More advanced subjects like you've mentioned aren't covered well in books because these issues are very specific to site needs and can be accomplished in many different ways. Help is usually better served by IRC, handbook pages, API documentation, groups.drupal.org or issue queues on drupal.org. 

Books cater more to introductory topics because these topics are straightforward and work better in a narrative format. Specific topics also change rapidly with time; outside of very general information, books have difficulty staying timely.

If you aren't having luck with http://drupal.org/books, you will probably have better luck exploring the channels listed here http://drupal.org/community