While I do love small book stores, this store was just an utter mess. Armed with my fully charged iPhone from Starbucks and a Kailua monkey from Lanikai Juice, I ventured over to Bookends to shop and take a look. My adventures in Kailua continues with a trip to Bookends in the Kailua town Shopping Center. They’ll even keep the card on file for you at the store.
For every $ 5 you spend they’ll stamp it, and when it’s full you get a discount on your next purchase. **If you plan on going there regularly start a card. BUT you need to make an appointment to bring your books in, and the waiting list to do that is filled up for months in advance. (They used to do this, but I haven’t bought any lately.) **Bookends buys used books. The details: **Ask if they still give a discounts on books currently on the NY Times Best Seller list. They don’t carry magazines anymore, but you can get that next door at the supermarket. They’ll check in the computer and/or lead you to where the book is located. If you’re looking for something specific and can’t find it ask them. It can sometimes look like a hoarder lives there, but I like to think of it as controlled chaos: The people in the store know their inventory and I’ve always found them to be helpful. I wouldn’t recommend this store for anyone that’s claustrophobic. They’ve got tons of inventory and you can find new, used and out-of-print books. I’m not sure if that describes the employees, but it certainly describes this store. I once saw an article that said their employees were «quirky». Old time book store that lose that great feeling of being a useful educational tool for the community and a pillar of societal intelligence.īookends in Kailua is not your typical chain style bookstore.
My one wish that will never happen ever is to have a store like this in an airport that I am waiting for a flight for– and have 1 hour to kill and can just browse and look for a full hour and not feel like my time is ever wasted. One will be able to find the Iz– ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ on CD but not much depth after that. There is a small display or two of local CD music and a few vinyl off to the side. This is not a record store– if you hit a search for records– then you will be disappointed. There are also the beach reads sections that people can quickly get a new or used novel to read at the beach to enjoy quickly and it is right there. I’m sure some books are cheaper on line like amazon– but remember that they are a brick and mortar store that has to pay bills. Used books have a good price break in general. The books are pretty brand new– so expecting to pay full price is expected. There can be some price break on some older works. Prices can seem to appear to be similar to full price current listings. More than helpful staff that takes the time to help the littlest 5 year old answer the simplest questions to the diehard book fan and finding a book that is in print that they just don’t currently have but can get. The store is small from the outside but big in heart in the inside.
It is surprising to find such a large staff and so helpful of staff. Travel, Novels, and all the other stuff expected in a book store. Yeah there is James Mitchner but there is also the unique pressings of less known HI studies books –fact and fiction. True historical books especially the most I have ever seen about HI (sans Borders/BN that are corporate not mom/pop stores).
Star Wars/Harry Potter/Blues Clues/Erogon/Twilight/vampire wizards werewolf of the likes of Kim Harrison/Jim Butcher/Charris Harris and all the other pop hits of new novelists.
But also antique books, first editions and books that we may not know about too as well as the classics, along with some of the most popular series available. Books ends as people have mentioned is both new and used books. There is books upon books and more behind those. The books are over flowing– scratch that– the books are up to the ceiling, overflowing off of shelves, stacked up so that there are more chairs made out of books than there are chair chairs, with dividers of book rows made out of books and then more and more books that are disorganized organization. Book Ends, Middles, Inch Pinches, Tops, Rears, and I need another thesaurus to get more colloquialisms to continue this sting.