A SPECIAL REPORT: BOOKS

KEEPS ON GIVING: A new Gallup survey says 60% of adults most want books as gifts. Mysteries, biographies and cookbooks are tops, with current fiction right behind. . . . But the word isn’t getting around in Orange County, booksellers say. Sales are slow in what should be a busy season. . . . “It’s not dismal, but it’s not great,” says Cathy Dages, manager of Brentano’s in South Coast Plaza. “People are hesitant. They aren’t as extravagant as they have been.”