1. Justice in Plain Sight, Dan Bernstein

     University of Nebraska Press |  9781496202017

2.  Voyage of the Dogs, Greg van Eekhout

     HarperCollins |  9780062686008

3.  Becoming, Michelle Obama

     Crown |  9781524763138

4. Cosmic Commandos, Chris Eliopoulos

     Dial Books |  9781101994481

5.  In the Woods, Tana French

     Penguin Books |  9780143113492

6.  Tell Me How It Ends, Valeria Luiselli

     Coffee House Press |  9781566894951

7. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

     G.P. Putnam's Sons |  9780735219090

8.  The Painter, Peter Heller

     Vintage |  9780804170154

9. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Agatha Christie

     William Morrow |  9780062073778

10. God's Will For Monsters, Rachelle Cruz

     Inlandia |  9780997093247

Pre-order your copy here and receive an exclusive enamel leopard or wolf pin!

Chris Eliopoulos, illustrator of the Ordinary People Change the World series by Brad Meltzer, is returning to Cellar Door! I Am Billie Jean King is the latest volume in the series, featuring the world champion tennis player who fought successfully for women's rights, out February 5th. 

Tickets are required. Each ticket seats one family and is bundled with a copy of one of Chris's books (click "Get Tickets" below for full details). 

I know Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and you don't like the idea of being without a familiar voice whispering sweet nothings to you. But, listen, your fling isn't doing as much for you as you think they are. They're actually really, really bad for you.

Sure, Audible seems super impressive at first glance. They've got a rich daddy (Amazon), they give you almost every audiobook under the sun, and literally no one will shut up about how great they are. You can't get through a single podcast these days without someone singing Audible's praises. I mean, Audible pays people to say those nice things, and they use an algorithm to tell you what you like instead of, you know, actually listening to you, so... it's a little shady.

The good news is, I know someone who would be a perfect match for you: Libro.fm. They offer everything Audible has (minus the daddy issues), plus you get audiobook recommendations from real, independent booksellers. And instead of using you to make some handful of fat-cats even richer, they help you support your local community. Proceeds from your audiobook purchases through Libro.fm go to Cellar Door Books! Bonus: they're really nice. Doesn't that sound like a beautiful relationship?

If you don't believe me, take it from one of Audible's exes. Read their full breakup letter here.

Click here if you're ready to make the switch. (Do it. You deserve it.)

The New Masculine Project and Cellar Door present "Odes to New Masculinity," an open mic exploration into how we interact with masculinity, and how we can creatively imagine masculinity in new cultural ways through poetry and spoken word. 

We'll be featuring the poetic work of Dr. Keith Harris, Associate Professor of English and Media & Cultural Studies at UC Riverside. Following his readings, we'll open the floor to anyone who wishes to contribute; a sign-up sheet will be at the event.

Please join us for a reading featuring some of the top talent from the UC Riverside MFA program in Creative Writing, including editors of the Santa Ana River Review Magazine. Come support your local literary community!

Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds and Dr. Dawn Wright for the release of Women and GIS: Mapping Their Stories, which tells the tales of how 23 women applied themselves and overcame obstacles using maps, analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS) to contribute to their professions and the world.

Tickets are required. The book is available for pre-order in-store or online.

Join cookbook author Elisa Callow and Mario Rodriguez, exceptional home cook and co-food foraging obsessive (and one of Linda's former Puente students and a long-time friend!) for a conversation about food, palate, surprising ingredients, 

and the creation of the cookbook The Urban Forager: Exploring &  Cooking on L.A.'s Eastside  (out March 12th). Rumor has it that Mario will be cooking!

Tickets are required. The book is available for pre-order in-store or online.

Due to unforseen circumstances, we've had to reschedule Greg van Eekhout's visit for his new kids' sci-fi adventure, Voyage of the Dogs. Books are available for purchase in-store or online; please purchase tickets on Eventbrite. And don't forget, our Kids Book Club is discussing  Voyage of the Dogs February 14th at 4 pm!

I just returned from Winter Institute, the incredible conference of indie booksellers from across the country, and I am processing all that I learned from my amazing colleagues, authors, publishers, and industry leaders. The session on reading James Baldwin (led by Casey Gerald, author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, and Robin Coste Lewis, author of Voyage of the Sable Venus: And Other Poems) however, stands out. I wish I could just let all of you listen to that session, hear the beauty and power of Casey, Robin, and their channeling of one of the greatest writers we have ever had, but since I can't, I offer you a challenge that may allow you a glimpse. 

Read James Baldwin. Read his fiction, his short stories, his poetry, his non-fiction. Read him all year long and talk to people about his writing. His work remains utterly relevant - a testament to him and a sad commentary on how far we have not come. Read him because his writing is excrutiatingly beautiful and because he demands you pay attention. Read Casey and Robin as well; people of such powerful passion ought to be heard. - Linda

Cellar Door Book Club (Meets the fourth Sunday of the month at 3 pm)

Sunday, February 24: The Painter by Peter Heller

Sunday, March 24: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Mystery Book Club  (Meets the third Thursday of the month at 6 pm)

Thursday, February 21: In the Woods by Tana French

Thursday, March 21: Fever of the Blood by Oscar du Muriel

Science-Fiction & Fantasy  (Meets the third Saturday of the month at 5 pm)

Saturday, February 16: The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

Saturday, March 16: Black Fish City by Sam J. Miller

Memoir & Biography  (Meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6 pm)

Wednesday, February 13: The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Manzano-Leshevich

Wednesday, March 13: The Other Side by Lacy M. Johnson

Latino Book Club  (Meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Tuesday, February 26: Savage Detectives by Robert Bolano

Tuesday, March 26: The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu

Historical Fiction Book Club  (Meets the fourth Saturday of the month at 5 pm)

Saturday, February 23: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

Saturday, March 23: Isadora by Amelia Gray

Agatha Christie Book Club  (Meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Tuesday, February 19: One Two Buckle my Shoe

Tuesday, March 19: The Witness For the Prosecution

Philosophical Horror  (Meets the third Monday of the month at 6 pm)

Monday, February 18: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

Monday, March 18: The Hole by Hye-Young Pyon

Black Lit Book Club  (Meets the final Friday of the month at 6 pm)

Friday, February 22: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Friday, March 22: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Speculative Fiction Book Club  (Meets the second Friday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Friday, February 8: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei- Brenyah

Friday, March 8: The Night Tiger by Yangzee Choo

LGBTQ Book Club  (Meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 6 pm)

Thursday, February 28: Mean by Myriam Gurba

Thursday, March 28: What If It's Us by Becky Albertali and Adam Silvera

Not Your Father's Teen Lit  (Meets the first Saturday of the month at 6 pm)

Saturday, February 2: The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Saturday, March 2: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bucket List Book Club  (Meets the third Sunday of the month at 3 pm)

Sunday, February 17: Kindred by Octavia Butler

Sunday, March 17: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Phy-Sci Book Club  (Meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 pm)

Wednesday, February 27: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Wednesday, March 27: Inheritance by Sarah Moalem, M.D.

Current Affairs Book Club  (Meets the second Sunday of the month at 4 pm)

Sunday, February 10: Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli

Sunday, March 10: The Fifth Risk by Micahel Lewis

Feminist Book Club  (Meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6 pm)

Tuesday, February 5: Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Tuesday, March 5: Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

Graphic Novel Book Club  (Meets the first Monday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Monday, February 4: Kill Shakespeare by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col, ill. by Andy Belanger

Monday, March 4: Photographic by Isabel Quintero ill. by Zeke Pena

Libros en Espanol (Meets the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Tuesday, February 12: Los Cuadernos de don Rigoberto by Mario Vargas Llosa

Tuesday, March 12: Yo no soy tu perfecta hija Mexicana by Erika L. Sanchez

NEW!   History Book Club  (Meets the first Sunday of the month at 4 pm)

Sunday, February 3: Johnstown Flood by Davis McCullough

Sunday, March 3: Justice in Plain Sight by Dan Bernstein

Early Readers Book Club (Meets the second Saturday of the month at 1 pm)

Saturday, February 9: Cosmic Commandos by Christopher Eliopolous (at Cellar Door 2/4!)

Saturday, March 9: I Am Billie Jean King by Brad Meltzer ill. by Chis Eliopolous

Spanish Readers Book Club  (Meets the third Saturday of the month at 1 pm)

Saturday, February 16: Pasando Paginas by Sonia Sotomayor

Saturday, March 16: Ada Magnifica Cientifica by Andrea Beaty

Kid's Book Club (Meets the second Thursday of the month at 4 pm)

Thursday, February 14: Voyage of the Dogs by Greg Van Eekhout

Thursday, March 14: The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole by Michelle Cuevas

NEW!

Farts and Fantasy Kids Club 

( Meets the first Wednesday of the month at 4 pm)

Monday, February 6: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo 

Monday, March 6: Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Bosch

Dumbeldore's Army (Meets the first Monday of the month at 3:30 pm)

*Monday, February 11: The Reader by Traci Chee

Monday, March 4: Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell