C TAV I A NOctavia Books’ bi-monthly newsletter for booklovers

THE

December 2015 / January 2016

OCTAVIA BOOKS513 Octavia Street

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and Laurel Streets betweenMagazine and Tchoupitoulas.

Mycroft Holmesby Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Anna WaterhouseWritten by NBAsuperstar KareemAbdul-Jabbar andscreenwriter AnnaWaterhouse, MycroftHolmes reveals theuntold story of Sher-lock’s older brother. Fresh out of CambridgeUniversity, the young Mycroft Holmes is already mak-ing a name for himself in government, working for theSecretary of State for War. When Mycroft follows hisfinancée to Trinidad, where there are rumors of mys-terious disappearances and spirits enticing children totheir deaths, he is drawn into a web of dark secrets thatgrows more treacherous with each step he takes. Thisharrowing adventure changed his life, and set the stagefor the man Mycroft would become: founder of thefamous Diogenes Club and the hidden power behindthe British government. Titan $25.99.

Over the River and Through the Wood: A Holiday Adventureby Linda Ashman,illustrated by Kimberley Smith“Pack up the pooches and load the van.” “We need to leave byeight!” “There’s so much to bring.”“Do we have everything?” “Comeon, we can’t be late!” The classicsong gets a fresh new twist! The funbegins as Grandma and Grandpainvite their far-flung, modern, andmultiracial family to come for theholidays with their favorite pie. Offeveryone goes, by car, by train,

by plane. As eachfamily faces anobstacle that delaystheir trip, they learnthat sometimes themost old-fashionedform of transportationworks best…NEIGH!Sterling Children’s$14.95. Ages 3 and up.

Furiously Happyby Jenny LawsonA hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depres-sion and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. Butterrible ideas are what Jenny does best. FuriouslyHappy is about taking those moments when things arefine and making them amazing, because thosemoments are what make us who we are, and they’rethe same moments we take into battle with us whenour brains declare war on our very existence. It’s thedifference between surviving life and living life. It’sthe difference between taking a shower and teachingyour monkey butler how to shampoo your hair. It’sthe difference between being sane and being furiouslyhappy. Macmillan $26.99.

Gifts for All Ages

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Welcome to the holidays! A timefor warmth, food, family—andbooks of course, because you aresuch an important part of our fam-ily, and the reason we’re here. Wewant our shop to be your home—ahome filled with our shared com-munity, whether you drop in once a

month or come see us every single day. You give us purpose,comfort, and inspiration. So, thank you for being part of OctaviaBooks! We’re glad to be sharing another holiday with you.

We’re also lucky to be part of a vibrant movement of independ-ent booksellers keeping the printed word alive. Being part ofthis group allows us from time to time to gather and see ourbookseller friends from across the country, the next town, oreven right down the street. It’s a great community; we talk,share stories and ideas that bring us closer together and help usmake our own bookstores even better. We’re a family who sup-ports each other, because we all want the same thing: to handyou the book you’ve been waiting for.

We want to share with you some of the books we’re most excitedabout, coming just in time for the holiday season: picture booksand murder mysteries, coloring books and biographies. Wehope you find your perfect books in these pages. And if youdon’t, let us know, and we’ll find them for you.

You’ll also see, in these pages, some wonderful author eventsthroughout the holiday season. We hope you’ll be able toattend.

Happy holidays! We look forward to seeing you soon at OctaviaBooks.

Dear Booklover,

From James Wilson:Under Tiberiusby Nick ToshcesThe story of the man that came to be knownas Jesus as told by Gaius Fulvius Falconius,speechwriter for Emperor Tiberius. WithGauis as speechwriter, and Jesus as frontman, they devise a scheme to extract untoldriches by convincing the masses that Jesus isthe Messiah. Toshces weaves the Gospelnarrative ingeniously within Gauis’ memoir.Dark, blasphemous, profound, and certain-ly not for the faint of heart. Little Brownand Co. $26.

May We Recommend …

LOCAL FLAVORSLongue Vue House and Gardensby Charles Davey, Carol McMichael Reese, Tina FreemanLongue Vue House and Gardens: The Architecture, Interiors, andGardens of New Orleans’ Most Celebrated Estate showcases the stun-ning interiors and gardens of New Orleans’s architectural masterpiece.An historic landmark, Longue Vue was designed and built for EdgarBloom and Edith Rosenwald Stern, New Orleans’s foremost mid-twentieth-century philanthropists and civil-rights activists. Lush pho-tography, drawings, and an informative text establish the estate as anenduring symbol to its creators’ contributions to building a just society.Skira Rizolli $65.

Talking New Orleans Musicby Burt Feintuch, photographs by Gary SamsonIn Talking New Orleans Music: Crescent City Musicians Talk aboutTheir Lives, Their Music, and Their City, Burt Feintuch pursues hisdecades-long fascination with the music of this singular city.Thinking about the devastation caused by the levee failures, hebegan a series of conversations with master New Orleans musi-cians, talking about their lives, the cultural contexts of their music,their experiences during and after Katrina, and their city. Univ.Press of Mississippi $40.

Five Seasonsby Erin Nugent and Lauren Beth LandryForward by Chef John FolseLouisiana’s seasons are defined by food and festivities. Spring is syn-onymous with crawfish, strawberries, and festivals like Mardi Gras. InSummertime, barbecues, seafood, and sun-ripened tomatoes abound.With Autumn comes tailgating, pecans, and rich leafy greens. Winterbrings root vegetables, citrus, and wild game to the forefront just intime for the holidays. And then there’s the Fifth Season, full of year-round favorites. Regardless of what’s being harvested, let Five Seasons:A Guide to Seasonal Cooking inspire you to get cooking! Five Seasons$39.95.

Building the Land of Dreamsby Eberhard L. FaberIn 1795, New Orleans was a sleepy outpost at the edge of Spain’sAmerican empire. By the 1820s, it was teeming with life, its leveespacked with cotton and sugar; New Orleans had become the urbancapital of the antebellum South. Looking at this remarkable periodfilled with ideological struggle, class politics, and powerful personali-ties, Building the Land of Dreams: New Orleans and the Transformationof Early America is the narrative biography of a fascinating city at themost crucial turning point in its history. Princeton Univ. Press $35.

New Orleans Neighborhoodsby Maggy BaccinelliWhere y’at? In New Orleans, this simple question can yield hundredsof answers. People on the same block might say that they live in PigeonTown, Pension Town, or Carrollton, but they have surely all dancedtogether at the neighborhood’s Easter Sunday second-line. In anexploration that weaves together history, culture, and resident stories,New Orleans Neighborhoods: A Cultural Guide captures New Orleans’neighborhood identities from the Mississippi River to LakePontchartrain. The History Press $21.99.

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Alice in Bedby Judith Hooper“Arm yourself against my dawn, which may at any momentcast you and Harry into obscurity,” Alice James writes herbrother William in 1891. In Judith Hooper’s magnificentnovel, zingers such as this fly back and forth between theendlessly articulate and letter-writing Jameses, all of whomare geniuses at gossiping. No one knows what’s wrong withAlice, though her brothers have inventive theories, and thebest of medical science offers no help. So, with Alice in bed,

we travel to London and Paris, where the James children spent part of their unusu-al childhood. Counterpoint $25.

The Japanese Loverby Isabel AllendeIn 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis,young Alma Belasco falls in love with Ichimei Fukuda, thequiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener.Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two arecruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family are declaredenemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run bythe United States government. Sweeping through time andspanning generations and continents, The Japanese Loverexplores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption,and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Atria $28.

The Gap of Timeby Jeanette WintersonIn Jeanette Winterson’s retelling of Shakespeare’s TheWinter’s Tale, we move from London, a city reeling after the2008 financial crisis, to a storm-ravaged American city calledNew Bohemia. Her story is one of childhood friendship,money, status, technology, and the elliptical nature of time.Written with energy and wit, this is a story of the consumingpower of jealousy on the one hand, and redemption and theenduring love of a lost child on the other. Hogarth $25.

The Boysby Toni SalaThe Catalonian village of Vidreres has been ravaged byrecession, and now two of its young men have died in a hor-rible car crash. A banker named Ernest heads to the treewhere they died, trying to make sense of the tragedy. Therehe meets a brutish trucker who has taken a liking to Iona,the fiancée of one of the dead boys. Long known as one ofSpain’s most powerful authors, Toni Sala is at his mischie-vous best here, delivering a sinister, fast-moving tale lacedwith intricate meditations on everything from social net-works to our mysterious end. Two Lines $14.95.

Provocative New FictionGood Night, Mr. Wodehouseby Faith SullivanWhen her boorish husband dies soon after they move to asmall town in Minnesota, Nell Stillman is alone, penniless, yetresponsible for her baby boy. Not an easy fate in small-townAmerica at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the faceof nearly insurmountable odds, Nell finds strength in lastingfriendships and in the rich inner life awakened by the novelsshe loves. She falls in love with a charming congressman,teaches at the local school, and becomes a confidant to manyof the girls in town. And no matter how difficult her day, Nellends each evening with a beloved book. Milkweed $26.

Ball: Storiesby Tara Ison Ball is the thrilling and emotionally provocative debut collec-tion of short fiction by the acclaimed author of the novelsRockaway and A Child Out of Alcatraz. In Ball, Ison exploresthe darker edges of love and sex and death—how they areintimately and often violently connected—with bright, vividstories set mostly in contemporary Los Angeles. With a keeninsight into the edges of human behavior and an assured lit-erary hand, Ball is the new book by one of the West’s mostprovocative stylists. Soft Skull $15.95.

After Aliceby Gregory MaguireWhen Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, shefound a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abra-sive egos as the world she left behind. But what of thatworld? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice’s disappear-ance? In this brilliant new work of fiction, Gregory Maguireturns his dazzling imagination to the question of under-worlds, undergrounds, underpinnings, and understandingsold and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll’s enduringtale. William Morrow $26.99.

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A reader lives a thousand livesbefore he dies. The man whonever reads lives only one.

— George R.R. Martin

Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal

Pretty Girlsby Karin SlaughterClaire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta million-aire; Lydia, a single mother dating an ex-con, struggles tomake ends meet. But neither has recovered from the disap-pearance of their sister Julia two decades earlier, and theshocking murder of Claire’s husband brings the horror andheartbreak of the past roaring back into their lives. Thevanishing of a teenage girl and the killing of a middle-agedman, almost a quarter-century apart: What could connectthem? William Morrow $25.99.

Lost Souls: A Thrillerby Seth PatrickAble to wake the recently dead for testimony that is accept-ed in courts worldwide, the use of revivers has become aroutine part of police investigation. Despite his troubledpast, Jonah Miller is one of the best. But while reviving thevictim of a brutal murder, he encounters a terrifying pres-ence. Something is watching. Waiting. When long-hiddensecrets are uncovered, Jonah is forced to come to a chillingconclusion: an ancient evil is coming, and Jonah may be allthat stands in its way. Thomas Dunne $26.99.

Departureby A.G. Riddle En route to London from New York, Flight 305 suddenlyloses power and crash-lands in the English countryside,plunging a group of strangers into a mysterious adventurethat will have repercussions for all of humankind.Struggling to stay alive, the survivors soon realize that theworld they’ve crashed in is very different from the one theyleft. But where are they? And how will they get back home?As they begin to piece together the truth, they discover theyhave the power to change the future and the past to saveour world or end it. Voyager $21.99.

The Mulberry Bushby Charles McCarryIn a rose garden in Buenos Aires, an unnamed Americanspy meets the beautiful daughter of a famous Argentineanrevolutionary. But he is no ordinary spy; unbeknownst tohis lenient handlers, he is loyal to a hidden agenda: toavenge his father, who was laughed out of Headquartersmany years before. In the sultry young Argentinean, the spythinks he has found an ally. As his path becomes furtherentwined with hers, the spy finds himself caught in a per-ilous web of passions, affiliations, and lies spanning threecontinents back to the Cold War. Mysterious Press $26.

Thrills and Chills Imagining History

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All the Stars in the Heavensby Adriana Trigiani In this spectacular saga as radiant, thrilling, and beguiling asHollywood itself, Adriana Trigiani takes us back to TinselTown’s golden age—an era as brutal as it was resplendent—and into the complex and glamorous world of a young actresshungry for fame and success. With meticulous, beautifuldetail, Trigiani paints a rich, historical landscape of 1930s LosAngeles, where European and American artisans flocked topursue the ultimate dream: to tell stories on the silver screen.Harper $26.99.

Thanksgivingby Mary Arno New Orleans, Summer 1965: Playing girl detectives, Peg andEmmaline hitchhike to the Winn-Dixie, where Emmalinehopes to find her runaway sister. Emmaline’s brother lurkson the edges of their toxic, disjointed family. Meanwhile,Mimi catches the measles at her family’s summer cottage.Sent home with the family’s housekeeper, she gets a taste forgrown-up adventure and a glimpse of the compromises anddeceit that come with it. As seasons and years go by, each ofthe four must come to terms with what happened that sum-mer. Koehler $12.95.

Girl Waits with Gunby Amy Stewart Constance Kopp towers over most men, has no interest inmarriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from theworld since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hidingfifteen years ago. When a belligerent and powerful silk facto-ry owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damagesturns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats, the sheriffenlists her help in convicting the men. Constance is forced toconfront her past and defend her family in a way that fewwomen of 1914 would have dared. Houghton MifflinHarcourt $27.

Twain & Stanley Enter Paradiseby Oscar HijuelosPulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos creates a lumi-nous work of fiction inspired by the real-life, 37-year friend-ship between two towering figures of the late nineteenth cen-tury, famed writer and humorist Mark Twain and legendaryexplorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley. The resulting novel is arichly woven tapestry of people and events, ingeniouslyblending correspondence, memoir, and third-person omnis-cience to explore the intersection of these Victorian giants ina long vanished world. Grand Central $28.

Hot New Picks in YAUngodlyby Kendare BlakeAs ancient immortals are left reeling, a modern Athenaand Hermes search the world for answers in Ungodly, thefinal Goddess War novel by Kendare Blake. Athena’s care-fully planned assault on Olympus left her team beaten andscattered and possibly dead. But all is not lost. Hermes isstill topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before heruns out of time and submits to his death. And Cassandrais up there too, on a quest for death, with the god of deathhimself. But they haven’t lost. They’ve only mostly lost.And there’s a big difference. Tor $17.99.

The Anatomical Shape of a Heartby Jenn BennettArtist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending thesummer before her senior year. Determined to follow inDa Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thingthat will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsoredscholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when shetries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body pro-gram and misses the last metro train home, she meets aboy who turns her summer plans upside down. Jack ischarming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of SanFrancisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. Feiwel andFriends $17.99.

Carry Onby Rainbow RowellRainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries in this epicfantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simonand Baz from her bestseller Fangirl. Simon Snow is a terri-ble Chosen One according to his roommate, Baz. And Bazmight be an evil vampire and “complete git,” but he’s prob-ably right. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend brokeup with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster wearingSimon’s face. Baz would love all this, but in their last yearat the Watford School of Magicks, Simon’s nemesis didn’teven show up. Simon and Schuster $19.99.

All the Major Constellationsby Pratima CranseAndrew is leaving high school behind and looking ahead toa fresh start at college and distance from his not-so-secretinfatuation: Laura Lettel. But when a terrible accidentleaves him without the companionship of his two bestfriends, Andrew is cast adrift and alone until Laura unex-pectedly offers him comfort, friendship, and the support ofa youth group of true believers, fundamentalist Christianswith problems and secrets of their own. But is Laura gen-uinely interested in Andrew, or is she just trying to converthim? Viking for Young Readers $17.99.

An Inheritance of Ashesby Leah BobetThe strange war down south with its rumors of gods andmonsters is over. And while sixteen-year-old Hallie and hersister wait to see who will return from the distant battle-field, they struggle to maintain their family farm. WhenHallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home inways no one could have imagined, and soon Hallie is takingdangerous risks and keeping desperate secrets. But whilemonsters and armies are converging on the small farm, thegreatest threat to her home may be Hallie herself. Clarion$17.99.

Winterby Marissa MeyerPrincess Winter despises her stepmother, and knows QueenLevana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhoodfriend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’tas weak as Levana believes her to be; together with herallies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revo-lution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long. CanCinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and findtheir happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss thisthrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer’s national bestsellingLunar Chronicles series. Feiwel and Friends $22.99.

Da Vinci’s Tigerby Laura ElliotIn fifteenth-century Florence, the dashing Venetian ambas-sador commissions young Leonardo da Vinci to paint a por-trait of his Platonic love, Ginevra de’Benci, a well-educated,teenaged poet in a passionless marriage. Posing for the bril-liant painter inspires an intimate connection between them,one Ginevra only begins to understand. In a rich and vividworld of exquisite art with a dangerous underbelly of deadlypolitical feuds, Ginevra faces many challenges to discoverlove, her voice, and artistic companionship. KatherineTegan Books $17.99.

It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired, and Get Going!by Chelsea ClintonIn a book that tackles the biggest challenges facing us today,Chelsea Clinton combines facts, charts, photographs, andstories to give readers a deep understanding of the worldaround them and how anyone can make a difference. Withstories about children and teens who have made realchanges big and small in their families, their communities,in our country, and across the world, this book will inspirereaders of all ages to do their part to make our world a bet-ter place. Philomel $18.99.

5Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal

Tales for TotsLost. Found.by Marsha Diane ArnoldOn a wintry day, a bear loses his soft red scarf. Thewind carries it *whoosh* to a pair of raccoons whouse it to play tug-o-war. When they run off, a beaverdons the scarf as the perfect winter hat—until it getstangled on a tree branch. The scarf is lost and foundby a series of animals, including a fox and a couple ofrascally squirrels. When all the animals lay claim tothe scarf at once, calamity ensues that can only befixed by a bear, a little patience, and friendship, in thisnearly wordless, clever picture book. Macmillan$16.99. Ages 3-6.

The Whisper by Pamela ZagarenskiStep inside the pages of a little girl’s magical book asshe discovers the profound and inspiring notion thatwe each bring something different to the same story.Two-time Caldecott Honor artist Pamela Zagarenskidebuts as an author in this tender picture book aboutthe joy of reading. As the little girl creates her ownstories for each picture, “readers join in, captivated bya series of spellbinding illustrations whose strange-ness, recurring imagery… and downright beauty begfor unbridled storytelling.”— Kirkus Reviews.Houghton Mifflin $17.99. Ages 4-7.

Zen Socks by Jon MuthThe wisdom of Zen in an exciting new book byCaldecott honoree Jon Muth! Leo and Molly lovetheir new neighborhood. Best of all is their friendStillwater, a giant panda who lives across the way.And the three friends are quite a team! Stillwaterteaches Molly about patience. Leo teaches Stillwaterabout sharing. And Molly shows how one act of kind-ness can make a world of difference. Jon Muth’swarm, compassionate stories and light-filled picturesare tinged with the wisdom of Zen. Scholastic $17.99.Ages 8-12.

Is It Hanukkah Yet? by Chris Barash“When glitter and paper are spread on the floors,and we hang decorations on windows and doors…Hanukkah is on its way. When cousins come over tostir, fry, and bake, the applesauce, latkes, and cook-ies we’ll make… Hanukkah is on its way.” Fromsnow on the ground to making applesauce andlatkes to lighting the menorah, this charming, lyri-cal story shows the seasonal and traditional ways weknow Hanukkah is coming. Albert Whitman andCo. $16.99. Ages 4-7.

Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!by Doreen CroninSanta comes to the barnyard in this holiday additionto the award-winning Click, Clack series. It’s thenight before Christmas and all through the farm, nota creature is stirring, not even a... duck? FarmerBrown is busy decorating his home for Christmas.All seems calm in the barnyard, but Farmer Brownisn’t the only one getting ready... Ho Ho OH NO!Once again, Duck has gotten the whole barnyardSTUCK in quite a predicament! Will anyone be able to un-stuck Duck andsave Christmas? Simon & Schuster $17.99. Ages 4-8.

Miracle on 133rd Streetby Sonia ManzanoSonia Manzano (known as Maria on Sesame Street)and two-time Caldecott Honor-recipient MarjoriePriceman have cooked up a Christmas tale abouthow the simplest things—like the tantalizing smelland sharing of Christmas dinner—can become a hol-iday miracle. Mami has bought a roast for aChristmas feast, but it’s too big to fit in the oven! Asthe family goes in search of an oven large enough, the magical scent of din-ner begins to spread, and holiday cheer manifests in ways most unexpected.Simon & Schuster $17.99. Ages 4-8.

Harry Potter: the Coloring BookPacked with stunning pieces of artwork from the WarnerBros. archive, this deluxe coloring book gives fans thechance to color in the vivid settings and beloved charac-ters of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. Containing intri-cate line drawings used in the making of the Harry Potterfilms, this coloring book includes fan-favorite scenes,creatures, and characters. Pair this with the illustratedversion of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for theperfect holiday fandom gift. Scholastic $15.99.

The Big Book of Hacks forMinecrafters by Megan MillerWith more than 100 million registered Minecraftaccounts and rights picked up by Warner Brothers foran action-adventure film, the open-ended online build-ing game Minecraft is exploding like one of its creep-ers. Packed with expert tips, cheats, and hacks on build-ing, fighting, farming, mining, and more, this handbookshows how the experts bring their amazing structures tolife and fight every type of mob. Illustrated guides willlet kids follow along with step-by-step tips to master theMinecrafting world. Sky Pony Press $24.99. Ages 7-12.6

FANDOM FIESTA!

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magicby Lisa PapademetriouAuthor of the popular middle grade seriesConfectionately Yours, Lisa Papademetriou offers a mag-ical, page-turning adventure—a touching tale about theinvisible threads that link us all to one another. Two girlson opposite sides of planet each discover a copy of ablank book called The Exquisite Corpse. As each girlwrites in her copy, the words magically appear in theother’s. And as the two take turns writing, the taleunfolds, connecting both girls to each other and to thepast. HarperCollins $16.99. Ages 8-12.

The Rosemary Spellby Virginia ZimmermanPart mystery, part Shakespearian literary puzzle, partlife-and-death quest, and chillingly magical, this novelhas plenty of suspense for adventure fans and is a treatfor readers who love books, words, and clues. Bestfriends Rosie and Adam find a magical book with a poemthat has the power to make people vanish, even frommemory. When Adam’s sister, Shelby, disappears, theystruggle to retain memories of her as they race againsttime to bring her back from the void, risking their lives inthe process. Clarion $16.99. Ages 10-12.

Magnus Chase by Rick RiordanFans of Percy Jackson, get ready! Because Rick Riordanis back, spinning an exciting tale of humans and godswith a funny and modern-day twist—only this time, it’snot Greek gods, but Norse. Magnus Chase is a troubledkid, living on the streets of Boston ever since his mother’sdeath. But when he discovers he’s actually the son of aNorse god and then dies protecting his city, the gates ofValhalla open to him, and a new chapter begins. Becausesometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.Disney-Hyperion $19.99. Ages 13-17.

Kids, Tweens, and TeensUpside-Down Magicby Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle,Emily JenkinsFrom NYT bestselling authors Sarah Mlynowski, LaurenMyracle, and Emily Jenkins comes a new, offbeat seriesabout a group of misfits who set out to prove that life on theother side of ordinary has its charms. Nory, Elliott, Andres,and Bax all attend Dunwiddle Magic School’s Upside-Down Magic class. In their classroom, lessons are uncon-ventional, students are unpredictable, and magic has a ten-dency to turn wonky at the worst possible moments. It’salways amazing, the trouble a little wonky magic cancause…. Scholastic $14.99. Ages 8-12.

Crenshaw by Katherine ApplegateIn her first novel since Newbery winner The One and OnlyIvan, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable storyabout family, friendship, and resilience. Jackson and hisfamily have fallen on hard times. There’s no more moneyfor rent. And not much for food. His parents, little sister,and dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshawis a large, outspoken, and imaginary cat, who has come backinto Jackson’s life. But is an imaginary friend enough tosave this family from losing everything? Macmillan $16.99.Ages 8-12.

Sandrider by Angie SageTod’s story races on in this second book in the TodHunterMoon trilogy, a spinoff of the popular Septimus Heap series,and perfect for fans of Harry Potter or Brandon Mull’sFablehaven. Taking place seven years after the events of theoriginal Septimus Heap stories, TodHunter Moon tells thestory of Alice TodHunter Moon, a young PathFinder with a Magyk all her own. In this installment, Tod sets out on ajourney that will test not only her Magykal and PathFindingskills but her friendships, too. HarperCollins $17.99. Ages 8-12.

Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal

Sherlock: the Mind Palace: a Coloring BookAdventureby Mike CollinsWhile your Benedict Cumberbatch fanswait for the new Sherlock Victorian eraspecial, give them a little creative timewith the characters and scenes from theshow, with this fun, sleuth-y coloring

book, filled with detailed line drawings from the BBCseries. Better yet—host a Sherlock fan coloring party!Harper Design $14.99. 7

STAR WARSA New Hope by Alexandra Braken

The Empire Strikes Back by Adam Gidwitz

Return of the Jedi by Tom AnglebergerIn preparation for the December release of the new Star Wars film,three authors offer illustrated retellings of the original Star Wars sto-ries. In A New Hope: the Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farmboy,Alexandra Braken offers a deeper look into Princess Leah, Han Solo,and Luke Skywalker. Adam Gidwitz adds some additional scenes andcomedy in The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to be a Jedi?. And inReturn of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side, TomAngleberger brings his trademark humor made famous in theOrigami Yoda series. Each title: Disney Lucasfilm $17.99. Ages 8-12.

Moriartyby Anthony HorowitzDays after the encounter at the Swiss waterfall that claimedthe lives of Sherlock Holmes and criminal mastermindProfessor Moriarty, Pinkerton detective agent FrederickChase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a devot-ed student of Holmes’s methods of investigation and deduc-tion, must track down a sinister figure who is determined tostake his claim as Moriarty’s successor. Harper Perennial$15.99

The First Bad Manby Miranda JulyWhen Cheryl’s bosses ask if their twenty-one-year-old daugh-ter, Clee, can move into her house for a little while, Cheryl’seccentrically ordered world explodes. And yet it is Clee—theselfish, cruel blond bombshell—who bullies Cheryl into realityand, unexpectedly, provides her the love of a lifetime. Tender,gripping, slyly hilarious, infused with raging sexual obsessionand fierce maternal love, Miranda July’s first novel confirmsher as a spectacularly original, iconic, and important voicetoday, and a writer for all time. Scribner $16.

The Paying Guestsby Sarah WatersIt is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillu-sioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demandingchange. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa,a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and evenservants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverishedwidow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, areobliged to take in lodgers. With the arrival of Lilian and

Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the clerk class, the routines of thehouse will be shaken up in life-shattering ways. Riverhead $16.

Gutenberg’s Apprenticeby Alix ChristieAn enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the mostmomentous events in history—the birth of printing inmedieval Germany—a story of invention, intrigue, andbetrayal, rich in atmosphere and historical detail, toldthrough the lives of the three men who made it possible.Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of pro-fessional success as a scribe in Paris when his foster father,wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, summonshim home to corrupt, feud-plagued Mainz to meet a mostamazing man. Harper Perennial $15.99.

Wolf in White Vanby John DarnielleAs the creator of “Trace Italian,” a text-based role-playinggame that’s played through the mail, Sean guides subscribersthrough his intricately imagined terrain as they search outsanctuary in a ravaged, savage future America. But when two teenaged seekers of the Trace take their play outside thegame, disaster strikes, and Sean is called on to account for it.In the process, he is pulled back through time, toward the beginning and the climax: the moment of his own self-inflicted departure from the world in which most people live.Picador $16.

Leviathan Wakesby James S. A. CoreyThis book is the basis for the first season of The Expanse, aSyfy Original series coming December, 2015. Two hundredyears after migrating into space, mankind is in turmoil. Whena reluctant ship’s captain and washed-up detective find them-selves involved in the case of a missing girl, what they discoverbrings our solar system to the brink of civil war and exposesthe greatest conspiracy in human history. Orbit $16.99.

New in Paperback

8

Put Some Color in Your LifeGet in touch with your inner child, and discover

the calming world of adult coloring books

The Candy Crush Adult Coloring Book

Grand Central $14.99

The Little Book of Coloring

for Calmby Madonna Gauding

Ilex Press $9.99

Musical Lives Yesterday and TodaySam Phillipsby Peter GuralnikThe author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographyLast Train to Memphis brings us Sam Phillips: The Man WhoInvented Rock and Roll, the visionary genius who singlehanded-ly brought the world artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, IkeTurner, Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. Withextensive interviews and firsthand personal observationsextending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Recordsartists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait ofan American original. Little, Brown $32.

Petty: The Biographyby Warren ZanesBorn in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly inhis blood, Tom Petty was a kid without a whole lot of promise.Rock and roll made it otherwise. From meeting Elvis, to seeingthe Beatles on Ed Sullivan, to producing Del Shannon, backingBob Dylan, putting together a band with George Harrison,Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne, making records withJohnny Cash, and sending well more than a dozen of his owncelebrated recordings high onto the charts, Tom Petty’s storyhas all the drama of a rock and roll epic. Henry Holt $30.

Sinatra: The Chairmanby James KaplanIn 2010s Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan, in rich, distinctive,compulsively readable prose, told the story of Frank Sinatra’smeteoric rise to fame, subsequent failures, and reinvention asa star of live performance and screen. The story of “Ol’ BlueEyes” continues just in time for the legendary performer’s100th birthday in Sinatra: The Chairman. In this sequel, Kaplanpicks up the day after Frank claimed his Academy Award in1954 and reestablished himself as the top recording artist inmusic. Doubleday $35.

Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Inkby Elvis CostelloUnfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink is a master’s catalog ofa lifetime of great music. Costello tells the stories and experi-ences behind such beloved songs as “Alison,” “Accidents WillHappen,” and “Watching the Detectives.” Costello chronicleshis musical apprenticeship; a child’s view of his father RossMacManus’ career on radio and in the dancehall; his ownalmost comical first steps in folk clubs and cellar dives beforehis sessions for Stiff Record; the formation of the Attractions;and his frenetic and notorious third U.S. tour. Blue RiderPress $30.

A Just and Generous Nationby Harold Holzer and Norton Garfinkle Lincoln firmly believed that the government’s primary role wasto ensure that all Americans had the opportunity to bettertheir station in life. He funded railroads and canals, supportededucation, and, most importantly, issued the EmancipationProclamation, which opened the door for former slaves to joinwhite Americans in striving for self-improvement. A Just andGenerous Nation reestablishes Lincoln’s legacy as the protec-tor not just of personal freedom but of the American dreamitself. Basic $27.99.

History’s Peopleby Margaret MacMillanInternationally acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan givesher own personal selection of figures of the past, some famousand some little-known, who stand out for her. Some havechanged the course of history and even directed the currents oftheir times. Others are memorable for being risk-takers,adventurers, or observers. She looks at the concept of leader-ship, daring risk-takers who stubbornly went their own ways,and dreamers, explorers, and adventurers. House of Anansi$24.95.

City of Thornsby Ben RawlenceRawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to showwhat life is like in a Kenyan refugee camp and to sketch thewider political forces that keep the refugees trapped there.Rawlence combines intimate storytelling with broad socio-political investigative journalism. Lucid, vivid, and illuminat-ing, City of Thorns is an urgent human story with deep interna-tional repercussions, brought to life through the people whocall Dadaab home. Picador $26.

The Riftby Alex PerryAfrica has long been misunderstood and abused by outsiders.Correspondent Alex Perry traveled the continent for most of adecade, meeting with entrepreneurs and warlords, professorsand cocaine smugglers, presidents and jihadis. Beginning witha devastating investigation into a largely unreported war crime,he finds Africa at a moment of furious self-assertion. To finallywin their freedom, Africans must confront three last falseprophets—Islamists, dictators, and aid workers—who wouldkeep them in their bonds. Little Brown $30.

9Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal

Suspicious Mindsby Ben BrothertonIn Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories,Brotherton points out that conspiracy theorists aren’t justpeople who wear tin-foil hats and encounter aliens. Infact, conspiracy theories are as likely to appeal to womenas to men, college students as to professors, middle-classbloggers as to blue-collar workers. Our brains are wiredto weave unrelated data points into complex stories. Wesee events as human motives, leading us to discount therole of chance, and we look for a hidden hand behind cat-astrophic events. Bloomsbury $27.

Dark Matter and the Dinosaursby Lisa RandallIn this brilliant and fresh exploration of our cosmic envi-ronment, Professor Randall explains the underlying sci-ence of our world in the breathtaking tale of a Universein which the small and the large, the visible and the hid-den are intimately related. Dark Matter and theDinosaurs illuminates the deep relationships that arecritical to our world as well as the astonishing beauty ofthe structures and connections that surround us. It’simpossible to read this book and look at either Earth orsky again in the same way. Ecco $29.99.

The End of Memoryby Jay IngramFor centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer’s diseasehave suffered its debilitating effects while family mem-bers sit by, watching their loved ones disappear a littlemore each day until the person they used to know is goneforever. An illuminating biography of “the plague of thetwenty-first century” and scientists’ efforts to understandand, they hope, prevent it, The End of Memory is a bookfor those who want to find out the true story behind anaffliction that courses through families and wreaks havocon the lives of millions. Thomas Dunne $26.99.

Rescuing Jesusby Deborah Jian LeeGenerational changes and a shifting racial make-up aretransforming the evangelical movement and pushing it ina more progressive direction. A young and diverse arrayof people on this leading edge of progressive evangeli-calism—LGBTQ and straight; white, black, Asian,Hispanic, and indigenous—are working to wrest politicalpower away from conservatives. With empathy, journal-istic rigor, and powerful storytelling, Lee unpacks thediverse and complex strands of this movement and whatit means for the rest of us. Beacon $26.95.

After Buddhismby Stephen BatchelorSome twenty-five centuries after the Buddha startedteaching, his message continues to inspire people acrossthe globe, including those living in predominantly secularsocieties. What does it mean to adapt religious practicesto secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an international-ly known author and teacher, is committed to a secular-ized version of the Buddha’s teachings. The time hascome, he feels, to articulate a coherent ethical, contem-plative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for ourage. Yale $28.50.

Best American Essays 2015Edited by Ariel LevyWriting an essay is like catching a wave, posits guest edi-tor Ariel Levy. To catch a wave, you need skill and nerve,not just moving water. This year’s writers are certainlyfull of nerve, and have crafted a wide range of piecesawash in a diversity of moods, voices, and stances.Leaving an abusive marriage, parting with a younger self,losing your sanity to Fitbit, and even saying goodbye to abeloved pair of pants imbued with meaning are all uni-fied by the daring of their creation. As Levy notes, writ-

ing around an idea you think is worthwhile—an idea you suspect is an insight—requires real audacity. Mariner $14.95.

What the Eye Hearsby Brian SeibertThe first authoritative history of tap dancing, one of thegreat American art forms. Tap is both dancing to musicand dancing as music. Brian Seibert’s magisterial historyilluminates tap’s complex origins and its theatricalizationin blackface minstrelsy. He charts tap’s growth in thevaudeville circuits and nightclubs of the early twentiethcentury, chronicles its spread to ubiquity on Broadwayand in Hollywood, analyzes its post-World War IIdecline, and celebrates its reinvention by new genera-tions of American and international performers. Farrar,Straus, Giroux $35.

Exploring the World Around Us

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Writers have to have a knack for listen-ing. I need to be able to hear what isbeing said to me by the voices I create.

— Jeanette Winterson

— continued from back page —

Upcoming Events at Octavia BooksOCTAVIA BOOKS SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB

Second Saturday at 10:30 am

Saturday Dec 12, 10:30 amEmbassytown by China MievilleIn the far future, humans have colonized a distant planet, home to theenigmatic Ariekei, sentient beings famed for a language unique in the uni-verse. Avice Benner Cho cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is anindelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a livingsimile in their language. When distant political machinations deliver a newambassador to Arieka, Avice is torn between competing loyalties: to a hus-band she no longer loves, to a system she no longer trusts, and to her placein a language she cannot speak but which speaks through her, whether shelikes it or not. Del Rey Books $16.

Saturday Jan 9, 2016, 10:30 amWool by Hugh HoweyIn a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo under-ground, where men and women live in a society full of regulations. SheriffHolston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpect-edly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside. An unlikelycandidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no train-ing in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about tobe entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly herworld is broken. Simon & Schuster $15.99.

OCTAVIA BOOKS BOOK CLUBThird Saturday at 10:30 am

December — No meeting. Enjoy the holiday season!

Saturday Jan 16, 2016, 10:30 amThe Magic Mountain by Thomas MannHans Castorp resides at the International Sanatorium Berghof, where, tohis surprise and secret delight, he will remain for seven years—removedfrom the “real” world, but drawn into the sanatorium’s society, a micro-cosm for Western civilization on the eve of the First World War. Floodedwith feeling, disease, the natural world, and inklings of the supernatural,The Magic Mountain is equally remarkable for Mann’s exploration of the“flatland time” of healthy people and the “inelastic present” of the peoplefor whom illness is a lifelong career. Vintage $19.

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

BOOK CLUBS

CARLY HALLMAN & CATE DICHARRYIn ConversationYear of the GooseThe Fine Art of Fucking UpWednesday, January 6, 6 pm Join Carly Hallman and Cate Dicharry foran evening of conversation about their nov-els. Year of the Goose comes out of theabsurdist satirical tradition of Mo Yan—ahard-hitting yet whimsical portrayal ofChina’s new “tycoon culture.” And The FineArt of Fucking Up is Cate Dicharry’s debutnovel—a painfully hysterical examination ofwhat is truly worth saving, and masteringthe art of letting go. Each title: TheUnnamed Press $16.

JUYANNE JAMESThe Persimmon Trail and Other StoriesThursday, January 14, 6 pm

In the seventeen stories of this debut collec-tion, James has written a thoroughly eclectic,lyrical collection of stories that speaks to theAfrican American tradition, depicting life inNew Orleans and rural Louisiana. JuyanneJames grew up on a farm in southeastLouisiana; she left at seventeen to join theUS Navy. After holding a number of oddjobs (such as over-the-road truck driver), shereturned to Louisiana to write and teach.Her fiction has been nominated for aPushcart Prize. Broken Levee Books $15.

KAREN MARIEMONINGFeverbornBook Signing at Le Pavillon Hotel,New OrleansMonday, January 18, 9 amJoin Octavia Books at Le Pavillon Hotelwhen #1 NYT bestselling author KarenMarie Moning returns for another spectacu-

lar launch party for her much anticipated new novel, Feverborn. Inthis latest installment of the epic Fever series, Mac, Barrons,Ryodan, and Jada are back—and the stakes have never been higherand the chemistry has never been hotter! To attend this signing, youmust purchase Feverborn through Octavia Books in the store oronline at octaviabooks.com/feverborn. Delacorte $28.

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Created exclusively for Octavia Books byTom Varisco designs,these stylish new shirtsare available now for$20 each. The OctaviaBooks logo is on theback side.

TODD MOUTONWay Down in LouisianaWednesday, December 2, 6 pmNot only will author Todd Mouton be here to discuss andsign his book, but double Grammy-winning guitarist andvocalist David Doucet of the band BeauSoleil will performa few acoustic Cajun tunes as part of the presentation. Thisbook is about the mysteries of the soul—and the magicborn when you make music from your heart. With Clifton

Chenier’s life and career as the centerpiece, this collection of profiles unitessome of the world’s most creative forces. UL Press $24.95.

TOM VARISCO New Orleans Looking Up/Looking DownThursday, December 3, 6 pmFriend of the store, photographer, and design-er of our new bags and T-shirts, Tom Variscojoins us to share his book New Orleans LookingUp/New Orleans Looking Down. Varisco andfellow photographer Erik Winkowski split theirfocus—Looking Up and Looking Down—to

capture the moods of their ever-changing yet strangely dependable home town.The photographers, along with writer John Biguenet, offer an irreverent cele-bration of one of America’s most intriguing destinations. UL Press $13.

ANNE BUTLER & HENRY CANCIENNELouisiana Swamps and MarshesWednesday, December 9, 6 pmWelcome Anne Butler and Henry Cancienne! Louisiana’swonderful wetlands, coastal marshes, and swamps havemeant much to different visitors over the years—suste-nance for fisherman, inspiration for artists, hideouts for

hermits, solitude for dreamers clinging to a vanishing way of life. Noted photog-rapher Henry Cancienne has a passion for preserving our natural environmentsthrough his spectacular images, and in this book he shares his favorite walkingtrails and drives, most free and easily accessible. UL Press $24.95.

KATRELL CHRISTIEWITH SPECIAL GUEST THANH TRUONG, 4WWL NEWS ANCHOR (AND AUTHOR’S HUSBAND)Tiger HeartFriday, December 11, 6 pmWelcome Katrell Christie as she shares her book Tiger Heart:My Unexpected Adventures to Make a Difference in Darjeeling,and What I Learned about Fate, Fortitude, and FindingFamily. Two years after Katrell Christie opened a tea shop in

Atlanta, she traveled to India and met a group of girls in an orphanage whowere fearful for their futures. Moved, Christie began selling cakes and tea toprovide schooling and a safe haven for impoverished young women in India,and The Learning Tea project was born. HCI $15.95.

CYNTHIA NOBLESA Confederacy of Dunces CookbookSaturday, December 12, 8 am – 12 pmCrescent City Farmers Market, 700 Magazine St.Please join us at the Saturday Crescent City FarmersMarket when we will be with Cynthia LeJune Noblessigning A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook: Recipesfrom Ignatius J. Reilly’s New Orleans. In John KennedyToole’s iconic novel, Ignatius J. Reilly is never short of

opinions about food or far away from his next bite. Nobles explores the intersec-tion of food, history, and culture found in the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, open-ing up a new avenue into New Orleans’s rich culinary traditions. LSU Press $35.

JOHN SLAUGHTERCatahoulaSaturday, December 12, 3 pmCatahoula is more than just a dog picture-book.What makes the Louisiana state dog such an interest-ing subject is that they come in so many different col-ors, including their eyes. Many of the most strikingimages are of the dogs’ faces. They have an other-worldly stare that says “I am an individual, I am

thinking, I am watching, do not assume that I am like other dogs.” Join Slaughter,who has been exhibiting photos since 1975 has brought his composition skills andcolor sense to bear here, just as he did with Grand Coteau. UL Press $19.99.

JOHN BESHBesh Big EasyMonday, December 14, 6 pmIn Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes,award-winning chef John Besh makes his favorite home-town cooking accessible to a wide audience of cooks andreaders. With 101 original recipes such as Mr. Sam’sStuffed Crabs, Duck Camp Shrimp & Grits, and SilverQueen Corn Pudding, Besh Big Easy is chock-full of thevivid personality that has made John Besh such a popular

American culinary icon. Chef Besh is bringing some tastes of Mamma’s SeafoodGumbo from the book. Andrews McMeel Publ. $25.

CHERYL GERBERNew Orleans: Life and Death in the Big EasyWednesday, December 16, 6 pmNew Orleans: Life and Death in the Big Easy is a visualinsider’s tour of modern New Orleans and its people. Thebook uses photo juxtaposition to portray New Orleansculture—its contrasts, dichotomies, and social ironies, thethings that make the city so richly diverse and distinc-tive—as seen through the lens of photojournalist CherylGerber, celebrating the lives, difficulties, and death cele-brations of everyday New Orleanians. UL Press $24.95.

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