Shelving Books: Swapna’s Picks is a series profiling books that have been released in the past two weeks, posting every other Monday.  These are books that I am excited about, but will not get the opportunity to review for a few months.

The Ones You’ve Probably Heard About

It seems like everyone has been buzzing about So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman (Simon & Schuster, March 15, 2011).  I’ve heard so many things about this book, I’m not sure what to think.  I don’t know for sure what it’s about, but the one thing I do know is that I definitely want to read it.  For fans of Jackson Brodie, the new book Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (Reagan Arthur Books, March 21, 2011) is one to squeal about.  I really enjoyed the previous Jackson Brodie book When Will There Be Good News, so I can’t wait to devour this book.

It’s All Non-Fiction from Simon & Schuster

I’m very interested in non-fiction about the Mormon church (and it seems I’m not alone in this rather strange quasi-obsession), so when I heard about The Sins of Brother Curtis: A Story of Betrayal, Conviction, and the Mormon Church by Lisa Davis (Scribner, March 15, 2011), I was immediately intrigued.  It’s basically about cases of sexual abuse within the Mormon Church performed by a man named Frank Curtis.  And to do a complete 180, I also love foodie books, so The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adria’s elBulli by Lisa Abend (Free Press, March 22, 2011) definitely jumped out at me.  I’m really eager to read what the author has to say about her time working as an apprentice (basically, she worked for next to nothing so she could have the opportunity to work in Adria’s kitchen.)

Too Many Great Mysteries

Ever since I became really interested in mysteries, I keep finding more and more great books I want to read.  I received Lucifer’s Tears by James Thompson (Putnam, March 17, 2011) for review,  but I didn’t know much about it.  After hearing from Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelves that Snow Angels, the first book in the series, was great, I went back and read it.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now really looking forward to Lucifer’s Tears.  Another sequel I’m excited about is The King of Diamonds by Simon Tolkien (Minotaur Books, March 15, 2011), the sequel to The Inheritance, yet another book I haven’t read.  If the author’s name sounds familiar, it should - Simon Tolkien is the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien.  I also am excited about Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron (William Morrow, March 22, 2011) which is (thankfully) a standalone mystery/thriller novel. 

Multicultural and Literary Fiction

I’m always interested in reading about other countries and cultures, especially when history is involved, so I was intrigued by The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb (Penguin Press, March 17, 2011).  The book is set in Hanoi, Vietnam.  From what I understand, it’s a book about Vietnam’s past and future, told through a grandfather and grandson, and it just sounds like it could be really interesting.