Holiday gift guide for book lovers: if you've got a bona fide book lover on your holiday gift list and don't want to buy another book, book-on-tape or e-book, here are a few suggestions to consider - Buyers Guide

Black Issues Book Review, Nov-Dec, 2002

Bookcovers

Protect your favorite paperback with a picture frame bookcover from You Gotta Have It. The cover features an attached bookmark and has space for four photographs. It's $12 and available at yougottahaveit.com. Lycra book suits from Levenger's (Tools for Serious Readers) are washable and reusable. They come in a set of three colors: emerald, fuchsia and turquoise and can stretch to fit books up to 8" x 10" in size. The price: $16.95 a set, and is available at levenger.com.

Reading Journals

One of the more practical and coveted gifts for the 2002 holiday season is a reading journal. Book lovers enjoy keeping track of the books they've read, jotting down notes, adding to their TBR (to be read) stack, listing books they've lent and writing down memorable quotes. Most journals, which are available from booksellers and online, are particularly handy for book club members. Here are some you might want to add to your shopping list:

Book to Check Out Journal is a great-looking notebook with a cover reminiscent of those old library checkout cards, complete with due date. It's a 128-page, spiral-bound journal from Chronicle Books that retails for $10.95. Booknotes: The Booklover's Organizer is from Jackson Creek Press and sells for $12.95. A Good Book Is the Best of Friends: A Reader's Journal from Hyperion is $17.95. Reader's Journal from Stewart, Tabori & Chang is $17.95. Maira Kalman's "Dog With a Book," from a New Yorker cartoon, graces the cover of a journal from Harry N. Abrams. It retails for $9.95.

Gift Certificates

Still can't decide? You can never go wrong with a gift certificate. Many of the retailers mentioned in this article offer gift certificates. In addition, certificates are available at a number of African-American bookstores throughout the country. These include Heritage Bookstore and More in Fort Meyers, Florida (http://heritage.booksense.com), 2000-Plus Bookstore in Long Beach, California (edunow. com), Sibanya, Inc. in Baltimore, Karibu Books throughout Maryland (karibubooks.com), Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas (blackimages.com), and Eso Won Bookstore in Los Angeles (esowonbooks.com).

Bookends

Metal bookends keep all your titles together from A to Z. Covered in leather with a nonskid base, they measure 6" x 4" x 6 1/2" each and sell for $55 a pair. For a more whimsical approach, literary mice on a wedge of cheese bookends are an option. Each bookend measures 3 3/4" x 2 1/2" x 5 1/4' and has a felt bottom. The pair is $75. Both sets of bookends are available from Red Envelope at redenvelope.com. Eziba.com also offers a set of two exquisite serpentine stone bookends ($68) from Zimbabwe.

Book Caddies

Fabric-covered bedside caddies have pockets to hold magazines, glasses, remote controls, notepads and pens. The armchair caddy will hold glasses, the remote and a paperback book. They're $10.95 and $11.25 from bookmatesstore.com.

Toys and Games

Scrabble, one of the world's most popular word games, was created in 1938 by an unemployed architect named Alfred M. Butts. Three million copies are sold each year in 121 countries and in more than 20 languages. In addition to regular and deluxe editions, Scrabble Express, a handheld version is available for $21.99. (Three AAA batteries are required.) The Spanish-language version runs $14.99, Scrabble Junior, for children ages 5 to 10, is $10.99, and the PlayStation version sells for $14.98. Available at toy stores nationwide and at amazon.com.

The new kid on the block is Best Sellers: The Game of Novel Ideas. It's designed for two to eight players of all ages. Players pick a title card from the deck and two letter cards. They have two minutes to write a story using the two letters drawn as often as possible. Best Sellers is available from Faby Games at fabygames.com.

Kanes Publications, based in Tampa, Florida, has a variety of African-American tchotchkes and gifts available through itsablackthang.com. A 300-piece Kwanzza Family Celebration jigsaw puzzle goes for $12.95. Once completed, the 14" x 18" puzzle is suitable for framing. Larger puzzles featuring works by African-American artists Synthia Saint James, Charles Bibbs and Paul Goodnight are $22.95.

T-shirts and Sweatshirts

What's a biblio-holic? There's a T-shirt that explains it all: "The habitual longing to purchase, read, store, admire and consume books in excess." Available in navy blue, 100% cotton in sizes medium through 2XL for $19; sweatshirts are 90/10 cotton blend for $32 and $35. Edward Gorey images (those familiar Mystery) adorn T-shirts that proclaim "There's No Such Thing As Too Many Books" and "So Many Books, So Little Time." T-shirts are $19; sweatshirts, $35. All are available at giftcatalog.com.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks make great stocking stuffers. From Colorfulimages.com comes a personalized silver heart-shaped bookmark for $12.95. The American Library Association sells packs of I00 bookmarks for $7. One series carries Frederick Douglass' inspirational quote, "Once you learn to read you will be forever free" Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove's bookmark, "Open It" includes her poem about the joys of reading. Both are available at alastore.ala.org.