does he still give out tomes or am i just extremely unlucky? i've given him ten mage amulets in the past few days and haven't gotten any. :I

Tomes are still possible, but shards are your greatest possibility. This thread posts a suggestion to offer new alternatives than permanent shards - maybe go throw in another supportive voice?

welp i guess i'm just unlucky then. xD and oh thanks for telling me about it, i'll check it out!

I usually wait until I got a hundred or so and then give them up to the Element Mage. I pretty consistently get Tomes at a rate close to 1 in 6.