Pre-holiday local releases:

"Moku O Lo'e: a History of Coconut Island" by P. Christiaan Klieger; Bishop Museum Press, paper, $24.95

Many are curious about the islet in Kane'ohe Bay variously known as Coconut Island, "Gilligan's Island" and Moku O Lo'e. P.C. Klieger, who first visited the island as a marine biology graduate student in the 1950s, traces its history from a "rocky plug" in a volcanic caldera, to the private retreat of the wealthy and influential and finally, to its current incarnation as a restricted research facility. There is much more here than one might expect: This small story encapsulates the larger sweep of Hawai'i history. Klieger had unique access to informants familiar with the island, and he brings sensitivity and insight to this engrossing project.

"The Companies We Keep 2" by Bob Sigall and his students at Hawai'i Pacific University; self- published, paper, $18.99

I took Bob Sigall's new book home and then had to write him a complaint: My husband was so enjoying reading the essays — brief histories of local companies and amusing incidents in the lives of key Islanders — that he kept interrupting my TV viewing to read aloud to me. This book solves the "what to give Dad" problem: Any kama'aina, reader or not, will get caught up in the short pieces and photos (and in talking story about "those days").

"Kepelino's Traditions of Hawaii" Edited by Martha Warren Beckwith; Bishop Museum Press, paper, $16.95

Lost on uninitiated readers of Hawaiian literary and historical material are the layers of meaning — the kaona; the references to people, places, things and stories that Hawaiians would have known; the names upon names upon names given historical figures, places and even natural phenomena such as winds and rains. This book opens that world with its side-by-side English and Hawaiian text, explanatory notes by the late folklorist Martha Beckwith and short biography of Kepelino by Brandeis University doctoral candidate Noelani Arista. Her essay makes clear that this lesser- known 19th-century cultural historian lived — not always to his advantage — in "interesting" times, his life illustrating the troubled crossroads of Western and Hawaiian cultures.

"The Living Art of Bonsai" by Walter Liew; Island Heritage, closed spiral, $15.95

Walter Liew here attempts to communicate a concept many Westerners find challenging: that bonsai is more than a miniature tree in a pot. It is a process of continual training and shaping to achieve specific styles and forms (he has studied both the Chinese and Japanese approaches). Bonsai are visual references to complete natural landscapes. Liew has strong opinions on how this is to be carried out, objecting to designs that defy nature and preaching the value of the bonsai enthusiast's key tools: patience, an observant eye and an intelligent design.

"Hawaii — A State of Being" by Heather Titus; Hawaiian Lotus/self published, oversize, $68 hard copy, $45 paper

This 256-page slick-paper coffee table book is designed for lazy page-turning accompanied by reflection, with large-scale gauzy nature photos on each page, culled from Titus' 20 years in the field. Each photo is paired with aphorisms and proverbs that express the spirit of the photos. This is Titus' second book; the first was 2004's local best-seller "Passion and Beauty. "

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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