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Albion Books 2466 E. Desert Inn Rd., 702/792-9554. The piano bar in the corner may be gone, but it’s still no contest - Albion Books remains the best used-book store in town. Volumes of volumes, plenty of turnover in the titles and a collection of first editions that can’t be beat. From Amis to Zola, you’ll find books by the Great Big Authors you’d expect, plus plenty of offbeat books by good writers you’ve never heard of, along with books you had no idea you couldn’t do without. E.B. White’s The Wild Flag, anyone? Plus, the prices are low and they wrap your purchases in classy brown paper bundles. Indispensable.

Alternate Reality Comics 4800 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/736-3673. Alternate Reality has its priorities straight. The good stuff—Milk & Cheese, Spider Jerusalem, Reid Fleming—is up front, while the dismal characters of Marvel/DC/Image are shunted to the back wall, where they belong. Alternate also carries the requisite paraphernalia: T-shirts, posters and all the trading cards you can eat. Located near Benway Records.

Barnes & Noble 567 N. Stephanie Way (just off Sunset Road), 702/434-1533; 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd., 702/631-1775. Plenty of people prefer Barnes & Noble to the estimable Borders, and it comes down to such subjective factors as your idea of a good book selection. It’s your call. Most book buyers’ needs are covered here. Plus: Both Barnes & Noble outlets are paired with Starbucks shops so you can sip while you shop.

Book Magician 2202 W. Charleston Blvd., 702/384-5838. Formerly the venerable Amber Unicorn used bookstore, Book Magician is, for all intents and purposes, still Amber Unicorn. Meet the new books, same as the old books: Book Magician bought Amber Unicorn lock, stock and collection. Although the new name isn’t promising, the store retains the closed-in, crowded-shelf charm that always made it a fine place of an hour or so of leisurely bookworming.

Bookstar 4730 Faircenter Pkwy. (Charleston and Decatur boulevards), 702/877-1872; 3910 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/732-7882. Big chain, lots of books - yet one feels a curious ambivalence towards Bookstar. Its selection is decent, but it can’t match Borders or Barnes & Noble for bookstore ambiance. The Maryland Parkway store exemplifies the company’s nationwide practice of renovating old movie houses into bookstores.

Borders Books and Music 2323 S. Decatur Blvd.(at Sahara Avenue), 702/258-0999; 1445 W. Sunset Rd.(Henderson), 702/433-6222; 2190 N. Rainbow Blvd., 702/638-7866.Borders Books and Music tops the best-of list for many local bibliophiles, along with a good chunk of the audiophiles. Selection, ambiance, organization—it all makes for the best bookstore experience in town. The Henderson and Northwest locations boast a fine CD selection (cassettes are all but an afterthought) with a number of listening stations provided. All have coffee bars.

Dead Poet Books 3858 W. Sahara Ave. (at Valley View Boulevard), 702/227-4070. A decent, middle-of-the-pack place, capable of pleasant surprises—a recent visit turned up a four-volume set of George Orwell’s essays, priced to move at $20. Don’t bother looking for it now. Dead Poets is a good place to try if, for some reason, Albion or Amber Unicorn can’t meet your needs. The store’s small size limits its selection, however.

Gambler’s Book Club 630 S. 11th St., 702/382-7555. Undoubtedly the gambling-book mecca in this gambling Mecca, Gambler’s Book Club is sure to have any volume you need on the theory and practice of gaming. Plus a dog in the back.

Get Booked 4643 Paradise Rd., 702/737-7780. One of the anchors of Sin City’s Gay Quarter, Get Booked has been serving the reading wants and needs of Gay Vegas since…oh, since there’s been a Gay Vegas. Don’t be afraid, don’t be a bigot. Visit Get Booked and discover what some of your close personal friends have been reading.

Gundy’s Book World 1442 E. Charleston Blvd., 702/385-6043. A used paperback place notable for its stacks of moldering old magazines, among which lie buried treasures, at least for magophiles.

International Newsstand 3900 Paradise Rd., 702/796-9901. Although most good chain bookstores carry a good selection of national and international papers, this place is still ahead of the curve. It has a good cross section of national and global publications.

Mystic Mind Books & Cafe 2841 N. Green Valley Pkwy., 702/450-7953. This New-Age store has it all: books, clothing, candles, oils, jewelry, cards—not to mention great mocha drinks. You can also sign up for classes in the various metaphysical arts; if you’ve ever wanted to learn to read the tarot, now’s the time—and here’s the place.

Native Son Books 1301 N. D St., 702/647-0101. Owner Sam Smith calls his shop “Afrocentric.” A random selection bears that out: Black Women for Beginners, The Five Negro Presidents and 100 Amazing Facts about the Negro. Plenty of African-themed objects and bracing chat from the straight-talking Mr. Smith himself, something of a local legend.

Parkland Books 3661 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/732-4474. A notch or two below Albion and Amber Unicorn, Parkland is still a worthy shop; it emphasizes books on natural history, national parks and children’s literature.

WOW! Books 458 W. Sahara Ave., 702/364-2500. Ground zero for fearless readers, the books section of this multimedia superstore has more hip lit, left-field out-of-the-mainstream books to satisfy all but the most determinedly eclectic reader. Given the attached CD store, the voluminous section of music books is no surprise. The metaphysical and alt.culture stuff is. WOW! is also a good outlet for avant-garde, underground periodicals and ’zines (read: Beer Frame, Propaganda, dozens of tattooed flesh rags), as well as the more mainstream, doctor’s-office stuff, plus plenty of not-for-kids comix. Down note: The chaotic magazine rack is just as likely to have a months-old copy of your favorite magazine as the brand-new issue.Bookstores and Newsstands:

Albion Books 2466 E. Desert Inn Rd., 702/792-9554. The piano bar in the corner may be gone, but it’s still no contest - Albion Books remains the best used-book store in town. Volumes of volumes, plenty of turnover in the titles and a collection of first editions that can’t be beat. From Amis to Zola, you’ll find books by the Great Big Authors you’d expect, plus plenty of offbeat books by good writers you’ve never heard of, along with books you had no idea you couldn’t do without. E.B. White’s The Wild Flag, anyone? Plus, the prices are low and they wrap your purchases in classy brown paper bundles. Indispensable.

Alternate Reality Comics 4800 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/736-3673. Alternate Reality has its priorities straight. The good stuff—Milk & Cheese, Spider Jerusalem, Reid Fleming—is up front, while the dismal characters of Marvel/DC/Image are shunted to the back wall, where they belong. Alternate also carries the requisite paraphernalia: T-shirts, posters and all the trading cards you can eat. Located near Benway Records.

Barnes & Noble 567 N. Stephanie Way (just off Sunset Road), 702/434-1533; 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd., 702/631-1775. Plenty of people prefer Barnes & Noble to the estimable Borders, and it comes down to such subjective factors as your idea of a good book selection. It’s your call. Most book buyers’ needs are covered here. Plus: Both Barnes & Noble outlets are paired with Starbucks shops so you can sip while you shop.

Book Magician 2202 W. Charleston Blvd., 702/384-5838. Formerly the venerable Amber Unicorn used bookstore, Book Magician is, for all intents and purposes, still Amber Unicorn. Meet the new books, same as the old books: Book Magician bought Amber Unicorn lock, stock and collection. Although the new name isn’t promising, the store retains the closed-in, crowded-shelf charm that always made it a fine place of an hour or so of leisurely bookworming.

Bookstar 4730 Faircenter Pkwy. (Charleston and Decatur boulevards), 702/877-1872; 3910 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/732-7882. Big chain, lots of books - yet one feels a curious ambivalence towards Bookstar. Its selection is decent, but it can’t match Borders or Barnes & Noble for bookstore ambiance. The Maryland Parkway store exemplifies the company’s nationwide practice of renovating old movie houses into bookstores.

Borders Books and Music 2323 S. Decatur Blvd.(at Sahara Avenue), 702/258-0999; 1445 W. Sunset Rd.(Henderson), 702/433-6222; 2190 N. Rainbow Blvd., 702/638-7866.Borders Books and Music tops the best-of list for many local bibliophiles, along with a good chunk of the audiophiles. Selection, ambiance, organization—it all makes for the best bookstore experience in town. The Henderson and Northwest locations boast a fine CD selection (cassettes are all but an afterthought) with a number of listening stations provided. All have coffee bars.

Dead Poet Books 3858 W. Sahara Ave. (at Valley View Boulevard), 702/227-4070. A decent, middle-of-the-pack place, capable of pleasant surprises—a recent visit turned up a four-volume set of George Orwell’s essays, priced to move at $20. Don’t bother looking for it now. Dead Poets is a good place to try if, for some reason, Albion or Amber Unicorn can’t meet your needs. The store’s small size limits its selection, however.

Gambler’s Book Club 630 S. 11th St., 702/382-7555. Undoubtedly the gambling-book mecca in this gambling Mecca, Gambler’s Book Club is sure to have any volume you need on the theory and practice of gaming. Plus a dog in the back.

Get Booked 4643 Paradise Rd., 702/737-7780. One of the anchors of Sin City’s Gay Quarter, Get Booked has been serving the reading wants and needs of Gay Vegas since…oh, since there’s been a Gay Vegas. Don’t be afraid, don’t be a bigot. Visit Get Booked and discover what some of your close personal friends have been reading.

Gundy’s Book World 1442 E. Charleston Blvd., 702/385-6043. A used paperback place notable for its stacks of moldering old magazines, among which lie buried treasures, at least for magophiles.

International Newsstand 3900 Paradise Rd., 702/796-9901. Although most good chain bookstores carry a good selection of national and international papers, this place is still ahead of the curve. It has a good cross section of national and global publications.

Mystic Mind Books & Cafe 2841 N. Green Valley Pkwy., 702/450-7953. This New-Age store has it all: books, clothing, candles, oils, jewelry, cards—not to mention great mocha drinks. You can also sign up for classes in the various metaphysical arts; if you’ve ever wanted to learn to read the tarot, now’s the time—and here’s the place.

Native Son Books 1301 N. D St., 702/647-0101. Owner Sam Smith calls his shop “Afrocentric.” A random selection bears that out: Black Women for Beginners, The Five Negro Presidents and 100 Amazing Facts about the Negro. Plenty of African-themed objects and bracing chat from the straight-talking Mr. Smith himself, something of a local legend.

Parkland Books 3661 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702/732-4474. A notch or two below Albion and Amber Unicorn, Parkland is still a worthy shop; it emphasizes books on natural history, national parks and children’s literature.

WOW! Books 458 W. Sahara Ave., 702/364-2500. Ground zero for fearless readers, the books section of this multimedia superstore has more hip lit, left-field out-of-the-mainstream books to satisfy all but the most determinedly eclectic reader. Given the attached CD store, the voluminous section of music books is no surprise. The metaphysical and alt.culture stuff is. WOW! is also a good outlet for avant-garde, underground periodicals and ’zines (read: Beer Frame, Propaganda, dozens of tattooed flesh rags), as well as the more mainstream, doctor’s-office stuff, plus plenty of not-for-kids comix. Down note: The chaotic magazine rack is just as likely to have a months-old copy of your favorite magazine as the brand-new issue.