By the time you read this, Books & Crannies will be in its new home at 19 E. Washington Street. We're going to kick off our relocation in grand style on May 19, so if you haven't made it in by then, be sure to come by on that day.

We're also starting our very own Books & Crannies book club, and we have selected Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern. This is a book that combines the elements of a suspense thriller with the complicated, sometimes painful bonds of motherhood, friendship and love. We'll meet at Books & Crannies on Wednesday evening, May 23, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., so that gives you plenty of time to pick up the book and finish it before we get together.

The whole world must know by now that the final Harry Potter book comes out on July 21. We are planning a huge party, appropriate for adults and kids, the evening of the 20th, and we'll start selling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 12:01 a.m. on the 21st. You may want to pre-order your copy now because we expect to sell out quickly.

At last the sun is shining and we can turn our thoughts to the renewed energy that spring brings—except of course if you get a bout of spring fever and all you want to do is lie in the sun! In that case, there are some new books coming out that will keep you entertained.

For fans of Middle Earth, the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher, has crafted a new story about the time before the Hobbits, Children of Hurin, illustrated by Alan Lee. Although the senior Tolkien has been dead for 34 years, his spirit lives on in this magical tale, which was compiled by his son from the voluminous papers his father left behind. It provides the backdrop and context for all that came after in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The incredible Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist, Zahir) has a new book out, Witch of Portobello. This is a finely crafted re-telling of the story of Athena, the "witch" of London's Portobello Road, famed for her omniscient powers. It is also a story of a spiritual quest, set against the materialism of the New modern world.

The Kite Runner remains a publishing phenomenon (more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list), and now Khaled Hosseini follows up that success with A Thousand Splendid Suns, due out May 22, but you may want to pre-order your copy now. This time he gives us 30 years of turbulent, violent and harrowing Afghan history, developed around a story of family, friendship, faith and love. It will shock and infuriate you, even as it offers hope in the face of horrible suffering and cruelty.

Anyone who calls Anita Shreve's work "chick lit" deserves a rap on the knuckles—not that there's anything wrong with chick lit (I love it)—but Shreve's body of work extends beyond the traditional boundaries of "women's literature." Her themes of bitter loss and ultimate renewal appear again in Body Surfing. A new widow becomes a tutor to Julie, an intellectually slow but artistic and beautiful 18-year-old, at her family's oceanfront summer cottage. Life is complicated with the arrival of the family's two grown sons, and then things get even trickier when Julie disappears. It's all here—love, jealousy, redemption—handled with Shreve's customary skill and compassion.

Here's a quick list of some other new releases or books coming soon that you might want to snap up: Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power by Robert Dallek (was Henry a de facto president during Watergate?); At the Center of the Storm by George Tenet (controversial former CIA director); Simple Genius by David Baldacci reuniting the Hour Game duo; the incomparable Lemony Snicket, back with Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid, offering some hilarious insights on life's turbulence for ages 9 to 12; The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay,) with a surprising tale (mystery-thriller-love story-homage to 1940s noir) of "the frozen Chosen," two million Jews living in Sitka, Alaska; and last, but not least, Lee Child is back with Bad Luck and Trouble, a new Jack Reacher—described as a murderous moralist--adventure.