Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 17, 1994                   TAG: 9404100194
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: D-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BIBLIOPHILE'S GUIDE DELIVERS THE GOODS

Here is an idea whose time has come.

This book is the third in the "Used Book Lover's Guide" series. (The others cover New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.) It lists, describes and gives directions to used book stores of every stripe in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Georgia and Florida. They're all here - from storefronts crammed with half-price paperbacks to upscale joints specializing in pricey first editions.

The only way to judge such a guidebook is to check the entries that you already know, and this one passes with full marks. As it happens, the two stores I've visited recently - Christopher Gladden Bookseller in Salem and Heartwood in Charlottesville - are accurately described. And the Siegels certainly make a store called Read It Again, Sam in Lovingston sound like a must-visit.

I suspect that the book will prove its worth to anyone who's vacationing in the area this summer. The simple maps and directions seem to be clear enough to lead travelers through unfamiliar streets in strange towns. Just as importantly, the Siegels note hours of operation, and the times they found stores that were closed when they were supposed to be open. As every true bibliophile knows, the used book business is idiosyncratic and personal - that's what we love about it - and for the same reasons, it can be frustrating.

If you're heading for the beach or the mountains, check your route against the Siegels' recommendations. After all, one of these days, you're going to see that sign, "Used Books," on a store in a little burg well away from the interstate. On impulse, you'll pull in. Then after poking around dusty shelves for an hour or so, you'll come upon a first edition of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest," with dust jacket. It'll probably be right between that first of "The Great Gatsby" and Poe's "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque" on the "3 for $5" rack.

One of these days . . .