da Shop: A Reader's Blog

In honor of National Poetry Month, join us for another da Shop Read Aloud with poet and spoken word artist, Richard Hamasaki.  Enjoy his amplified poetry and video of "Love Song for the Pristine Sea," featu...

Welcome to a poetry read aloud with da Shop! In honor of National Poetry Month, join poet and author Sue Cowing read a selection of poetry from her book My Dog Has Flies: Poetry for Hawaii's Kids (Beachhous...

This Sunday will mark 3 years since we opened da Shop: books + curiosities.  Amazingly, the third year took place during a global health pandemic yet we still managed to keep going. We are so grateful for y...

Lots of people think they’re not creative. While it’s true we can’t all be Lady Gaga, we can all create. I recently read Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, in which historian and philosopher Yuval Noah H...

When I was in college, my ex and I used to have lots of long conversations about our feelings. Too long. I’m talking three or four hours. Looking back, I can see that we probably didn’t understand each other...

“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” - Steve Jobs Wait. It was Picasso who said “Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal.” Or maybe Hemingway? “Immature artists copy; great artists steal.” No, no. It was Igor Stravinsky. “A good composer does not imitate; he steals.” Steal, indeed. 

I’m not a New Years resolution person. Maybe it’s because to me January 1 is just the day after December 31. Maybe it’s because 80% of people break their resolutions within two months. But I think it’s mainl...

In 2015, Oliver Sacks got unexpected news, he had terminal cancer. Despite his diagnosis and the difficult months that followed, Sacks was, more than anything else, grateful. Grateful and inspired. So much s...

For babies to middle grade readers, here are books from diverse voices & perspectives. Books about adventure, friendship, and books that seem to be written for a specific moment or challenge.  Plus, lin...

It's no secret that we love to read and share our favorite books with you.  With the increase of online shopping, we miss some of the in-person chats we used to have over a new release or a classic childhoo...

A da Shop bestseller and staff favorite, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, is set on the Hamakua coast of Hawai‘i Island, where author Kawai Strong Washburn was born and raised.  The novel chronicles the saga ...

This guest post is written by yoga teacher and writer Michelle Regan: What’s your favorite scary story? I grew up on the Goosebumps series and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I loved horror until adulthood when movies and books actually became scary.