I’ve been waiting for years to visit the store that represents punctuation nirvana: The Writer’s Store on Westwood in Los Angeles, California. I can’t believe I was so stupid to set a $50 budget for my visit to a shop that carries not only books, but software, clever mousepads, mugs, famous writer action figures (!!), and yes, the hat that Michael Moore made famous. (I look extremely clever in mine, thank you very much.)

While I crept up and down every single shelf, the-best-husband-in-the-world kept a 2-year old busy in Peanut Butter Playground next door. This elegant children’s shop did such a good job of making my literary pilgrimage stress-free that I feel compelled to give them some sort of plug.

So what did I buy? Well, the hat, of course ($9.95). The Illustrated Elements of Style ($24.95); Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury ($13.95); Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss (hysterically funny at $17.50); a self-hypnosis CD to encourage creativity for writers (surprisingly effective at $19.95); and a variety of other books about punctuation, writing style, and grammar that put my budget not just out of sight, but out of my mind.

To make myself feel less indulgent, I also purchased a couple of clever mousepads for friends that resemble old-fashioned typewriters, and a mousepad that looks like a film clapboard for a certain budding filmmaker that I happen to be related to.

I will be back.