For reasons that I shall never divulge to any living person (unless I do and probably shall do without hesitation), I had to come into possession of a book by Sunday, January 18. But here were the problems: 1) I didn’t know I needed the book until January 13. 2) I, for said reasons given above, couldn’t purchase the book online unless pricing and shipping were reasonable. 3) The book plus shipping even at a reasonable price and date were not doable. 4) The book, called The Typographic Workbook, is not easily found unless you look online.5) There’s a new edition of the book coming out at the end of February, which means all current copies are rare.It was a dilemma similar to the one I found myself back in when I was in high school. As a senior, my teacher sent 80 of her students out in the pre-Amazon days to find a copy of Samuel Becket’s Waiting for Godot. We students searched bookchains, used bookstores and libraries. But, as you can imagine, Waiting for Godot is not so popular a read. So it came down to a battle royale among us classmates–who could find the books first and claim them as their own?I found that I needed to actually do a little searching to find my typographic workbook, which in these post-Amazon days, took a little thinking.First, I tried to see if I could bum it off someone. Nope.Second, I tried to beg for more time. Nope. Third, I called my local Borders and Barnes and Noble. Neither of them had the book in stock, but they would happily order it if I was willing to wait 7 to 9 business days.Not so much.That pretty much ex-ed out all local bookstore options for me.I retreated into solitude to think.Now, I thought, this is Los Angeles. I know their are many chain bookstores and many specialty bookstores. I know there are bookstores for fiction, poetry, comics, mysteries, erotica and comics. I know that I know people who can list five places in which to find books. But I know of only one place that might have the book I’m looking for. However, being that this is the age of technology, why go to the store only to be disappointed?I hopped online and did a search. I found my book. The bookstore in question had it.So on Friday, I bypassed early-weekend traffic and headed down Wilshire to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I planned to step into Hennessey + Ingalls for the first time ever to get my book. (I had called earlier to put it on hold.) I have good and bad memories of bookstores on Third Street Promenade. It used to be the home of Midnight Special, which had awesome book sections like Arabic literature. The local Barnes and Nobles also used to hold a very hip poetry series. I’d seen great and local LA poets like Marvin Bell, David St. John and Dorothy Barresi there. But like the once great indie bookstore, the poetry series is no more.But Hennessey + Ingalls is there. It’s a design and architecture bookstore, which had my book. I parked. I walked in. I bought my book and I left.I guess all adventures can end very simply–like when I found Godot. I was driving down a street when a used bookstore that I’d never visited caught my eye. Within moments of entering, I found a copy in the shelves. But the simplicity never would have come without the search. Instead of pulling a Vladimir and Estragon, it’s always better to search out some solution. Heck, that’s usually how good and necessary books fall into your seeking hands.