Whether your tastes run the gamut from elegant Gothic suspense or compelling nonfiction, you'll find it in an abundance of new releases. There are one or two oddballs that might appeal as well.

The big book this spring is Audition by Barbara Walters. It's hard to believe she's in her seventies now, but her long perspective on her own career and personal life, set in the context of the rich, famous and infamous, is as much a commentary on America as it is on her. Despite her great success and worldwide fame, Barbara Walters has not had an easy life. Her training as a journalist set this autobiography well above the tabloid fodder it could have been. Reading this book, it's easy to remember that she was, first of all, a writer.

Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts introduces us to other great ladies, this time from the more distant past. Nevertheless, their stories are equally compelling. Of course, we have the indomitable Abigail Adams, wife of the second president of the United States and in every way his equal. Then we have Dolley Madison, the first Washington hostess whose wit, beauty and charm just might have been the best asset President James Madison had. In a much-needed addition to the shelves of Founding Father literature, the author sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation, giving these ladies of liberty the recognition they so greatly deserve.

Another new and compelling non-fiction work from veteran author Simon Winchester is The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom. This vivid and lush book brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, long the world's most technologically advanced country. If you want to understand the China of today—a nation which could soon become the world's dominant economic power—this book is must reading.

Ask any teenage girl who Stephenie Meyer is and you will probably get a 10-minute-long, breathless sentence about the marvels of Twilight and Eclipse—young love stories involving vampires. In the capable hands of this author, nothing is ever what it really seems, and now with The Host, she has tackled adult science fiction with gusto. The story involves a plot only marginally similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and incorporates one of the more unusual love triangles. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy this creepy, entertaining, sexy and ultimately compelling story.

Jeff Shaara is one of our major historical novelists and The Steel Wave is the second in his trilogy of novels about World War II. General Dwight Eisenhower once again commands a diverse army that must find its single purpose in the destruction of Hitler's European fortress. His primary subordinates, Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery, must prove that this unique blend of Allied armies can successfully confront the might of Adolf Hitler's forces, who have already conquered Western Europe. In the midst of this, Sergeant Jesse Adams, a no-nonsense veteran of the 82nd Airborne, parachutes with his men behind German lines into a chaotic and desperate struggle. Elsewhere, Private Tom Thorne of the 29th Infantry Division faces the horrifying prospects of fighting his way ashore on a stretch of coast more heavily defended than the Allied commanders anticipate–Omaha Beach. Their stories, set at the pivotal moment, are powerful and masterfully written.

Need something a little less intense? Try Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson. This book describes what it might be like to come face to face with the imaginary friend you conjured up—an adored—as a child. This is a love story, as the title implies, but it has a little magic thrown in for good measure. It's a real antidote to the harsh realities of the day.

The same goes for Swine Not: A Novel Pig Tale, the newest romp by Jimmy Buffet. There are so many puns in the title, it's hard to get beyond it, but that gives you an idea of what to expect in this crazy book. A boy named Barley is nine years old when he is uprooted from his Tennessee home and moves—together with his mom, his two sisters, and their pet pig Rumpy, to New York City. There they take up residence on the top floor of one of New York's finest hotels, where his mom works as a pastry chef.

But "No Pets Allowed" is one of the hotel's strictest rules, and as Barley and Rumpy learn about life in the city, they also live in fear of Rumpy being discovered--and the hotel's evil head chef is on their trail. Yes, it's a children's story, but adults will enjoy it, too. After all, it is the Parrothead himself.