Walk into an independent bookstore. Marvel at its coziness.
It's like you're in someone's living room. A living room walled with bookshelves. Maybe there are sofas! Maybe there are chairs with armrests as soft and as fat as two loaves of Wonder Bread.
Sometimes there are several rooms of books. Sometimes there are several floors of books. Sometimes there's a basement or an attic. Exploring an independent bookstore can be an adventure. It feels like you're snooping. Everybody likes to snoop.
When you see someone creating a display table with books that fit a theme (for example: books about scorned lovers for Valentine's Day), say, "Hello."
This is an independent bookseller. An independent bookseller knows all. Maybe she doesn't know all there is to know about what you're looking for — say, perhaps a mystery with a hairdresser for a detective — but she knows someone who does.
Watch! Observe the independent bookseller in her natural habitat. She will lead you to another bookseller who knows about amateur detectives...