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Posted by Mark on

William Finnegan – November 30th!

williamfinnegancomboOur November 30th event is shaping up nicely! We are delighted to welcome William Finnegan to the November 30th Books & Spirits. William is the author of Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography!

He is also the author of Cold New WorldA Complicated WarDateline Soweto and Crossing the Line. He has twice been a National Magazine Award finalist and has won numerous journalism awards, including two Overseas Press Club awards since 2009. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography. A staff writer at The New Yorker since 1987, he lives in Manhattan.

Our mixologist and food sponsor for the November event is The Nook! The Nook won the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Critic’s Choice I’lima Award for Best Casual Restaurant in 2015. We’re looking forward to see what co-owners Anicea Campanale and Hailey Berkey whip up!

We hope you can join us! Tickets here. Be sure to get a ticket that includes a signed copy of the book!

 

Posted by Mark on

William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days, A Surfing Life. November 30th!!

Hi Folks,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kaui Hart Hemmings will not be able to join us on November. We look forward to rescheduling her for a Books & Spirits in the new year. Those of you who purchased tickets already will receive a refund. In the meantime, we suggest reading How to Party with an Infant. It’s an uproariously funny “Bonfire of the Vanities” for the mommy and daddy set.

But have no fear, we are on the job. We are delighted to welcome William Finnegan to the November 30th Books & Spirits. William is the author of Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography!

William Finnegan is the author of Cold New WorldA Complicated WarDateline Soweto, Crossing the Line, and Barbarian Days. He has twice been a National Magazine Award finalist and has won numerous journalism awards, including two Overseas Press Club awards since 2009. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography. A staff writer at The New Yorker since 1987, he lives in Manhattan.

He lives and works in Manhattan but is no stranger to the islands, having first lived here as a teenager and returning regularly. We’re excited his schedule lined up for this!

 

Posted by Mark on

David Helvarg, Seaweed Rebel

Thanks to everyone for coming out to see David Helvarg! David’s passion for the sea washed over everyone who was there. It was very interesting to hear about the recent expansion of Papahānaumokuākea – a ocean-based national monument 10 years in the making. We also had fun hearing about David’s adventures as a war reporter & private investigator. Our favorite: the time his car helped solve a case. Who knew car talk could offer for a crime?

Christian Self & the crew at Bevy knocked it out of the park. His Seaweed Rebel (a seaweed-infused, grapefruit laced cocktail) had people raving, for both the taste and the uniqueness. It’s no surprise he’s an international award-winning mixologist. And the pupus were onolicious. Visit Bevy, you won’t be sorry. As always, Mahalo to Revolusun Smart Home for lending us their wonderful space!

OK so we’ve done two of these Books & Spirits now. We’re digging it. Are you? Would you take just a moment to take our survey? We’d love to improve! Click for Survey.

We’re also excited for our next event on November 30th, featuring Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of the recently released How to Party With an Infant, and The Descendants, on which the Oscar-winning film starring George Clooney was based. Get Tickets.

Some photos from the event, courtesy Edgar Espero (http://www.edgarespero.com/) & others:

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Posted by Mark on

The Saltwater Cure: A Review of David Helvarg’s Saved By the Sea

(a profile of David Helvarg, by Stuart Holmes Coleman)

Like the Olympics, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) only meets every four years and brings together some of the best and brightest minds from around the globe to help protect and preserve our natural world. Hawaii is lucky to be the first U.S. state ever to host the event, but our island home also has to face the serious challenges of climate change, sea level rise, extinction and pollution of our land and waters.

Hawaii’s greatest waterman Duke Kahanamoku used to tell locals and visitors alike, Never turn your back on the ocean. He said this as a warning about water safety, but it also had to do with respect and environmental stewardship. Malama i ke kai. Take care of the ocean, and she will take care of us, as Rell Sunn used to say. But modern culture has turned its back on the ocean and its endangered creatures, and we are now beginning to suffer the consequences.

Ever since the publication of his wave-making book Blue Frontier in 2001, David Helvarg has become the premiere chronicler of America’s complex relationship with our oceans and coasts, our last frontier. He writes that our tempestuous love affair with the sea has gradually become abusive, with constant assaults from over-fishing, water pollution, climate change, oil spills and destruction of our wetlands. His next book 50 Ways to Save the Ocean tried to turn the tide by coming up with practical ways each one of us can help protect our marine environment. Although it’s been a losing battle, Helvarg has never turned his back on the ocean.

In his book Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with Fish (New World Books, ’15), Helvarg adds a new and moving dimension to his work by exploring his own personal relationships with the ocean and the three main women in his life: mother, girlfriend and sister. As he describes the declining health of the seas, he also writes about the illnesses that would take away those closest to him. Like a modern day Job, his life is beset with tragic losses and difficulties. But he finds joy and meaning in his personal struggle to save the ocean.

Helvarg has come to Honolulu as a presenter at the IUCN and will be helping to lead a presentation on the importance of bio-narratives and storytelling in conveying scientific ideas and conservation policies to the general public. He will also be the next author in the new Books & Spirits series, which features award-winning writers and culinary sponsors who prepare literary-themed cocktails and pupu for each event. For Helvarg’s talk, the renowned mixologist Christian Self of Bevy has created a special cocktail called a Seaweed Rebel in honor of the author and all those who fight to save the sea. On Thur., Sept. 8th, from 6:30-8:30pm at RevoluSun Smart Home, Helvarg will talk about his memoir Saved by the Sea and his journey to protect and explore the blue frontier.

A jack of all trades, Helvarg describes his evolution as a political activist, war reporter, private investigator, environmental journalist and ocean activist. Throughout the memoir, he weaves together intriguing stories from his adventurous life: his dark family history and bizarre career changes; exotic travels to the melting poles and deep dives in the tropics; romantic love affairs and heartbreaking losses; and close encounters with death and destruction, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf.

The son of Holocaust survivors, Helvarg grew up on the East Coast with his mother and sister, not far from the ocean. His mother was politically active, and he came of age during the modern environmental movement of the 60’s and 70’s. After snorkeling during a trip to Key West as a teenager, he became a lifelong diver and avid student of marine life. He studied journalism in college and took part in student demonstrations. But after his mom died of lung cancer, he became a war reporter in Ireland and then Central America, where war “proved to be an effective antidote to depression after my parents’ deaths.”

After burning out on war reporting, Helvarg moves to San Diego and finds peace living by the sea. Working part-time as a private investigator, he spends much of his time bodysurfing and diving. He eventually meets a fellow ocean-lover named Nancy, and they become inseparable. Living in San Francisco, the pair spends all their money flying to remote places like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef so they dive and experience one of the few remaining pristine coral reefs. Helvarg’s descriptions of diving in these undersea habitats are breath-taking, but it’s heart-breaking to learn that most of the world’s reefs are in rapid decline.

The most moving part of this memoir comes when Nancy develops breast cancer. Although the two had separated, she clearly remains the love of his life, and he stands by her side during the last months of her life. Like Hawaii’s Rell Sunn, she finds healing in the ocean until the very end. Before her death, Rell wondered if the prevalence of cancer in our age was a direct result of our pollution of the land and sea. Years later, Helvarg’s sister dies of cancer as well, leaving behind two sons.

Devastated by their premature deaths, Helvarg writes about finding some comfort in the ocean’s warm embrace. As the writer Isaac Dineson once wrote, “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” He has had his fill of sweat and tears but never tires of being in the ocean. This is where all life originated, and it is where many of our ashes will be scattered one day.

In the end, Helvarg’s Saved By the Sea is about survival. That’s why the author continues his crusade to write and educate people about the declining health of our oceans. “After a time of pain and uncertainty, I determined to fight for the one love that that still might (or might not) be saved, the one I will always return to, whether for wave-gliding fun or as light gray ash. In seeking to protect our mother ocean, I will also assure myself continued risk and adventure, a larger social purpose for living, and perhaps even the occasional moment of transcendence, something any one of us might aspire to by taking the plunge.”

Helvarg’s final question to the reader seems to be: Will you turn your back on the ocean or take the plunge to help save her?

For more info about David Helvarg and his talk at Books & Spirits, go to BooksAndSpirits.com.

(Stuart H. Coleman is the Hawaii Manager of the Surfrider Foundation and the author of Eddie Would Go and Fierce Heart.)

Posted by Mark on

Sept 8 – David Helvarg

Our second event will feature David Helvarg, the author of The Golden Shore and Saved by the Sea. David is the Executive Director of Blue Frontier Campaign (www.bluefront.org). He is the winner of Coastal Living Magazine’s 2005 Leadership Award and the 2007 Herman Melville Literary Award. David has written a number of influential books about ocean-related issues, including Bue Frontier, The War Against the Greens, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, Rescue Warriors, Saved by the Sea, and The Golden Shore – California’s Love Affair with the Sea. In addition to his books, David is editor of the Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, organizer of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards and Blue Vision Summits for ocean activists.

Special cocktails and food will be provided by award winning mixologist Christian Self of Bevy. Ocean Vodka is graciously providing us with spirits!

The ocean photography of Rafael Bergstrom will be on display.

Your ticket includes two drinks, food, and admission to the event. There are a limited number of early admission tickets for a small reception with the author before the main event. The VIP reception begins at 6:30pm; general admission is at 7:00pm; and the main event starts at 7;30pm. The event will be held at RevoluSun Smart Home in Kaka’ako at 210 Ward Ave the evening of Sept. 8th. (Map). Mahalo to RevoluSun Smart Home for making the space available!

When you check out, you can also purchase a copy of Saved by the Sea and pick it up at the event;  David will sign your book at the event!

You can register for the event on Eventbrite. There are a limited number of early admission tickets for an intimate cocktail hour with the author before the main event. Details are available on the registration page. 

Get Tickets

Posted by Mark on

And a good time was had by all…

The inaugural Books & Spirits was held on August 18th at Revolusun Smart Home. We had a wonderful time with Jaimal Yogis talking story and hearing about his adventures growing up and running away to Hawaii, as well as his current adventures with his “Buddha Masters”, as he sometimes refers to his children, who continue to teach him patience! Jaimal is the author of Saltwater Buddha – a comedic coming-of-age memoir about how surfing and the sea helped him transition back into the world after a year in a Zen monastery – and The Fear Project, which looks at the neuroscience of fear and courage

Mahalo to RevoluSun Smart Home for providing the space. The Zen Curl Fizz, the cocktail creation from the wonderful folks at Mud Hen Water, was big hit, as well as the very tasty tomato bisque soup! Ocean Vodka provided us with spirits that made the cocktail particularly special! Volunteers Carey Usher, Justine Espiritu, Jodi Malinowski, Emily Kawahigashi and Michelle Watkins kept the event humming.

We had a chance to catch a bit of the new Saltwater Buddha film, a very touching documentary based on the book (http://www.saltwaterbuddha.org/). Catch it if you can!

Our next event is with David Helvarg on September 8th. Be there! Tickets available now: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/books-spirits-wauthor-david-helvarg-saved-by-the-sea-tickets-27292700201?aff=website

Some photos from the event, courtesy Edgar Espero (http://www.edgarespero.com/) and others:

See all the photos on Facebook.

Posted by Mark on

August 18 – Jaimal Yogis

Jaimal YogisOur first event will feature Jaimal Yogis, the author of The Saltwater Buddha and The Fear Project. Jaimal is the author of the bestsellers Saltwater Buddha – a comedic coming-of-age memoir about how surfing and the sea helped him transition back into the world after a year in a Zen monastery.  He also authored The Fear Project, which looks at the neuroscience of fear and courage, using science, mindfulness, and sports to reveal ways in which humans can live more fully. Saltwater Buddha has been adapted into a feature documentary that recently opened in select theaters and film festivals.

Food and cocktails will be provided by award winning chefs Ed Kenney & Dave Caldiero of Mud Hen Water and Town Kaimuki. Ocean Vodka is graciously providing us with spirits!

The ocean photography of Rafael Bergstrom will be on display.

The first Books & Spirits event will be held at Revolusun Smart Home in Kaka’ako at 210 Ward Ave the evening of August 18. (Map). Mahalo Revolusun Smart Home for making the space available!

You can register for the event on Eventbrite. There are a limited number of early admission tickets for an intimate cocktail hour with the author before the main event. Details are available on the registration page. 

Get Tickets