrote a human-interest column for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for nearly a decade. So with four wars, 40 countries and 4,000 some-odd characters, we’re thinking maybe he’s got some stories to tell. 228 pages.







Maui Days



By Wayne “Shakey” Boteilho



[FICTION] This is an unlikely story of the romance between a lonely Maui County Council legislative aide and a young, attractive politician, with a mayoral election as backdrop, and promises for a “surprise ending” that “will be as if the crust of the earth has cracked and Hell itself was escaping.” However, it’s a riveting and quick read, with surprising jolts of tongue-in-cheek, insider humor: “Across the river is a suburb where supposedly everyone is happy; they call it ‘Happy Valley.’” And here: “Like Julia,  Salli hoped to one day meet a nice Maui boy… Someone who was interested in Shakespeare, classical music, history, and of course, chess. Undoubtedly, such men had to be on Maui.” Yeah, now that’s fiction. 213 pages.







The Last Full Measure



By Hal Glatzer



[MYSTERY] In late 1941, a swing musician named Katy Green boards a luxury liner destined for Honolulu. On board the cruise ship with friends in an all-girl dance-band called the Swingin’ Sarongs, Green encounters pre-Pearl Harbor attack tension, international intrigue, mysterious murders, hidden treasure and quite possibly, trouble with the drummer. 289 pages.







The Huna Warrior: The magic begins



By Jennifer Martin



[FICTION/SPIRITUAL] A California high school vice-principal, Kat, befriends a Hawaiian student, Kalani, who comes from a long line of kahuna. Through Kalani’s family, Kat discovers the ancient lore called Huna, which involves performing incredible feats such as walking on hot lava, healing broken bones, and praying an enemy to death. Kat then uses the magic she’s learned in order to combat the evil forces’ attempt to kill her, as well as stop a diabolical renegade kahuna in Maui who has been killing off other kahuna for power. 427 pages.







Hey Waiter, There’s an Umbrella in My Drink! Tales from the tropics by Hawaii’s favorite humorist



By Charles Memminger



[HUMOR/NON-FICTION] This is a collection of hilarious and relevant columns from Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s Charles Memminger. An award-winning journalist, screenwriter and staff writer for Baywatch Hawaii, Meminger paints life on Hawai`i as one big, colorful array of characters, places and situations that couldn’t possibly exist elsewhere. In “Maui’s Nude Beaches,” he writes: “Everyone on Maui knows that people go naked at Little Beach. But being a laid-back island, it takes about 10 years for everyone to get upset all at once about it” and “Nude Rule No. 1: Ugly people get naked for free. If you want to see an attractive person naked, you’ve got to pay for it, or at least buy dinner.” True that, Charley. 176 pages. MTW