Battle of the bookstores.

Whether you're eager to read Tolstoy or Twain, there's a bookstore to oblige. We set out to find out which of the obvious choices--Barnes & Noble, bn.com, Borders, and Amazon.com, which fills online orders for Borders.com--have the best buys, gift cards, and return policies. To assess browse-ability, our reporter also soaked up the ambience (and several lattes) at the walk-in stores.

Prices. Amazon won, with discounts on 21 of the 23 titles we checked, for total savings of 36 percent off list. Barnes & Noble's online store, bn.com, discounted 18 titles, for savings of 19 percent.

Barnes & Noble and Borders representatives told us that prices were generally the same at all the stores in a chain. The Barnes & Noble rep said they're usually higher than online. Indeed. Walk-in stores discounted only a few new releases and best sellers (as per the chains' sales figures); savings were about 5 percent. In most cases, the price gap remained after factoring in online shipping fees and applicable sales tax. We found a $56 difference between Borders and Borders.com for a coffee-table book about orchids (list: $150). On the other hand, in some cases, older books weren't discounted at all.

Service. Borders has self-service kiosks around the store, a big plus if you need to look for a book. At Barnes & Noble, you must ask a clerk for help.

Gift cards. Those from Barnes & Noble and Borders never expire, don't have dormancy or maintenance fees, and are redeemable in stores or online. If you buy a Barnes & Noble card worth more than $200 online, you must pay for air delivery, at $8 to $12. Amazon.com offers gift certificates (shipping is free) that typically expire after two years.

Frequent-buyer clubs. The Borders Rewards program is free. It diverts 5 percent of your calendar-year buys into a holiday ...