Basically Books

OK my standards are high. I grew up familiar with FOYLES BOOKS of Charing Cross Road fame. Perhaps planet earths best known/​loved bookstore for English language readers coming in as best runner up in the UK for French, German, Spanish and more choices as well. SO what could win me over in a small town of Hilo Hawai. Service, Smiles, Knowledge base, willingness to please, locate both newly released and out of print hard to find items, talk story, entertain, present new talent and last but possibly most importantly support of Hawaiiana in not just literary terms but also music, arts, crafts, non fiction resources, the Hilo Community and reference materials for varying levels of education. Basically Books has devoted, knowledgeable staff and owners representative of their particular kuleana for sections of inventory– Hawaiian Music, Maps, local authors, Sciences, visual arts,*(many more than space affords here). Basically Books is an «ohana», and members of the BB Ohana take to heart their essential locus for information stop over to Malahini as sincerely as kanaka maoli.
MAHALO Basically Books for your decades of entertainment and dedicated No’eau.

Awesome local bookstore chock full of an extraordinary selection of books, Hawaiian music, unique cards, toys and cool gifts. The people here are super friendly and knowledgeable so if you’re looking for something special just ask. I always stop by here on First Friday when they have book-​signing or music going on.

Love this store! They know their stuff, can make good recommendations, and if they don’t have what you want, if it is on the planet, in or out of print, they can find it for you. Great non-​book gifts, too, and lotsof stuff made by local artisans. They just expanded, so there are even more goodies, and I found somecool out ofprint cookbooks in the new part, as well!

The booksellers here always seem to either laugh at you when you ask a question, or give you the answer in a patronizing tone. Really? I don’t come here often, mostly because of that. They do have interesting things, but if you’re a local, it’s better to just go in, buy your stuff and leave. Don’t ask questions. They don’t have time for you seems like.

Basically Books is part bookstore and part Hawaiiana gift shop. You’ll find a small section of current bestsellers, and a more substantial section of Hawaiian history and nonfiction titles. I asked the booksellers for recommendations on Hawaiian folk tales and endured a fair amount of patronizing commentary («This book is the bible of Hawaiian folk tales, but it might be too much for your tourist brain.» –Er, thanks, lady. I got my degree in Asian literature, but I’m sure the cultural analyses in this book will break me.). That said, I do love me some independent bookstores and small presses (Petroglyph Press has a strong presence on the bookshelf), and it’d be well worth your time to drop some tourist dollars here.

So glad I wandered in here… yes they have a lot of Hawaiiana literature and nice kids section… but they also have a great local music section, dvds, and MAPS AND POSTERS. They have the 3-​D relief maps of all the islands, and the whole series of agricultural posters like «the avocados of the big island» «the mangos of the big island» etc. I thought there were 2 kinds of avocado and they each came in small, medium and large… WRONG! There are about 50 types of avocado on the big island. Ditto for mangos. They also have reproductions of historical maps. Anyway, they have a lot more than books here. Salespeople were knowledgeable and friendly. I bought the big island in 3D and last year’s Na Hoku award winning cd, and was very happy. Very cool little shop.

Not just books (though there are plenty — on Hilo history, cooking, folklore, ocean & natural history, Hawaiiana and travel, plus out of print materials): this store also offers an array of gifts, toys, cards, shotglasses, magnets, maps, posters, postcards & regular cards, soaps and essentially Hawaiian-​themed everything. Nicer than your average gift shop — and smelled really good! Basically, it’s the best!

Great selection and service. Nice place to get different type gifts or cards from Hawaii.

This is no Borders, but if you are looking for offbeat children’s books or Hawaiiana, Basically Books is a great place. We returned several times to look over the collection and buy. If I lived in Hilo, I’d visit here often.