A Volume of Topics : * Valley book stores can satisfy a range of literary needs, from advice on the metaphysical to guides for survival.

The literary challenge: how to leaf through the forest of the printed word and harvest the “write stuff.”

To save time on picking tomes, trek straight to one of the San Fernando Valley’s specialty bookstores, which range from the purely pragmatic to the obliquely metaphysical.

* At Survival Books--The Larder in North Hollywood, co-owner Nancy Litwack presents information on surviving life in the urban jungle.

Here, those on the run can bone up on assuming a new identity and escaping the scrutiny of creditors. Care to stand and fight? Pick a volume on handling explosives or the secret ways of the ninja.

Litwack and her husband, Morris, have guided the store through two decades, offering up the grim facts of life and death. “My husband says we have something to offend everyone,” Litwack said with a brief smile.

Consider the explicit content of reference books such as the six-volume set of the “How to Kill” series, which features information on items such as camera guns and poisoned daggers.

“I have qualms,” Litwack said. “I’m concerned that people do not use these books appropriately. But you have to have the privilege to read what you want.”

The original title of the store was simply The Larder, when packaged food was its big menu item. After the L. A. riots, Litwack says, there was a demand for survival foods. And following the recent quake, there was a big run on food, candles, light sticks, emergency checklists and manuals.

A Mormon, Litwack is among those survivalists who believe in stockpiling at least a year’s worth of food for emergencies.

* At Dangerous Visions in Sherman Oaks, manager Arthur Byron Cover and his wife, owner Lydia Marano, both authors, ride herd over a compilation of science fiction, fantasy and horror literature.

Dangerous Visions draws its name from a cutting-edge anthology series edited by science fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who once helped the store in a special promotion--pounding out stories for a solid week while sitting in the display window.

A reader-friendly place with separate nooks containing used books, Dangerous Visions has a couple of chairs that invite browsing, and two canine mascots that invite petting.

The store has experimented with a number of lively events, including authors’ autograph parties.

“The field attracts a wide walk of people,” Cover said. “I had a macho guy come in, a gas station owner. He raved about how (Robert) Heinlein changed his life and made him capable of expressing love.”

* In the non-secular world of Valley Book & Bible, pop culture signposts are everywhere. A poster near the back of the store features a picture of Christian speaker Chuck Swindoll as “Sermonator,” a take-off on “The Terminator” film.

The shop contains books, videos, music cassettes, posters and an upstairs area for church supplies and textbooks.

“Book reading is on a kind of a comeback,” said David Wilke, vice president of the chain of six shops. “There’s a disappointment among parents with all the violence on TV.” Of the two stores in the Valley, the Van Nuys locale, 40 years old, is the main branch; a branch in Canoga Park had to close because of quake damage.

Wilke emphasized that the store contains mostly uplifting material. Self-help books. Twelve-step program information. How to wrest your child from a cult. Even the video games for kids are positive. No Mortal Kombat here.

An adjacent annex contains a full Spanish-language section, with two bilingual employees. Upstairs are church supplies and textbooks.

Among the more popular Christian and inspirational novels are the works of C. S. Lewis.

“With ‘Shadowlands’ out, a lot of people are asking for ‘Surprised by Joy’ (the autobiography on which the movie is based),” Wilke said.

“We sell a lot of books on family issues. A lot of people are hurting, looking for answers. This is a good place to come to find them,” he said.

* On the ground or in the air, Autobooks/Aerobooks in Burbank revs up its twin specialties.

The store, owned by Ron Schroeder, delivers the lowdown on cars, mainly. And last summer, Schroeder expanded the aeronautical section, buying out a neighboring aviation bookstore that took a nose dive.

Pilots, model-builders and enthusiasts come in for the flight stuff, to read up on jets, pick up a pilot’s manual or peruse such pearls as “Disney Dons Dogtags: The Best of Disney Military Insignia From World War II.”

As for the car lore, Schroeder finds that there are two kinds of customers: enthusiasts and those who come in to pick up repair manuals. “Most people can’t afford to own a Ferrari, but they can afford to read about it,” he said.

Among the more popular books on cars are “The Modern Formula 1 Race Car” and “Custom Cars of the 1950s.”

In the spirit of recycling, a corner of the car section offers a few tongue-in-cheek selections, including “The Original Road Kill Cookbook.”

* For lovers of the literature of the visually fantastic, Forbidden Planet in Sherman Oaks presents a cosmos of comic books, toys, books and masks.

With masks of creatures from vintage horror films mounted on the walls, the store looks like the retreat of some particularly successful hunter of the unusual. These movie masks are hung like totems above racks of comic books, the store’s main staple. Both current and back issues are sold.

Assistant manager Joe Masset says comic book titles have proliferated in recent years, with hundreds of different characters and concepts published each month. Many of these comic books swell enormously in value in a very short time.

Comic books are definitely not for kids only. Much of this material is for the over-18 crowd and, yes, they will check your I. D. That’s because there’s a proliferation these days of sex and violence in comics.

“People seem to believe you need shock value to sell a piece of entertainment. But I don’t agree with that,” Masset said.

Still, if it’s classic combat you’re after, check out some of the biggest comic book best sellers, such as Superman, Batman and the X-Men, Masset said.

“Sales for Superman went through the roof when he ‘died’ last year,” he said. The death of Superman, a special series of comics that ended with Superman’s burial, garnered nationwide attention. But breathe easy, Man of Steel fans--Superman was battered but not broken in that epic battle.

* Psychic Eye in Sherman Oaks is the flagship of a chain of growing metaphysical bookstores.

A scent of incense fills the room, which feels more like a sacred temple than a bookstore. The store’s ambience is deliberately cultivated, says Mary Kara, who co-owns the Psychic Eye chain with Robert Leysen.

“We have six rooms for psychic readings,” Kara said.

“The psychics do this full time,” she said, stressing their commitment. “They don’t sell cars during the day.”

The store offers volumes on self-help, comparative religions, co-dependency, angels and sprites, and even lesbian vampire tales.

If the future is your wont, there are more Tarot card decks than you can shake a wand at, and candles of every color and magical persuasion to help manifest your destiny.

Extraterrestrial messages are also popular, represented by books including “Bringers of the Dawn,” revealing teachings of the Pleiadians, a positive E. T. force. (These Pleiadians are not to be confused with the antisocial aliens who allegedly kidnap humans for medical experiments not normally covered by HMOs.)

From Mundane to Magical

Autobooks/Aerobooks, automotive books, manuals, aviation books, pilot supplies, videos. 3524 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. (818) 845-1909. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays.

Dangerous Visions, science fiction, fantasy, horror, magazines. 13563 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 986-6963. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Forbidden Planet, comic books, horror and science-fiction books, toys, movie props, games, videos, magazines. 14513 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 995-0151. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Psychic Eye Bookshops, metaphysical, new age, self-help, psychology, 13435 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 906-8263. Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Survival Books--The Larder, urban and wilderness survival, weapons-military, self-defense, security, 11106 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. (818) 763-0804. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Valley Book & Bible Stores, books, bibles, gifts and music. 6502 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys. (818) 782-6101. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays.