Intro to WIRAWIGI

The author at Talk Story Bookstore, Hanapepe, Kuaui, Hawaii
Westernmost independent bookstore in the U.S.

Welcome!

A common internet truism declares that reading books and buying books are two different hobbies. I won't argue. Nevertheless, WIRAWIGI (or "What I Read and Where I Got It") will be a place to discuss both, and maybe find a few illuminating points of contact.

Despite this being an internet blog, in both cases--stores and books--I plan to discuss physical things.  I'm a devotee of both physical books and brick-and-mortar independent bookstores. 

I prefer reading physical books for a couple different reasons, but mostly because of the comprehensive, multi-sensory experience they offer. I'm not saying this approach is better for you. It's just better for me. I've occasionally gotten an audiobook on CD in the past (obviously, the past), and have read at least a half dozen or so books on an e-reader. I may tell the story about why that is at some point, but generally, I like the feel of the book in my hand, the experience of turning the pages, and all its other subtle virtues. As reading technologies go, it's pretty durable.

The other reason I prefer the physical books is that at least with a significant subset of my non-fiction reading, I'm often flagging passages and writing in the margins. That's something that e-readers make possible, perhaps in better way, but it's not enough of a reason to go there.

Although I'm a big advocate for libraries, I tend not to use them as much as bookstores. This is, again, a personal preference and not a recommendation to you. Part of it for me is that library bindings don't offer the above-mentioned feel of the book in hand. Part of it, also, is that books can quickly become tools or friends for me, and I'm not always ready to return them when I'm done reading them the first time.

I've also come to be a firm believer in the importance and value of local, independent bookstores to the quality of my life and the quality of life of my community. I think of my participation in them as a kind of social investment in community and democracy. I can and will say a good bit about that later, but I think several common goods emerge out of creating a market for books in communities and helping to circulate that money in local economies.

What I propose to do going forward is to provide brief reviews of both a book and a store, perhaps putting them in conversation. I hope the posts will inspire you to explore one or the other, or both. 

2024 and 2025 have been busy years for me, both in terms of reading and in terms of visiting a wide array of locally-owned and operated bookstores. Between January 2024 and December 1, 2025, I have read over 200 books and visited over 250 independent bookstores, across 30 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) and 4 foreign countries (Scotland, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Canada). 

I get a small dose of joy when I see social media posts with book stacks. I get similar joy entering into books and entering into bookstores. Both stoke my curiosity and offer opportunities for connection. I hope this conversation does at least a little of the same for you.

Note: For sustainability reasons, I'm planning on incorporating advertisements on this blog, although not accepting ads from certain companies operating at cross-purposes with several of the values I'm trying to elevate here. This will no doubt be an evolving list.

If you're curious about a book I discuss here, and want to acquire a copy for yourself or others, I encourage you to go and order it from your local, independent bookseller. If that's not feasible, then I would lift up bookshop.org as an on-line ordering platform you might wish to use, which will allow you to designate a beneficiary independent bookstore.