area.  Although they tend to occupy low-rent districts, they exist in virtually every corner  Hollywood, Van Nuys, Thousand Oaks, Silver Lake, Westwood, Glendale  and in dizzying variety.  They cater to chefs (Cook's Library on 3rd Street in L.A.), photographers (Dawson's on Larchmont in L.A.), astrologers and soul-searchers (Bodhi Tree used book annex, on Melrose in West Hollywood). 