Do Good by Reading Well

There’s nothing better than relaxing on the beach with a great book. Unless…what if you could Do Good at the same time as you were loving that book on the beach?

We’ve got good news for you. You can. We founded The Hawaii Project to combine our love of books with our desire to support literacy and help people get and love books.

Let’s face it — there’s an ocean of books out there and it’s hard to find the right ones for you. What if there was a bookstore where every book in the store was specifically selected to match your interests? That knew what kind of books you read and what authors you love? A service that was always on the lookout for you, magically finding interesting books you’d never find on your own, and bringing them to you so you didn’t have to go looking? An assistant that told you when your favorite author puts out a new book, or even better, tells you when that author recommends a book they love. Imagine a place that’s not just books — that could immerse you in the world of books — through articles, cover art, blog posts from your favorite authors, even photos and videos about authors and books you’ll be interested in?

Imagine a company that gave back 10% of all their revenue to support reading and literacy.

Welcome to The Hawaii Project.

We started The Hawaii Project to do all that and more. We’re launching today, with a campaign on Kickstarter to get The Hawaii Project off the ground. Join us and Do Good by Reading Well.

In spite of all the energy invested in the online world of books, book discovery online in still broken. People still discover new books offline, through friends and physical bookstores. Online, unless you’re looking for a best-seller, you’re pretty much left to sort through a pile of a gazillion ratings and reviews. (Seriously — City of Bones has 40,000 reviews and a 4.1 star rating — what am I going to do, read all 40,000 reviews to see if I’ll like it?)

We’re different. We start by learning what authors and books you love. Then we marry that with an insight — if somebody (especially a well-known curator) takes the time to write long form content about a book, that book mattered to them. So we go find that stuff. Smash those two things together, and voilá — interesting, always fresh book recommendations.

I started The Hawaii Project after a string of very successful tech startups. I learned a lot and am putting that to use here. But as I grow older, I want to work on something that matters. Something with a mission. Books Change Lives. So The Hawaii Project’s mission is to get you reading the best books you possibly can, and help others do the same.

Life’s too short for mediocre books. Read better books. Books that Matter. Books Change Lives. Join us, and Do Good by Reading Well.

Mark