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GASTRO OBSCURA - Dylan Thuras in conversation with Sam O'Brien

Event date: 

Wednesday, October 27, 2021 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Event address: 

via Zoom
New Orleans, LA 70115

Join Octavia Books virtually for a thrilling late October evening featuring the just released GASTRO OBSCURA: A Food Adventurer's Guide - the definitive compendium of the astonishing and delicious from the curious minds behind the #1 New York Times bestseller ATLAS OBSCURA: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders.

Tyler Bridges - THE FLIGHT: A Father's War, A Son's Search

Event date: 

Monday, November 1, 2021 - 6:00pm to 7:15pm

Event address: 

Octavia Books - 513 Octavia Books - New Orleans, LA 70115

Join us with Louisiana journalist and author Tyler Bridges celebrating the launch of his new book, THE FLIGHT: A Father's War, A Son's Search, which is both a history and a memoir

The Flight tells the story of Richard W. “Dick” Bridges’s heroic service in World War II. Bridges survived a German attack on his plane, the Fascinatin’ Witch, by parachuting out of the exploding B-24. He escaped detection in Austria, became the first American prisoner of war in Hungary, was sent to Yugoslavia, escaped from his POW camp there, was sheltered by the Partisans one step ahead of the Germans, and was finally airlifted to safety in Italy by the British. Bridges’s story, which seems almost too astonishing to be true, went untold until after his death in 2003, when his son, Tyler Bridges, pieced it together. The younger Bridges’s odyssey in search of his father’s wartime experiences connected him with the families of other crew members aboard the Fascinatin’ Witch and led him to retrace his father’s footsteps through Austria, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia. With his findings, Bridges has woven a story not only about World War II and the bravery of this unique group of soldiers, but also about fathers and sons, what can get lost in the gulf between generations, and how patience and understanding can bridge that gap.

Octavia Books Bestseller List

Check out our Octavia Books bestsellers for the two weeks ended Sunday, October 16, 2021 (including pre-orders):

The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You: Stories Cover Image

The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You: Stories (Hardcover)

By Maurice Carlos Ruffin
$26.00
ISBN: 9780593133408
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: One World - August 17th, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A collection of raucous stories that offer a “vibrant and true mosaic” (The New York Times) of New Orleans, from the critically acclaimed author of We Cast a Shadow
 

The Lincoln Highway: A Novel Cover Image

The Lincoln Highway: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Amor Towles
$30.00
ISBN: 9780735222359
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Viking - October 5th, 2021

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick

“Wise and wildly entertaining . . . permeated with light, wit, youth.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“A classic that we will read for years to come.” —Jenna Bush Hager, Read with Jenna book club
 

Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Cover Image

Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Anthony Doerr
$30.00
ISBN: 9781982168438
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner - September 28th, 2021

Finalist for the 2021 National Book Award, longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal, and the instant New York Times bestseller!

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, perhaps the most bestselling and beloved literary fiction of our time, comes the highly anticipated Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Above New Orleans: Roofscapes of the Crescent City Cover Image

Above New Orleans: Roofscapes of the Crescent City (Hardcover)

By Richard Campanella
$59.95
ISBN: 9780807176061
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: LSU Press - September 15th, 2021

The first full-length book of drone photography of the Crescent City, Above New Orleans offers readers perspectives never before captured by a camera. Overhead scenes cover the entire metropolis, from the French Quarter to Uptown, from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, from Westwego to New Orleans East, and from Gentilly to Gretna.

Grand Jeté and Me Cover Image

Grand Jeté and Me (Hardcover)

By Allegra Kent, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062392022
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - October 19th, 2021

This Christmas, join a young girl and her grandmother as they embark on a holiday adventure to see The Nutcracker together! Her grandmother, known as Grand Jeté, was once a prima ballerina and danced in The Nutcracker herself, and now she’s sharing the magic of this special ballet.

Crossroads: A Novel Cover Image

Crossroads: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Jonathan Franzen
$30.00
ISBN: 9780374181178
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - October 5th, 2021

Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads.

Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou Cover Image

Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou (Hardcover)

By Melissa M. Martin
$35.00
ISBN: 9781579658472
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-5 Days
Published: Artisan - April 21st, 2020

An NPR Best Book of the Year

A Saveur, Washington Post, and Garden & Gun Best Cookbook of the Year
 
A Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Eater, Epicurious, and The Splendid Table Best New Cookbook

Long-Listed for The Art of Eating Prize for Best Food Book of 2021

&l

Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant Cover Image

Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant (Hardcover)

By David Weill, MD
$27.00
ISBN: 9781642937602
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Post Hill Press - May 11th, 2021

Exhale is the riveting memoir of a top transplant doctor who rode the emotional rollercoaster of saving and losing lives—until it was time to step back and reassess his own life.

A young father with a rare form of lung cancer who has been turned down for a transplant by several hospitals.

The Big Door Prize Cover Image

The Big Door Prize (Paperback)

By M. O. Walsh
$17.00
ISBN: 9780735218505
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - August 31st, 2021

The New York Times bestselling author of My Sunshine Away returns with another instant Southern classic: a gripping and heartfelt novel about a mysterious machine that upends a small Louisiana town, asking us all to wonder if who we truly are is who we truly could be.

Bewilderment: A Novel Cover Image

Bewilderment: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Richard Powers
$27.95
ISBN: 9780393881141
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - September 21st, 2021

AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB SELECTION
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
Shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize
Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction
Longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

The Vanishing Half: A Novel Cover Image

The Vanishing Half: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Brit Bennett
$27.00
ISBN: 9780525536291
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - June 2nd, 2020

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE* VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR 

2021 WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST

They Called Us River Rats: The Last Batture Settlement of New Orleans Cover Image

They Called Us River Rats: The Last Batture Settlement of New Orleans (Hardcover)

By Macon Fry
$25.00
ISBN: 9781496833075
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University Press of Mississippi - May 4th, 2021

They Called Us River Rats: The Last Batture Settlement of New Orleans is the previously untold story of perhaps the oldest outsider settlement in America, an invisible community on the annually flooded shores of the Mississippi River. This community exists in the place between the normal high and low water line of the Mississippi River, a zone known in Louisiana as the batture.

A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020) Cover Image

A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020) (Hardcover)

By David Sedaris
$32.00
ISBN: 9780316558792
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown and Company - October 5th, 2021

There’s no right way to keep a diary, but if there’s an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mas­tered it.
 
If it’s navel-gazing you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination.

Harlem Shuffle: A Novel Cover Image

Harlem Shuffle: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Colson Whitehead
$28.95
ISBN: 9780385545136
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Doubleday - September 14th, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns, and rip-offs set in Harlem in the 1960s.

Beautiful World, Where Are You: A Novel Cover Image

Beautiful World, Where Are You: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Sally Rooney
$28.00
ISBN: 9780374602604
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - September 7th, 2021

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER

Beautiful World, Where Are You is a new novel by Sally Rooney, the bestselling author of Normal People and Conversations with Friends.

Tearing Down the Lost Cause: The Removal of New Orleans's Confederate Statues Cover Image

Tearing Down the Lost Cause: The Removal of New Orleans's Confederate Statues (Hardcover)

By James Gill, Howard Hunter
$25.00
ISBN: 9781496833327
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University Press of Mississippi - May 26th, 2021

In Tearing Down the Lost Cause: The Removal of New Orleans's Confederate Statues James Gill and Howard Hunter examine New Orleans's complicated relationship with the history of the Confederacy pre- and post-Civil War. The authors open and close their manuscript with the dramatic removal of the city's Confederate statues.

Peril Cover Image

Peril (Hardcover)

By Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
$30.00
ISBN: 9781982182915
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster - September 21st, 2021

The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People Cover Image

The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People (Hardcover)

By Rick Bragg
$26.00
ISBN: 9780525658818
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf - September 21st, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin', the warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog.

Normal People: A Novel Cover Image

Normal People: A Novel (Paperback)

By Sally Rooney
$17.00
ISBN: 9781984822185
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Hogarth - February 18th, 2020

NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships” (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, “a master of the literary page-turner” (J. Courtney Sullivan).
 

The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery #1) Cover Image

The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery #1) (Paperback)

By Richard Osman
$17.00
ISBN: 9781984880987
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - August 3rd, 2021

A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment

“Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal
 

State of Terror: A Novel Cover Image

State of Terror: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Louise Penny, Hillary Rodham Clinton
$30.00
ISBN: 9781982173678
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster/St. Martin’s Press - October 12th, 2021

Named one of the most anticipated novels of the season by People, Associated Press, Time, Los Angeles Times, Parade, St.

Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography Cover Image

Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography (Hardcover)

By Laurie Woolever
$29.99
ISBN: 9780062909107
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - September 28th, 2021

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best 

When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man who had dedicated his life to traveling nearly everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the lives and stories of othe

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel Cover Image

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel (Paperback)

By Taylor Jenkins Reid
$17.00
ISBN: 9781501161933
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Washington Square Press - May 29th, 2018

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“If you’re looking for a book to take on holiday this summer, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has got all the glitz and glamour to make it a perfect beach read.” —Bustle

From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six—an entrancing and &ldq

A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted Cover Image

A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted (Paperback)

By Will Bowen
$14.99
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780770436391
Published: Harmony - February 5th, 2013

Full of practical ideas and inspiring stories from people who have already transformed their lives through the Complaint Free program, you'll learn not only how to stop complaining but also how to become more positive and live the life you’ve always dreamed about.
 

Spooky Second Line Cover Image

Spooky Second Line (Paperback)

By Johnette Downing, Johnette Downing (Illustrator)
$9.95
ISBN: 9781455625055
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Pelican Publishing Company - September 9th, 2019

Way down south in New Orleans, there's a jazzy little sound on Halloween. As a mummy is transported down the street in a silver casket, a spooky parade follows, with a witch on bass drum, a skeleton on snare, a black cat on trombone, a jack-o-lantern on clarinet, and more. An author's note explains the local tradition of second lines and jazz funerals.

Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide (Atlas Obscura) Cover Image

Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide (Atlas Obscura) (Hardcover)

By Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras, Atlas Obscura
$42.50
ISBN: 9781523502196
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Workman Publishing Company - October 12th, 2021

Taste the World!

It’s truly a feast of wonder: Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile?

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide Cover Image

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide (Hardcover)

By Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever
$35.00
ISBN: 9780062802798
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - April 20th, 2021

A guide to some of the world’s most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony Bourdain

The Madness of Crowds: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #17) Cover Image

The Madness of Crowds: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #17) (Hardcover)

By Louise Penny
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250145260
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Minotaur Books - August 24th, 2021

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
AARP The Magazine – Recommended Summer Reading
CNN – A Most Anticipated Book of August
Bustle – A Most Anticipated Book of August

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel

You’re a coward.

Matrix: A Novel Cover Image

Matrix: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Lauren Groff
$28.00
ISBN: 9781594634499
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - September 7th, 2021

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION


“A relentless exhibition of Groff’s freakish talent. In just over 250 pages, she gives us a character study to rival Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell .” – USA Today

Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City Cover Image

Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City (Hardcover)

By Kent Babb
$27.99
ISBN: 9780062950598
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: HarperOne - August 10th, 2021

On the west bank of the Mississippi lies the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. Short on hope but big on dreams, its mostly poor and marginalized residents find joy on Friday nights when the Cougars of Edna Karr High School take the field.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music Cover Image

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music (Hardcover)

By Dave Grohl
$29.99
ISBN: 9780063076099
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dey Street Books - October 5th, 2021

So, I've written a book.

This Is Your Mind on Plants Cover Image

This Is Your Mind on Plants (Hardcover)

By Michael Pollan
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593296905
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Press - July 6th, 2021

The instant New York Times bestseller

“Expert storytelling . . . [Pollan] masterfully elevates a series of big questions about drugs, plants and humans that are likely to leave readers thinking in new ways.”—New York Times Book Review

Adventure, Romance and War in the Far East: The Iris Hay-Edie Diary: A Historical Memior Cover Image

Adventure, Romance and War in the Far East: The Iris Hay-Edie Diary: A Historical Memior (Paperback)

By Iris Hay-Edie (Memoir by)
$26.64
ISBN: 9788470839726
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-5 Days
(This book cannot be returned.)
Published: La Critica Literaria - Lacrticaliteraria.com - June 26th, 2015

Adventures, Romance and War in the Far East is a fascinating true story based on the diary and memoir of Iris Hay-Edie, an attractive and free-spirited Scottish girl who grew up in the glamorous French Riviera during the 1920's. Suffering under her strict mother, she ran away from home and never turned back.

Where the Crawdads Sing Cover Image

Where the Crawdads Sing (Paperback)

By Delia Owens
$18.00
ISBN: 9780735219106
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - March 30th, 2021

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENOMENON
More than 10 million copies sold worldwide
A Reese’s Book Club Pick
A Business Insider Defining Book of the Decade 

"I can't even express how much I love this book! I didn't want this story to end!"--Reese Witherspoon

"Painfully beautiful."--The New York Times Book Review

Anxious People: A Novel Cover Image

Anxious People: A Novel (Paperback)

By Fredrik Backman
$17.00
ISBN: 9781501160844
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Washington Square Press - July 6th, 2021

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the new novel from the author of A Man Called Ove is a “quirky, big-hearted novel….Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a wholly original story that delivers pure pleasure” (People).

Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-

Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel Cover Image

Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel (Paperback)

By Taylor Jenkins Reid
$17.00
ISBN: 9781524798642
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ballantine Books - February 4th, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup—from the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the new novel Malibu Rising, available now!

Circe Cover Image

Circe (Paperback)

By Madeline Miller
$16.99
ISBN: 9780316556323
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books - April 14th, 2020

"A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story," this #1 New York Times bestseller is "both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right" (Alexandra Alter, The New York Times).

Color New Orleans Coloring Book by Jake Rose

$14.95
SKU: 9781948286282

Color New Orleans is a coloring book filled to the brim with the city’s most iconic settings.

From Bourbon Street to the famed Streetcar and the St. Louis Cathedral, Color New Orleans brings NOLA’s most recognizable landmarks to life. Detailed in over twenty beautiful line drawings, readers can spend their time coloring these attractions and learn about their detailed histories.

The coloring book features 24 iconic places in New Orleans including The Superdome, St. Louis Cathedral, The Audubon Aquarium & Zoo, as well as The National WWII Museum!

Author Jake Rose’s passion for architecture, photography, and most importantly, historic landmarks, led him to create the Color Our Town series of coloring books celebrating the beauty and diversity of small towns and big cities across America. Collaborating with artists from around the world, beautiful line drawings are created using Jake’s own photographs, each accompanied by rich detailed histories, making it unique in the world of coloring books.

Ten Little Jack O Lanterns: A Magical Counting Storybook (Magical Counting Storybooks) Cover Image

Ten Little Jack O Lanterns: A Magical Counting Storybook (Magical Counting Storybooks) (Board book)

By Editors of Applesauce Press, Robert Dunn (Illustrator)
$12.95
ISBN: 9781646431526
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-5 Days
Published: Applesauce Press - September 28th, 2021

Count along with Ten Little Jack-O'-Lanterns and watch as the little Halloween pumpkins disappear!

Count down from ten with tactile pumpkin buttons that will engage your child and help teach them how to count. Make reading and counting fun for everyone! Babies and toddlers will love the colorful built-in pumpkin counting toys.

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