Welcome to the Still Life Books information site. We offer gently used books on just about any subject you can imagine, including Art, Travel, Religions, Sports, Photography, Novels: contemporary and classics, hard to find books...and so much more.
Still Life Books is located at the corners of Kilauea and Mamo st. in Hilo, next to One Gallery Hilo. 1 block up from the Hilo Farmer's Market.
Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday, 11 - 3pm.
Phone: 808-756-2919
A story by J.Osprey from the Punaverse Blog
BRUCE LEE
My friend Royce has traveled a bit...actually a lot. France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Fiji...all over the World. He taught school for Aborigines in Australia, owned a bookstore in Seattle, Wa., lived in Mexico for awhile and now has biggest little bookstore in Hilo called Still Life Books. His friend owns a real life castle in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Last year he went on a trip to visit him. He was en route when the plane was turned around over the Hudson Bay and headed back to San Francisco because the Eyjafjallajokul Volcano eruption in Iceland had closed down airspace in Europe. Bummer for him and a MAJOR bummer for me. I wanted to continue house-sitting his brand new house. After almost a year of construction it was done, save a few finishing details that I now was completing in solitude. Plus I had some work to do on his extensive liquor cabinet. Especially the Rothchild's 20/20.
 |
| In the beginning...there were books |
I was involved with helping Royce get ready for his book store opening. I built the shelves to hold the hundreds of books he has for sale. When he was building his inventory he taught me a bit about buying used books at yard sales. I am a yard-sale-aholic anyways and an avid reader, so it was a fun learning experience for me. During this period, I had a stack of my own popular novels..like cloak and dagger stuff that I love to read, and I wanted to give them to him for his store. He came by my booth at The Maku'u Market one day and I said "Royce, I have some books for your store". I was so happy with myself being able to help him build his fine collection of literature. He took one look at my golden prize stack of paperback offerings and he said "I don't do that kind of books". What? Who doesn't like John Grisham or WEB Griffin? I was crushed!
So, I learned the kind of books he doesn't do. He offers books a step or two up on the literary ladder Ladies and Gents, so if you are a reader, you must visit his shop. It's a block up from the Hilo Farmer's Market site at the corner of Kilauea and Mamo Streets. He and his shop have been written about in the New York Times and other publications, and he is well known in Puna...one of the original vendors at the Maku'u Farmer's Market.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Royce's Bookmobile at Maku'u Market |
Royce is a very interesting man. I have spent many hours with him talking story...but mostly listening to him talk about his travels and adventures and about some of the very interesting people he has known in his life. One of which is Bruce Lee.
I will let him tell the story of Bruce's "One Inch Punch " here via Youtube.
Bruce Lee Video
http://youtu.be/6F30VyaG3ggA man tends to learn a bit when conversing with his ears.
J.Osprey
Bottom photo: Thanks to TokuArt Blog
