Friends of the Library was a great find. We were helping a friends brother clean out his mother in…read morelaws old Japanese books on various topics which totaled around 50+ books. Called numerous establishments but no one would take it. Finally called Friends of the Library and scheduled an appointment to drop everything off to their warehouse near Iwalei Costco. The warehouse was easy to access and the drop off was quick and simple.

Just left their pop-up at Ward today with 4 books! They'll be at Ward today and next weekend (Jan…read more21-22) . There's lots of selection, it's well organized, and with a smooth check out process. Prices are much more practical than Book-off! Found a couple gems of local cookbook finds that I doubt Pinterest would even have. Check them out and support your libraries (:

Bookoff Pearlridge... what can I say? Cheap books, cheap movies, cheap games, and cheap whatever…read moreelse they sell lol. Sadly we don't have many bookstores on the island, there is of course Barnes and Noble, Bookoff, bookends, and few other stores. After Borders closed, we don't have many places to go to buy brand new books except for Walmart or Target. However, there are many good finds here and a chance to give some used books/media/toys a new home. The staff here are very nice, though of course they don't have a system catalog here. But that's part of the fun, the treasure hunting fun. You never know what you may find. Bookoff also has a buyback counter, where you can sell your used movies, books, etc. but just be aware they are like the old saying where they only offer pennies on the dollar. So you won't make a lot of money selling here. But if you just want to get rid of stuff and make some money, this may be a good option for you.

Shoots, This Place is the So Da Bomb! Came in yesterday with two shopping carts stuffed with books…read moreand honestly didn't know what to expect -- but wow, this place totally exceeded my expectations! The owner greeted me right away with that warm, aloha spirit energy. No attitude, no long drawn-out process. She got straight to scanning my old dusty books while I waited, and when she was done, she texted me -- yes, texted me -- to let me know. Walked up, got my receipt, got my quote. Super professional, super smooth. Here's the best part: while I was waiting, I browsed around and found three gifts for my grandchildren that I knew they'd love. So in one trip I freed up a ton of space at home from books that had been taking up way too much room and knocked out some gift shopping. Win-win-win! The whole setup is easy too -- rolled the carts right from my car into the store, no stress. My friend was chillin' in the massage chair outside the whole time, so nobody's time was wasted. I was originally just gonna dump everything at Goodwill. So glad I didn't. I'm already planning to come back with my old DVDs and CDs just sitting my shed in the backyard. If you've got stuff collecting dust at home, bring it here first. You might walk out with cash in your pocket and a smile on your face. Highly recommend. 5/5, no question!

It's not just books…read more.. Located right on the curbside of Aloha Tower Marketplace is this shop that's filled with all sorts of items you wouldn't imagine to find as bookstores are basically books of course and various accessories in relating to books though the sign says Barnes & Noble which is more a student supplies shop where it's filled with all things "Sharks" all sorts of outerwear from hats, shirts, decals, mugs, blankets and more along with a bunch of items every students need at their convenience as well. Remember this is part Barnes & Noble so there's a section filled with books of all kinds and a bunch of games...jenga, scrabble and even Monopoly lol! With that being a student does have it's issues...for me there always is and I noticed a section that's all things Essential Oils with individual various scents I was excited and intrigued the variety they have and actually picked up a Pen Diffuser which is nice and portable as you can open one or all four scents (Joy, focus, Energy and Calm) now how cool is that! Staff here is just a delight and told me that it was the first pen diffuser sold lol and they do validate parking (which is free for the first hour) so you can shop guilt free which creates more calmness as I shop and find unique items that makes me find my zen. Thank you!

Shopping in Honolulu, Hawaii…read more.. Once in a while, Donna O. sends me photos of things I might like. For example, pictures of Hello Kitty face masks, scrub tops with cute prints, and Cony items (the white bunny from Line Friends). Thanks, Donna! Most recently, Donna sent me a photo of Line Friends items at the Ala Moana Shopping Center location of Barnes & Noble. I thought that I would be smart and go to the Barnes & Noble at Aloha Tower Marketplace for a better selection of Line Friends products. This Aloha Tower Marketplace location is closer to me than the Ala Moana store. However, parking is in a paid lot. Luckily, I found metered street parking on Bishop Street about a block away and walked over. This particular Barnes and Noble is more like a bookstore for Hawaii Pacific University (HPU). There were many items with the school logo: a shark! Isn't that kind of cool? Besides having books and school supplies, this Barnes & Noble carried HPU Aloha Shirts, t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, coffee mugs, key chains, lanyards, koozies, face masks, caps, etc. There were no Line Friends products. Shucks! I did enjoy the air conditioning, pleasant decor, and looking at the cute plushies, greeting cards, and other merchandise. I guess I will have to go to the Ala Moana Shopping Center location of Barnes & Noble for Cony items. I did look online, but I didn't want to pay for shipping. I should just bite the bullet because online shopping is more convenient in the long run, right?

A non-profit bookstore in HI Kai! This little gem is such a treasure when you're simply looking…read morefor 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!

I love this bookstore! It's like a book sale everyday and this store is better than all those book…read moresale events! Even the annual McKinley one! This bookstore is located at the bottom level of the Hawaii Kai Public Library. You'll walk by it from the parking lot. Their hours are 1230-430pm Monday, 10am-430pm Tuesday-Thursday, 930am-3pm on Saturday, and closed Friday and Sunday. There are so many great deals, and great finds. They have monthly and daily deals (50% off certain types of books or dvds), and a quarterly 50% off everything sale. I have found quite a few difficult to find items here and many great deals. I need to thank the individuals who donate their precious items, the staff and volunteers who work here that always keeps the store clean, well-stocked, organized, and always provide friendly and top-notch service. All the money earned here goes straight to the public library!

I am always on the hunt for educational toys that challenge my children. We just happened to walk…read moreby this store so I decided to check it out to see if they had any interesting toys. I was blown away by their selection. It's not a large store but it's jam packed with a variety of toys. They have a lot of great STEM items and toys for my older children (which is hard to find in most places). As for their prices, I feel like they are competitive with other retailors. This place is definitely a one stop shop for your toy needs!

On the search for a children's toy that my sister would approve of for her kids -- that's where…read moreThinker Things came into play! Located in Kahala Mall, this locally owned toy store has toys, books, games, and collectables with a focus on education. My nephew is growing out of his dinosaur phase, so it's not as easy as buying anything dino-related for him anymore. It was great being able to walk through and explore all the different educational toys. The planetarium projector is what caught my eye and would make an awesome gift. To be honest, when I came in - it was mostly young adults shopping for themselves... and we were all on the hunt for the same thing. Unfortunately for us, the Sonny Angels were sold out and they did not have any information on when they would get in another shipment. They did have a tons of smiski and calico critters --- which I know a lot of people are collecting nowadays. If you're looking for a gift for a young one in your life, or just doing some inner child healing - Thinker Toys has a great selection!

Stopped by for the first time and enjoyed perusing the aisles. Plenty of manga, games, books old…read moreand new. Loved that they also sell used games so many systems and buy used games, books and toys. Employees were friendly, store is well laid out and clean. Will be back!

I love bookstores! It can be used or new, nothing beats getting your hands on a physical book! This…read morelocation used to be in Shirokiya (remember them? I do, sad they are gone) and in Don Quixote before they finally settled at this current location in Kakaako a few yrs ago. Just an fyi their parking is limited here and is pretty tight. Just like their Pearlridge location, this location sells an assortment of used and maybe even some hidden new books, movies, cds, toys, etc. Some of them have very good value/cost, but just remember to always double check your prices (I once found two copies of the same dvd, one was $5 the other was $7). The service is also very good here, their employees are nice and they handle their buyback program very efficiently. Just be advised that they pretty much give pennies on the dollar, so you might not make much money here. But it's good if you just want to purge some stuff and if you're in the area.

I was told to come here from a sales associate at Home Grown, since I was looking for books for my…read morehusband and child. They have a great selection here! The sales associate was very friendly and knowledgeable. I was looking for medicinal books and something for my husbands birthday. He loves to read and she helped me pick out the perfect literature. The quality of the books sold here are fairly priced as well. The store is kept very clean and organized. Everything is placed so delicately too. The cleanliness and layout of the store makes you feel like you're not in downtown anymore. Lol! Coming down here isn't too bad! There's parking right in front of the store and lots of paid parking lots nearby. It's a nice walk if you're catching the bus or getting dropped off. I would highly recommend this business to anyone who's interested! If I could give more than 5 stars, I would!

Lovely little bookstore that features books solely about Hawaii and written by native Hawaiian…read moreauthors. Loved learning a bit more about Hawaiian culture and history. The staff were very kind and attentive. We brought our toddler into the store and when we arrived we were greeted by a staff and she brought out a small chair for our son to sit in. Additionally, they have a great selection of kids books which was a fun surprise. This was a lovely place to stop and explore. We snagged a little letterpress thank you card and we're glad to support this business. I recommend stopping in.

"Children who read become adults who think"…read more This simple, but thought provoking statement, is painted above the interior door as you exit the shop. Da Shop is filled with books written by local authors and more. A great place to pick up a children's book, multiple genres of literature or a book about Hawai'i. It's air conditioned inside so you can meander and check out the book and gifts selections in comfort. Great service here as well. I picked up a children's book on counting up to ten in Hawaiian. I hope my gran niece enjoys it. The book was very reasonably priced. There is no on site parking for customers. You will need to find street parking.

If you're a book lover in Hawai'i, Da Shop is hands down one of the best local bookstores you can…read morevisit. Da Shop isn't just a bookstore, it's a community space that supports readers, writers, and local culture. With great selections, special orders available, engaging book events. There's just one small detail I wanted to share. The girl at the front desk has never welcomed me when I walked in. The first time, it honestly bothered me. After noticing it again on another visit, I decided to approach her myself, and she was actually warm, friendly, and excited to talk about books.