In my teens I nearly wore out my local library’s copy of the Terminator 2 Illustrated Screenplay. In the late 90s, on a whim, I went into a B&N that had just been added to the mall where I worked and placed an order, even though I knew it had been long out of print and the likelihood of it ever showing up was near zero.

Around a year later I got a call that my book was in and I could go pick it up. When I arrived, a pristine, new, old-stock copy was waiting for me as if it were still 1991. I still have that book proudly displayed - both the joy of its contents and its discovery will accompany it for the rest of my life.

eBay, Amazon, Shop Goodwill have made this process immensely easier, but I still find joy and thrill in the random second hand store finds.

You still can!

I was interested in a book that went for $120 on Amazon; a local shop ordered for me at $80 instead. It took about a week, so maybe a hair longer than Amazon. Oddly, I found the link directly from the publisher.