Octavia Books

INCREDIBLY rude staff. My girlfriend went inside to try and find a kids book, and we chose this «local bookstore» to support local business. Not ONE word was said to her the entire time. When she finally asked for help– she was given a rude one word answer and the employee literally turned his back on her. I hope the manager reads this And gets rid of the current staff there or at least considers employee training. We Will never go back! Situations like this are why AMAZON is taking over! Unacceptable upright rudeness.

I came today to inquire about the Where’s Waldo event going on this month. They gave me the low-​down on the details. I did find a book that I was looking for and a card for my uncle. They were very friendly, and very helpful. The store is clean, neat and well organized. I love local bookstores, and a variety of books, I can see myself spending WAY too much money here. Well, good for them, and an awesome find for me!

In town visiting and took a look around the store. Loved Loved Loved! Very quaint and had plenty of New Orleans selections. There was a book signing the day I was there. Great book selections on everything else. If you like to give the small business owner your money, this is the place to go!

Great local bookstore with an excellent selection. I went in there regarding a friend who would like to do a book signing there, and I ended up walking out with Christmas gifts. They have a wonderful children’s section as well!

Three stars for layout and selection. Would give the store two for service. We were not greeted when we walked in and in fact were never approached/​asked if we needed help. The two booksellers working only engaged (with me – surly phone conversation while I shopped) in conversation when I went to the register to give them money. And then, it was to tell me that one of the books I’d selected was only okay – not great literature or anything. Uh, thanks? I’d actually rather a bookseller not talk to me than to make me feel bad about my purchase. The service at Maple Street, Garden District, or Faulkner House is far superior and service like this is why people chose to buy at big box stores or online.

Nice selection and some interesting local books that were new to me. A obviously grumpy employee abruptly ended my shopping experience after a holding a 5 minute defensive & condescending phone conversation to tell us it was 5pm and they were closing. I had one $ 30 book in my hand and was looking for more to enjoy on vacation. Looks like I’ll keep using Amazon and McKeown’s.
I get that people have a closing time, I don’t get rushing people out the door of a brick and mortar book store unless there’s been an industry shift I’ve missed.

This is a fine, even lovely neighbourhood bookshop. Great selection and everything you want as a reader.
Why the 3 stars?
Well, the surliest employee gave me a «howyadoinletmekonwifyouneedanything» as I walked in the front door. Went & picked up my new hardback ($ 28 there, $ 17 on Amazon/B&N), and just had gruff, surly service, as though the man would rather be reading his book.
This is why people shop at the big box & online retailers. It’s unfortunate. Contrast this to Maple Street or the much-​missed Little Professor, where staff are knowledgeable, reading, and can’t wait to help you.

This is such a cute independent bookstore! It ranks up there with Maple Street bookstores and Blue Cypress (think that’s the name of the one on Oak Street). They have great author events, carry an array of books, and it’s just really pretty inside with extremely helpful staff! Support local ya’ll!

Octavia Books… located on Octavia Street. Convenient.
A plethora of books tucked away in this cool shop. This was my first time visiting this store. I liked how bright and organized it was. It had a really nice feel to the place.
They have a large area of local books to choose from as well as an array of everything else. I noted quite a bit of autographed books too.
The staff was attentive and helpful. I look forward to visiting again.

It’s bigger than it looks from the outside. It’s definitely worth a look.
The Laurel Street bakery is around the corner.

Great bookstores are a dying breed. This is the best one in New Orleans. Even though it’s not a large store, they manage to stock a diverse selection from Pulitzer Prize winners to McSweeney’s chapbooks. I could spend hours in their selection of books about New Orleans. The staff is super friendly and they’ll order whatever you want that they don’t have — plus they sell ebooks too.

Octavia Books is perfection in an indie bookstore! I think that I could happily live here. I don’t take up much space, I promise!
You’ve got the charming environs with lots of natural light. You’ve got helpful personnel who are clearly passionate about books. You’ve got events/​readings by local and touring authors. You’ve got support for the indie book publishers (my friend did a reading here a couple years back and she was published on the tiniest of presses). You’ve got good selection and good organization. You’ve got actual *books* with that good new book smell. You’ve got actual pages and hard covers and stuff.
I know that it’s so easy to just «buy it on Amazon,» add it to your kindle or IPad, but let’s indie bookstores from extinction, please.

What a great bookstore!
They have a wonderful local section and host a lot of local book signings as well as big book signings such as Stephen King and Alton Brown. They also facilitate a lot of book clubs.
The staff is very helpful without being pushy.
There are some fabulous picks on the «staff recommendations» shelf. It is always a good sign when a bookstore hires people who actually like to read!
(tip: if you’re looking for McSweeney’s, they’ve got it)

Amazing independent book store — way better than anything in the Quarter (I’m lookin’ at you, Faulkner Books) and worth every penny of the trolley ride to get here.

Octavia Books is a great independent book store. The staff is friendly and helpful when I need to find a certain book. They’re located close to the Laurel Street Bakery, where i like to go after purchasing a book and enjoy a cup of iced coffee and a pastry while I read the first few chapters.
They also have a quaint little courtyard. I’ve never seen anyone use it, but htat doesn’t mean no one does.
They always have what I’m looking for and give me space if I’m just browsing.

I think that Octavia Books sets the standard for independent book shops in New Orleans a little higher.
The store is well organized. Walking in you don’t feel overwhelmed or like there are just books piled everywhere. Everything is clean. There are a good number of popular books, older books, and local books. The staff were nice but not overly pushy. There are very few seats for grabbing a book and flipping through it– only two wooden chairs. I feel like I’m cheating on the Garden District book shop in my neighborhood, but Octavia is just larger and more organized, offering more of a selection. Of course, if Octavia doesn’t have what you’re looking for they’ll order it asap.
Also gotta love that Octavia Books is right around the corner from Laurel Street Bakery where you can bring your new purchase to read outside at a quaint little table while you snack on brioche and coffee.
I’m not sure about parking in the area– since it’s bikeable distance for me– but it might be difficult because it’s located in a neighborhood. But, once you find parking the walk in fresh air to find Octavia will be nice :)

I’ve come here several times over the past few years, and I always leave having spent more than I should. For example, today, my student loan check came in. Flush with cash, I rampaged through the aisles of Winn-​Dixie and decided to stop off at Octavia to grab a book («Losing Ground» by David M. Burley, a must-​read if you’re interested in our fading coastlines). First of all, thanks to a book-​signing a few weeks ago, they had several autographed copies. Second, because they are a local (read: New Orleans) bookstore, they have an abundant selection of incredible work by writers close to home – and it’s a wide array of stuff, not just the generic «Isn’t New Orleans SO Unique!?» brand of book. Post-​Katrina retrospectives (positive and negative), histories of the Mardi Gras indians, debates on race relations in the city, the development of post-​industrial nola, you name it.
HOWEVER! It should also be noted that Octavia also has the usual array of bestsellers, so if you want to pop in for Jonathan Franzen’s latest (plug because I loved it), it’s there too. In fact, their selection in general is great, but you have the advantage of the owners’ perhaps-​not-​as-​popular selections sprinkled into the mix.
That’s not why I wrote this Unilocal review, however. Today, I was searching for a book for a friend of mine, who intends to open a bookstore in the near future. I asked the salesdude for help finding «a book that would be inspiring for such a difficult venture, as well as amusing and not some generic ‘yay-​for-​the-​small-​guy-​in-​the-​heartland’ type read.» He walked me through the store and straight toward a great book («Mom and Pop») about small-​business ventures, and not so coincidentally mentions Octavia Books as well. Then he showed me another perfect book to compliment the initial selection («Books,» by Larry McMurtry, and it is extremely engaging… I’m reading it now), both of which will be a perfect gift to my purpose. Once again, a New Orleans small business has helped me to surpass any potential gift I could have gotten via the internet or a larger bookstore with clueless employees. Also, the gift that I am giving has a small piece of nola in it (the Octavia mention in «Mom and Pop») that will further inspire.
The great service, unique and wide-​reaching selection, and additional grabbies like every moleskine you could possibly want all combine to make this my most favorite bookstore in the city (sorry, Maple Street! You’re up there, too!). I also left with more books than I could carry. Support local bookstores in a world of impersonal book repositories! They’re good for the soul.

It took me forever to find this place and to get there from the Quarter. The store was neat, clean, well thought out in regards to finding stuff, and a fun little independent bookstore. The gentleman behind the register was helpful but not overly friendly which was a little off-​putting. OTOH, he had exactly what I was looking for and told me how to get a bus back to the Quarter for 1.25 $ so my complaints don’t hold up in a stiff wind. If you just found out one of your favorite authors published something and you just had to have it on vacation and you happen to be vacationing in New Orleans, go here. Sure, you could go to a BN or a Borders, but wouldn’t you rather support an independent bookstore instead? Wouldn’t you rather have a bit of an adventure going there? Besides, not too far away there are some really great shops. If you are on vacation, and just remembered that a new book came out that you really want, go here, they’ll most likely have it and you’ll get to see more of New Orleans than just the Quarter.

Great popular history section as well as cookbooks.

Octavia is a quaint little book store with a great «local» section… kinda like the sweet, somewhat shy girlfriend who likes to stay in a lot, cuddle and read.
That’s nice and all and everyone is happy.
But what do you do when the big tittied blond with a fantabulous personality, who drives a 65 Shelby, takes care of orphans, cooks like Ferran Adria and parties like a rock star moves in down the street?
Well… She just did.