REVIEW BY KIRSTEN LAGATREE

A carefully chosen book is one of the nicest ways to show a friend or family member you've thought of them specially. This can be true even if your family and friends aren't all bookworms: If you think creatively about each person's interests, you can find the perfect book for them. Use these tips to jumpstart your ideas. This just could be the year you finish your holiday shopping early -- and have a good time doing it!

• Create "a wrinkle in time" for the bookworm who's read everything. Do you know someone who loves to read, but despair of finding something he or she hasn't read -- and might want to? Go back in time and choose a bestseller from the year he was born. Or choose books from years her children were born -- when she likely had little time for reading! (You can find bestseller lists from years past in some almanacs.)

• Double their pleasure with a book and gift combo. A book can add something special to any other gift. Consider wrapping a book about interpreting dreams with some cozy flannel pajamas; a classic novel with the movie version on video (think of The Maltese Falcon or Gone with the Wind); or a specialty cookbook with a piece of kitchenware. Bring out the writing talent of someone you know by pairing a book of quotations or famous correspondence with a box of personalized stationery, or a memoir paired with a writing journal. Send a green thumb outside next spring armed with an inspirational gardening book and a new set of pruners and gardening gloves.

• Build a family library. When you'd like to give a gift for the whole family, make a present of a reference book that will launch or add to the family library. A few possibilities: an excellent and up-to-date dictionary, world atlas, encyclopedia, or thesaurus, or a beautifully illustrated holiday book that will become part of an annual family tradition.

• Go for luxury. Zero in on a friend or family member's special interest and purchase an opulent and exquisitely photographed book on the subject -- the kind of book he would rarely splurge on for himself. This selection method works equally well for interests ranging from gardening and home decorating to fly fishing and football.

• Give the gift of travel. (You won't even have to spring for the airfare!) If your cousin is planning a trip to a certain part of the world, or if the past year's highlight was a special vacation, surprise him with a travel memoir or a novel set in his destination. If you're thinking of giving a practical travel guide, look for an offbeat guide that will lead travelers off the usual tourist track to spots they might otherwise miss. Or choose a supplemental guide -- one that focuses on food or flea markets or hikes, for example -- for a particular region.

• Spice up a cook's life. If your best friend is a gourmet cook, she probably has too many cookbooks already. Instead of adding to her collection, serve up a delicious murder mystery written by or featuring a chef, caterer, or food critic. (There are several: ask the bookstore clerk for help.) For more serious fare, consider food-focused memoirs or biographies of well-known cooks.

• Become a movie star. You'll certainly shine in the eyes of your favorite movie fan when you present him with a copy of the latest movie/video guide. There are several good ones by well-known critics to choose from. You might also consider a film encyclopedia packed with film history and behind-the-scenes stories of famous movies, actors, directors, producers, and others who figure importantly in the film industry.

• Bring history to life. Broaden a history buff's horizons and deepen his pleasure by selecting a well-written novel or two set in the period that interests him the most. Whether his interest is World War II or ancient Sparta, you'll have little trouble finding a great book to surprise and delight him.

• Start a carefully selected classics set for the children on your list. Each holiday give one of the books children have been enjoying for decades. It could be fun to base some of your selections on books the child's parents or grandparents may have enjoyed when they were children.

• Give yourself along with the book. For some people on your list (especially the very young and very old), the most wonderful gift of all is your time. Wrap a book with a "reading time" gift certificate, promising to spend time reading to or with them.