By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

Over the next several weeks, shoppers will flock to area malls, searching for the ever elusive perfect gift.

The gift could be anything, and unless the person you're buying for has pointed you in the right direction, this could be a near impossible task. The Weekend section would like to help and will offer several suggestions in several different categories until the holiday season passes. This week, we will examine some gift ideas that can be found at your local book store.

The most popular gift idea for children surprisingly doesn't start with P and end with N; it is actually the Harry Potter books, a series about a young British magician. If your children are fans of Harry Potter, they may already have all of the books in the series, but if not there are four books to choose from, including a box set that has three of the four novels.

The stories deal with Harry Potter learning about his gift of magic and using it for good. Much like the acclaimed Narnia series from C. S. Lewis, the Potter books have fun using magic and mysticism as a backdrop to good literature.

Some children may not be ready to read books like Harry Potter on their own, but there are plenty of books available for them. One author that belongs in every reader's collection is the late Shel Silverstein. Appealing to readers of all levels, Silverstein wrote several books of poetry and one classic, “The Giving Tree.”

Other ideas in a similar vein include books by Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, R.L. Stine, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume and E.B. White. These may only scratch the surface of children's literature, but they will at least give you a good starting point.

For the older crowd, there are several new books from some of the greatest authors of the last part of the century. Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and Congo, gives readers a trip back in time with “Timeline.” The novel is about a corporation experimenting with time travel, to give people an authentic vacation in history. Stephen King strays from the path of horror and supernatural things with his book, “Hearts of Atlantis.” The book is a collection of short stories based in the 1960s, during a time that King feels shaped the rest of the century.

If the reader you are shopping for is interested in the historical aspects of this century, Tom Brokaw's “The Greatest Generation” also comes highly recommended. Brokaw's book deals with the men who proudly served in World War II and then returned to this country to rebuild it into the power that it is today. Presidential hopeful John McCain also has a biographical book of sorts out called “Faith of my Fathers.” The book deals with his family's history with the Navy and his personal experiences in the Navy and in Vietnam.

Another popular book, just recently made into a movie of the week for television, is “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. It's an account of Albom's weekly discussions with Morrie, an old man that Albom befriended. If you are a fan of ESPN, Albom is a familiar face. He regularly participates on the program “The Sports Reporters” on Sunday mornings.

Two popular books by Frank McCourt have made a big splash in the literary world, “Angela's Ashes” and “Tis'.” “Angela's Ashes” is the first book and it deals with McCourt's early life in America and Ireland. “Tis'” deals with McCourt's later life. The books are rife with humor and raw emotion, as the reader follows McCourt from poverty to prominence.

Another popular series of books is the “Left Behind” series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The books deal with the Rapture and those left behind are the ones that did not make it on the first go round. Combining action with Christian beliefs, the series has attracted millions of readers to the fast-paced novels.

Again, these just scratch the surface of what is sitting on the shelves of your local bookstores. Other recommended authors are John Irving, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Kurt Vonnegut, Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy, James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark. Each of these authors has dozens of books for sale and can launch readers off to dozens of other authors or types of novels.

If you have trouble finding any book at the bookstore, check out Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. It usually takes only a week to deliver books ordered on-line.

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