Columnist Muriel Stevens: Earmarking the local bookstores

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2000 | 9:48 a.m.

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at muriel@vegas.com or 259-4080.

It's no secret that I'm hooked on books. Since childhood, books have been my constant companion, spurring my imagination.

When I moved to Las Vegas in the '50s there were few bookstores. None were the equal of the ones I'd grown up with in Philadelphia. There was only one small library.

Bookstores are now everywhere. Supermarkets and discount outlets sell books, and there are many libraries. Reading is still my favorite pastime, and I still can't break the habit of buying more books than it's sensible to own. Where do I buy books? At all of the above. Costco gives deep discounts on books. If you see what you want, buy it. It may not be there the next time.

Costco is a good place to buy best-sellers and paperbacks. The selection is not large. Still, if you're a Costco member, it pays to check out the book displays when you shop. It was at Costco that I bought the $55 Microsoft Encarte dictionary for $26.

When I travel I seek out independent bookstores, searching for the little gems rarely carried by mainstream bookstores. College towns always have great bookstores. The best bookstore I've ever found was in the United Nations building in Geneva. What a selection. Best of all: There's no duty on books.

Of course, today's large bookstores offer more than just books. Barnes & Noble and Borders feature coffee bars, a wide array of domestic and foreign magazines, books on tape, and video and music sections.

They also sell greeting cards, book lights, bookmarks and all kinds of book-related gift items. Sunday, at the Barnes & Noble on Maryland Parkway, there was still a very good selection of half-price Christmas items -- wrapping paper, elegant cards and more.

The big stores thoughtfully provide comfy seating for browsing books before buying.

Only the large bookstores offer remainder or bargain sections. Here, for less than the price of a paperback, I can find the books of favorite authors. Remainders are usually publishers' overstocks, but they can also be cheaper reprints of the originals. It doesn't matter. When a new book can be purchased for as little as $2.98, who cares if it's a reprint?

Discounts on best-sellers are available at most bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders and Readmore. Smith's supermarkets also discount best-sellers. Discounts vary. Barnes & Noble's discount is almost as much as Costco's and you don't have to be a member.

The Virgin megastore in the Forum Shops is mostly music, but they do have a small, good selection of books that aren't found elsewhere.

College bookstores, open to the public, are a good source for paperback editions of classic and great books that are not usually found in regular bookstores. Browsing these student stores is always engaging. UNLV's bookstore is at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Community College of Southern Nevada has bookstores at the Cheyenne campus (3200 E. Cheyenne) and the Henderson campus (700 College Dr.).

We've also got a plethora of religious and New Age and psychic bookstores. And there's more. Gambler's Bookstore at 800 S. Main Street attracts locals and visitors who keep hoping the secret to winning at the tables can be found there. Don't bet on it.