The Reading List: February ’13

Percival Everett by Virgil Russell: A Novel
(Graywolf Press, paperback, $15)
By Percival Everett
USC English professor Everett creates a new spin on a story inside a story inside a story, with multiple plotlines grounded by an aging father and his son. Check out our review in the February issue of Los Angeles magazine.
Out: Feb.5  

City of Angels: or, The Overcoat of Dr. Freud/ A Novel
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, hardcover, $27)
By Christa Wolf and translated by Damion Searls
The late Wolf, one of East Germany’s most lauded writers, penned her final, autobiographical novel about coming to Los Angeles after reading her newly released Stasi files. Check out our review in the February issue of Los Angeles magazine.
Out: Feb.5  

Middle Men: Stories
(Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $22)
By Jim Gavin
The L.A. author weaves together tales of California men all stuck somewhere in the middle of their lives, not quite where they dreamed they would be but not bogged down by their realities.
Out: Feb.19

Gray
(MTV Books, hardcover, $24) 
By Pete Wentz and James Montgomery
Fall Out Boy bassist and backup singer Wentz talks about life on the road, finding himself, his ever-present past, and grappling with fame.
Out: Feb.19

The Teleportation Accident
(Bloomsbury USA, hardcover, $25)  
By Ned Beauman       
New Expressionist set designer EgonLoeser, whose idol created the Teleportation Device to move actors from one scene to another, follows a woman to Los Angeles, where he gets mixed up in intrigue, scientific inventions, and maybe even murder. Out: Feb.26

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder
(Kensington, hardcover, $25)
By Joanne Fluke        
Part of the Hannah Swensen mystery series, this story begins with Swensen’s red velvet cupcakes being served at a hotel opening and moves on to old rivalries and two murders.
Out: Feb.26

My Inappropriate Life: Some Material Not Suitable for Small Children, Nuns, or Mature Adults
(Touchstone, hardcover, $25)
By Heather McDonald
The comedienne and Chelsea Lately writer follows up her debut memoir with another hilarious romp through the stories of her life.
Out: Feb.5

Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America’s Deadliest Biker Gangs
(Thomas Dunne Books, hardcover, $26)
By Charles Falco with Kerrie Droban      
Falco spent years infiltrating some of the most violent biker gangs and was so dedicated to his task to bring them to justice that in going undercover, he also went to prison, rose to some of the highest ranks in the gangs and endured countless injuries.
Out: Feb.5

The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(NAL Hardcover, hardcover, $27)
By Thom Hatch
The infamous Wild West bank and train robbers are given fresh life by Hatch’s new research, including looks into the men themselves and those they fought against.
Out: Feb.5   

Long Shot
(Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $27)
By Mike Piazza with Lonnie Wheeler       
The onetime L.A. Dodgers player was considered one of the premier offensive catchers in baseball and now, in his autobiography, recounts his career his way.
Out: Feb.12    

The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57
(Counterpoint, hardcover, $26)    
By John N. Maclean  
Award-winning journalist Maclean explores the circumstances surrounding the deadly Esperanza Fire of 2006, the trial of the man who started the blaze, and the impact of losing the first wildland engine crew to flames.        
Out: Feb.12

Printing a Mediterranean World: Florence, Constantinople, and the Renaissance of Geography
(Harvard University Press, hardcover, $50)
By Sean E. Roberts
An art history professor at USC, Roberts demonstrates the moment of transition between printing and manuscript culture and the basis for modern cartography through the 1482 Italian folio Geographia.
Out: Feb.26

T-Rex Trying
(Plume, hardcover, $13)
By Hugh Murphy
Drawn from his Tumblr blog of the same name, L.A. blogger, artist, and dental student Murphy presents 100 drawings of his T-Rex character heroically trying to do everyday things, only to fail.
Out: Feb.5