Recent Releases to Celebrate Spring

The days are getting longer and warmer here in the US where ThriftBooks is based, and that makes us excited because we can read outside. A crime thriller doesn't seem so scary with the birds chirping and a soft breeze. And we have one of those for you with Tennison. Kids will be empowered and entertained with Islandborn. And there's something for the Star Wars geeks. Check out these recent releases, then grab a picnic blanket and book for an afternoon reading in the park.

My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith

Imagine landing in a new country and your pre-booked rental car is missing, there's no record of your order, and even worse, there are no cars available. Writer Paul Stewart discovers that in My Italian Bulldozer. He would have been stuck finishing his already late book in an Italian airport. Fortunately, he meets an enterprising stranger with, you guessed it, a bulldozer. Giggle and laugh your way through Alexander McCall Smith's newest novel of traveling through the Italian countryside by bulldozer.

Tennison by Lynda La Plante

Hands up British crime fiction fans. Yep, there are lots of you. How about "Prime Suspect" fans? Did you know Lynda La Plante wrote a prequel series for it? Tennison is the first novel in the series, showing Jane Tennison's early police career as a probationary officer.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Jason Fry

Some say the newer Star Wars movies are only the tip of the story iceberg. The real stories are in the spin-off novels. So if you hated The Last Jedi movie, the novel might add more background and story to help you appreciate it. If you loved it, devour the novel for more of your favorites. Jason Fry wrote this, in collaboration with director Rian Johnson, as a full novel, not just a book of the movie. It answers questions and includes extra scenes, like an emotional one with Leia and Chewbacca. We're not crying; pass the tissues, please.

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

Being a flight attendant is perfect for Cassandra Bowden. A different set of drinks, a different man, and a different bed most nights. That is until she awakes in Dubai with a heavy hangover in a dead man's bed. She's sure she didn't do it, but with how much Cassandra drank she can't be sure. So she lies her way back home, and to the FBI agents who met her flight. Chris Bohjalian's new novel is intricate and complex, with a massive twist.

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

Amy Kaufman's definitive, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes cultural history of the Bachelor franchise is new fodder for water cooler chats. Her warts-and-all writing prompted ABC to even ban her from "The Bachelor" events. For Bachelor Nation, she interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans for the show's inner workings: the mansion "bubble," producer manipulations, and revelations about the debauchery that occurs long before the fantasy suite.

Islandborn by Junot Díaz

Do you remember where you were born? Lola didn't, and it upset her when her school of immigrants was asked to draw where their families came from. Islandborn is a beautifully illustrated, gorgeous tale of imagination and how it helps remember those places we left behind. "Just because you don't remember a place doesn't mean it's not in you." Reading deeper, Islandborn is subtly educational. While interviewing her family, friends, and neighbors to learn about the Island, Lola learns about troubles and The Monster in her homeland, the Dominican Republic.

Read more by Bianca Smith