In past years, there has been a discernible theme among Christmas books -- either a giant bestseller has appeared in time for the Christmas rush or else there has been a rush of biographies or a series of books focusing on Iran Contra or the collapse of Wall Street.

Readers hoping to jump on the latest literary bandwagon this year will have no such luck. And that's the way it should be.

Instead, the giver to the bookworm will have to exercise judgment and freedom of choice, deprogrammed from bestseller lists and the hype that surrounds new books.

This year may also be a good time to revisit some of those classics.

In the wake of the Canadian Conservative Party's collapse and with conservatives on the run just about everywhere else, there is only one book for political addicts to read this Christmas. The high priestess of 1980s conservatism -- Lady Thatcher -- has written her memoirs.

The other side of the coin comes from Pierre Trudeau, who has just seen his Liberals regain power in Canada. Brian Mulroney did not listen to him and nor did Lady Thatcher or anyone else. But the dominant figure of Canadian politics over three decades is worth reading -- and he may give clues to the direction of the new Liberal Government.

Because this is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, there has been an inevitable spate of Kennedy books. One that came out earlier this year but remains topical, partly because of a mini-series on television this month, is JFK: Reckless Youth , by Nigel Hamilton, which describes the second Kennedy son's dilettante years before his brother Joseph died in the Second World War and he was pushed into the limelight.

Also still available is The Last Brother , Joe McGinniss' scathing and controversial biography of Teddy Kennedy, which has been attacked for plagiarism and fabricated thoughts -- but remains a valuable insight into the man who was perhaps unwillingly pushed to be head of the Kennedy clan.

Both those books are available at the Bookmart, as is an anniversary edition of David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest , a more dispassionate look at how the officials around JFK and Lyndon Johnson got the US embroiled in Vietnam.

At the Bermuda Book Store, Case Closed , which is unlikely to be the last word on Lee Harvey Oswald and the November 22, 1963 assassination, is described as not only uncovering where the Warren Commission erred, "but also demolishes the leading conspiracy theorists''.

For those who are interested in the POW/MIA issue in Southeast Asia, the Bermuda Book Store has Kiss the Boys Goodbye in stock. This expose of the continuing fight over those who were reported missing in action in Vietnam is by William Stevenson, the author of A Man Called Intrepid and the father of Bermudian Magazine publisher Kevin Stevenson and VSB Radio reporter Jackie Stevenson.

Among the Afrocentric books at the Bermuda Book Store, look for Garvey's Children -- The Legacy of Marcus Garvey by Tony Sewell, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Black Writers in Britain 1760-1890 . The latter includes work by Mary Seacole, the only black woman writer of the period apart from Bermuda's own -- Mary Prince.

The Bermuda Book Store also has in stock Susan Faludi's Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women , which may suit those who like radical feminism.

At the Bookmart, feminists can buy the gentler Revolution from Within by Gloria Steinem.

Fiction lovers will have a field day with Tom Clancy's latest -- Without Remorse -- and Dick Francis' Decider .

Continued on next page Continued from previous page It also has many sports books, including: Arthur Ashe's A Hard Road to Glory and The History of County Cricket .

For those who may be suffering from a sports injury or other ailments -- the Bookmart also has the Columbia University Medical School's Complete Home Medical Guide ; 900-plus pages -- perfect for the family hypochondriac.

And if you are laid up for a long period and in need of heavy video treatment -- the Chronicle of The Movies , with a forward by critic Leonard Maltin, is also available at The Bookmart.

At the Book Rack, fans of TV paediatrician and recent Bermuda visitor Dr. T.

Berry Brazelton can buy Touchpoints by the author.

The shop also has the latest Stephen King -- Dolores Claiborne .

For those looking for a heavier dose of African literature, a walk to Court Street and True Reflections is necessary.

On display is a wide range of Maya Angelou's work, as well as plenty of self help literature, including Tapping the Power Within: A Path to Self Empowerment by Iyanda Vazant.

Wild Women Don't Wear No Blues: Black Women Writers on Love, Men and Sex is an intriguing title at the very least, while Ugly Ways by Tina McElroy Ansa, deals with the same subject in fiction.

No Christmas list would be complete without examining what children's books are available. Both major book stores and The Children's Book Shop are well stocked with new works and some old favourites including Babar , Tintin and at the Bermuda Book Store, a re-issue of The Night Before Christmas.

READERS' DELIGHT -- A plentiful supply of foreign books is available locally.

BEST SELLER -- The Guinness Book of Records.