Hawaii Kai Community Bookstore
★★★★★ 4.6 (7) • $
"A non-profit bookstore in HI Kai! This little gem is such a treasure when you're simply looking for books or magazines to read, books to keep your kids occupied, or just seeking information on something you are researching.The State of HI government-run HI Kai Library opened in Dec. 1973, and for the next 30 years, the HI Kai Lions Club and Nagoya Lions provided monetary donations and cultural artifacts from Japan, respectively. In Aug. 2013, the Friends of the HI Kai Library opened the HI Kai Community Book Store to assist with the library's funding.Prior to the bookstore's opening, there was thought of using unused space on the ground floor of the library for a bookstore. A group of volunteers, including a carpenter and artist, and assisted by students of Kaiser High School and its Key and Leo clubs, spent much time and effort to enclose and enhance the space to make it look like a bookstore. Many of the volunteers, led by the current Manager, Lillian Yoshimura, were retired teachers who sought operational tips from similar bookstores of the Kaneohe and Kailua public libraries. They also hustled for gently used donations of books, cleaned them, priced them, and sorted them for placement on the shelves. Books were categorized and shelved in different areas: children, young adult, instructional books for teachers and home schoolers, test preparation, juvenile non-fiction, adult fiction, biographies, religion, self-help, business, cooking, crafts and games, foreign, etc.In Aug. 2013 and staffed entirely by volunteers, the HI Kai Community Book Store was open! As with any new entity, it took time for the community to learn that a non-profit bookstore had opened. Signs were placed on the library lawn as traffic whizzed by on busy Lunalilo Home Rd. With regular prices ranging from 50¢ to $3 per book, semi-annual sales of 50% off of its entire inventory during a one-week period were held to thank its patrons.This bookstore has been very successful over the years, as it's now known throughout the HI Kai community. Teachers and parents of little kids are especially happy, as well as the community residents! Improvements have been made over the years to tailor its services to the community:· In addition to books, its inventory has expanded to:- CDs & DVDs - all interests of music, books, films, and blank ones.- Vinyl records - popular, classical, and world.- Sheet music for all instruments.- Calendars, greeting cards, puzzles, world and road maps.- Clean and books that look new are placed in an area for gift giving.· Monthly and pop-up sales of 50% off specific categories of books, e.g., biography, history, and military; cookbooks; adult fiction; children's; home and garden; business, etc.· Story telling, sing-a-longs, and other events for children.· Acceptance of magazine donations that are categorized and placed in an area where they are free for the public at their choosing.Note that every item sold is donated by community residents, and all proceeds benefit the HI Kai Library. The bookstore is selective of what is donated, as items should be stain free, no age spots, no torn pages, and is in saleable condition. No encyclopedia or textbook donations.The bookstore was our lifesaver when we were babysitting our grandkids. Not only was it air conditioned so that we could make use of the cool air during the hot summer days, but we loved to take our grandkids there! They would spend a lot of time there, browsing through the many books. And because the cost of the books was so reasonable, we allowed them to pick as many books as they wanted, which they would later donate back to the bookstore once they had finished reading them.Hubby and I have and continue to make good use of the bookstore. Hubby collects vinyl records of the 1950's and '60's, so he periodically checks the offerings and has gotten some deals! He also reads a lot of novels, so he's constantly on the lookout for certain books. I gravitate to the local cookbooks that are out-of-print, books on chess for our grandson, books on HI by local authors, and books on Christianity and travel when I'm doing research.COVID requirements have affected the bookstore's operation. It was closed for 14 months after COVID started in 2020 and reopened in May 2021. Hours of operation are: Mon/Tues 12:30p - 3:30, Wed/Thurs/Sat 9:30a - 3:30p, Fri/Sat closed. Free parking available in the library's parking lot (21 spaces). COVID compliance required: max 6 shoppers in the store at one time, 20-minute shopping time limitation depending on number of people in line, facial masks, social distancing, and use of hand sanitizer.However, with the recent increase in COVID numbers, the bookstore had closed temporarily in Aug 2021 and will remain so until further notice. We look forward to it reopening again when it is safe, and I'm sure others do too! What a great gem in the HI Kai community!"
"Shopping for a used book...My mom is an avid reader. I'm not sure what she's read already, but I know that she likes mysteries and suspense. By visiting Book Off at Pearlridge Center, I accomplished many things:1. Cooled off from the October heat - I really appreciated the air conditioning2. Got a great deal for $13. Entered the drawing for $500 by emailing my receipt to Pearlridge Center4. Got a gift for mom5. Wrote another Yelp reviewThanks to Daniel C. and Peter Y. for a fun adventure! Thank you, Peter, for the chauffeur service! Don't you enjoy the free parking at Pearlridge Mall?LOCATION: by TJ Maxx on the ground level of "Uptown Pearlridge" SERVICE: Polite, friendly, and efficient"
"Booksale in Honolulu's Ward Village...If you remember the Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale, you'll like Village Books and Music at Ward.Every year, I used to look forward to the sale at McKinley High School's cafeteria. Browsing though the countless tables of books, I'd find many treasures such as cookbooks, travel books, and novels that I've always wanted to read.The only bad thing about the booksale back then was the heat. Uhg. Summer in Honolulu without air conditioning is torture.This year, the booksale is so much better! Located at the former site of Pier 1 Imports, the Friends of the Library have a new home! It's clean, spacious, well lit, and AIR CONDITIONED!!! PLUS... There's free, covered parking in the structure! The parking entrances are on Queen Street and Auahi Street! It doesn't get much better!Everything is neatly organized by catagory. For example, children's books, audiobooks, CDs, and DVDs are to the left of the front door. Artwork and collectables are to the right. Fiction is straight ahead while everything else is in-between. Refer to the handy map for your favorites.Just remember that the sale runs until August 2021 and that they're closed on Mondays. I'll be back soon with my mom... She'll enjoy the experience and the low prices!"
