Be a friend and buy some books

E-books might be gaining in popularity, but dead-tree books still have an immensely loyal following, as can be seen by attending the annual, week-long Friends of the Library of Hawaii book sale at McKinley High School, which started this past weekend and runs every day this week through Sunday.

Thousands of books are on sale, along with CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes, vinyl LPs and even food. The best items go pretty fast, but some buyers prefer to wait for the last days of the sale, when prices drop by half on the second-to-the-last day and then to just 50 cents per book on the final day.

Last year the event raised about $110,000, and organizers expect about the same amount this year.

True friends of the library might consider buying as many books as they can, then donating them back so they can be sold again next year.

For event hours, call 536-4174, or go online to goo.gl/fxasD.

Honk if you like worry-free parking

Fear not, fans of Manoa Valley Theatre: The current crackdown on parking at the nearby shopping center probably won’t affect you.

For example, "Honk!" is the musical opening this week, and if the plan was to park at Manoa Marketplace, it’s fine. Theater officials say they’ve had a longstanding agreement with the shopping center that audience members can park there during performances.

The new policy, which came to light when a handful of drivers found their cars fitted with a parking boot, is aimed more at those parking at the marketplace to patronize a competing business — say, one of those on the opposite side of East Manoa Road.

So best not to amble across the road and then claim to be theater-bound, unless you’re really good at acting. In that case, consider auditioning for the next show.