April Showers, Read for Hours: 35 New Reads for April

This month is a great showcase of all the genres our booksellers like to read. From historical fiction to retellings of classics, romances to poetry collections, and memoirs to sports history, these staff picks really have it all! Go ahead and have a browse — we feel confident you’ll find something to love!

FICTIONRecommended by Ann James: A Novel

By Percival Everett

James is both life changing and game changing, a spectacular read that’s sure to be one of the most important and talked about books of the year.

Recommended by Sarah Like Happiness: A Novel

By Ursula Villarreal-Moura

Like Happiness grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go. It’s an intimate exploration of power dynamics and the weight of words, but its fine-tuned attention to perspective and devotion is where it shines. Villarreal-Moura’s debut is a quiet stunner.

Recommended by Cat The Tree Doctor: A Novel

By Marie Mutsuki Mockett

I was immediately engrossed by Mockett’s beautiful descriptions of the natural world and the garden that is so much at the heart of this novel. She weaves the life cycle of a garden and the complexity of The Tale of Genji so expertly with the uncertainty of the early days of the pandemic and our narrator’s own rediscovery of herself. I couldn’t put it down.

Recommended by Rachel These Letters End in Tears: A Novel

By Musih Tedji Xaviere

An epistolary look at tragic lesbian love in Cameroon. The timeline weaves in and out of present events and memory with perfect delicacy, guiding you through a twisting tale of love, loss, and the unfortunate price one must pay in a world that will not accept them.

Recommended by Rae Ann The House on Biscayne Bay

By Chanel Cleeton

A murder from the past haunts a Miami mansion and its residents in this Gothic mystery full of secrets and second chances.

Recommended by Ashby Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: A Novel

By Hwang Bo-reum, Shanna Tan (Translated by)

What’s it like to change everything about your life in one year? Job. Marriage. Location. Yeongju is brave. She moves to a small town outside Seoul and opens a bookstore. At first, she cries, but then she learns how to run a bookstore and create a community of readers and writers. She falls in love with her new life. You, the reader, will fall in love with Yeongju.

Recommended by Maddie Worry: A Novel

By Alexandra Tanner

A book about two sisters trying to make it in New York City, Worry is deadpan, quirky, and flinchingly realistic. You will drive yourself crazy trying to decide if you love, hate, or begrudgingly relate to these two women before settling on the fact that it is in fact possible to feel all three of these things at once.

Read Maddie’s interview with Alexandra Tanner!

Recommended by Tara Begin Again: A Novel

By Helly Acton

Begin Again is a beautiful novel about the choices we make, but also the ones we don’t when we are too stuck in fear. Perfect for fans of Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow.

Recommended by Cheryl Finding Margaret Fuller: A Novel

By Allison Pataki

Margaret Fuller was a well respected writer and friend of Thoreau, Hawthorne and Emerson. Incredibly smart and ahead of her time for women’s rights, she was still taken advantage of financially. Horace Greely even sent her as a correspondent to Italy. Trailblazing history.

Recommended by Kathy Burma Sahib: A Novel

By Paul Theroux

This is historical literary fiction at its best. Theroux depicts the five years a young George Orwell spent as a policeman for the British Raj in Burma after WWI, showing how he developed as a writer and a man. I loved it.

Recommended by Hannah P. Rainbow Black: A Novel

By Maggie Thrash

When teenage Lacey’s family is torn apart by horrific accusations in the Satanic Panic hysteria of the 90s, her life explodes. This uniquely dark thrill ride grabs you from page one and never lets go. Mash up a brutal murder mystery, a coming-of-age story, and gay outlaw lovers; mix in a propulsive plot and a superb narrative voice; sprinkle in dark humor; and you get Thrash’s masterpiece.

Recommended by Rae Ann The Underground Library: A Novel

By Jennifer Ryan

Jennifer Ryan’s new novel recreates the world of Londoners escaping underground each night to survive the Blitz. New communities and found families are bound together by books with the underground library as their epicenter.

Recommended by Tara Just for the Summer

By Abby Jimenez

I am calling it right now, this is THE beach read of 2024. Just for the Summer features a lakeside setting, a Reddit meet-cute, and Abby Jimenez’s trademark sparkling dialogue. Perfect for fans of Every Summer After by Carley Fortune and Beach Read by Emily Henry.

Recommended by Katie This Could Be Us

By Kennedy Ryan

Emotional, poignant and incredibly written, This Could Be Us is a romance for those of us who want their characters grown, sexy and working on being their best selves. Kennedy Ryan is one of the finest writers out there, and her beautifully crafted love stories are not to be missed. Soledad and Judah will have your whole heart.

Recommended by Jordan Here We Go Again: A Novel

By Alison Cochrun

This is the perfect sapphic road trip book to take you on an emotional adventure this summer. With a friends to enemies to lovers trope and a remix on Tuesdays with Morrie, have the tissue box handy for tears. But don’t worry, the journey is worth it!

Recommended by Ashby The Husbands: A Novel

By Holly Gramazio

No first dates. No first anythings. Each time Lauren sends a husband into the attic, a new one emerges, one she has never met before. Their stories emerge; she discovers how they met and married. Some last weeks, others minutes. Comedic moments are interspersed with sad ones, making each of us think about the nature of our own relationships and if we would send current partners into the attic.

Recommended by Tara Ready or Not: A Novel

By Cara Bastone

Ready or Not is both delightfully funny and heartwarming. The found family aspect of this book was a delight and I wish I could have spent even more time with these characters.

NONFICTION & POETRYRecommended by Jake Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball

By Keith O’Brien

The definitive biography of the most controversial figure in baseball history, this is a stunning treatise of Pete Rose as a hero too good to be true, ultimately undone by his own hubris. O’Brien also compellingly argues that Rose’s fall from grace was the first step in what would eventually become the death of America’s pastime. Charlie Hustle is one of the best baseball books of the year.

Recommended by Jenness We Loved It All: A Memory of Life

By Lydia Millet

We Loved It All is a swirl of memoir and environmental treatise, effortlessly flowing from the dawn of life on Earth in all of its forms to Millet’s own childhood and motherhood and back again. Her reverence for all life and her dedication to its preservation is insistent and inspiring, her words poetic and prophetic as she describes the “complex and inscrutable interdependence” between all living things.

Recommended by Sydney The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir

By Susan Lieu

When Susan Lieu was eleven years old, her manicurist mother died from a botched tummy tuck surgery. Her death became a taboo subject in her Vietnamese family, and Lieu was forced to process this loss in silence, with no answers. Why would her mother risk her life for physical beauty? Poignantly written, this memoir is a heartfelt look inside mother/daughter dynamics and grief.

Recommended by Mac The Moon That Turns You Back: Poems

By Hala Alyan

Alyan’s newest collection is wide-spanning, touching Beirut, Jerusalem, the Midwest, and more. Alyan brings readers on a journey with her, exploring her body and diasporic consciousness, and experimenting with form to find poetry in places readers might not expect.

Recommended by Hannah P. You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World

By Ada Limón (Editor)

Ada Limón, you’ve done it again. In this diverse collection of striking new poems, fifty writers reflect on our belonging within nature while also encouraging us to rethink our preexisting ideas of both literary and literal landscapes. If you think you already know “nature poetry,” think again. Of course, it is 100% required that you enjoy this while sitting outside on a beautiful day.

Recommended by Rachel Theophanies

By Sarah Ghazal Ali

“The one bright / gift of my life is that I was / witnessed. The only thing / God asks of me is to bear it.”

Recommended by Katie The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster

By John O’Connor

No one is more surprised than me to be recommending this book, but on a recent road trip with my wife we picked this to listen to, and it was a fun and weird look at American mythmaking and the crazy world of cryptids. A great listen!

Recommended by Chelsea You Get What You Pay For: Essays

By Morgan Parker

A strong, impressive essay collection filled with smart observations, Parker has an incredible way with words that is both witty and insightful. No essay is too long, and I found the ones criticizing pop culture especially intriguing. The audiobook is read by the author, and each essay was read like a performance. I found myself re-listening to paragraphs to hear her read it again.

Recommended by Andy To the Linksland (30th Anniversary Edition)

By Michael Bamberger

Bamberger together with his newly wed wife headed to Europe to explore the wide world of golf, first as a caddie on the European Tour before landing in Scotland. There he fell under the spell of one of the most interesting and intriguing teachers of the game. To the Linksland is a great read for first time readers and for those who enjoyed this book years ago.

Recommended by Patsy The Moth Presents: A Point of Beauty: True Stories of Holding On and Letting Go

By The Moth

This collection of stories originally performed on stage for The Moth podcast is heart-rending and uplifting, often simultaneously. The common thread is what we hold on to and what we are able to release. Favorites include Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical, for which he pens lyrics that have long been stewing, and the tale of an international rescue mission of an Army officer’s beloved teddy bear. Balm for the soul.

Recommended by Tara JoyFull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly (A Cookbook)

By Radhi Devlukia-Shetty

This cookbook is filled with gorgeous photographs and delicious plant-based recipes. The tandoori taco recipe is not to be missed!

Recommended by Andy The Black Box: Writing the Race

By Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Derived from his Harvard introductory course on African American History lectures, Gates writes of what it means to be Black in America. He explores the diversity and uniqueness of Black writers as they explore their search for freedom within the confines of a racist society. Gates uses their writing to focus attention on how we address today’s conversation about school curriculum and how Black history is portrayed.

Recommended by Chelsea There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

By Hanif Abdurraqib

The subtitle hints that this book is about basketball, but it is truly about so much more: love, grief, family, and home. So even if you are not a sports person, I dare you to read the intro and not fall in love. Abdurraqib writes with such heart using the most beautiful language.

Recommended by Jordan Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image

By Siobhán Gallagher

This graphic memoir tells the story of Siobhan Gallagher’s journey of self-love with the relatable hurdles many of us face. It is full of heart and humor and the perfect book to get you out of a reading slump!

Recommended by Rachel The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

By Tim Alberta

If you want to understand the internal climate of “the right,” read this book. A deep dive into the hypocrisy of American evangelicals. Comprised of hundreds of interviews, this book details the complex history between Christianity and extreme conservatism in America, specifically following the switch from private political beliefs to supporting politicians from the pulpit. Interesting and infuriating.

CLASSICS & BACKLISTRecommended by Lindsay Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals

By Saidiya Hartman

In Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, cultural historian Saidiya Hartman reimagines the lives of Black and queer women at the turn of the twentieth century in New York and Philadelphia. A gorgeous examination of stories often lost to history–this book made me question everything I know about what nonfiction can be!

Recommended by Lindsay My Private Property

By Mary Ruefle

Happy National Poetry Month! If you think you’re afraid of poetry, may I introduce you to the world of prose poems? Treat yourself to this delectable little book from Mary Ruefle!

First Editions Club: April Selection James: A Novel

By Percival Everett

Percival Everett is the best known writer you might not know.

He’s published over twenty novels, as well as collections of short stories, collections of poetry, and a children’s book. His work has been made into movies, won awards, been heralded in reviews. He’s a professor at USC. Somehow he isn’t a household name.

I have a feeling that’s about to change.

James is a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, the enslaved man who heads out on a raft down the Mississippi with Huck. Even if you’ve never read Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, you know who Jim is. Like Huck and his friend Tom Sawyer, Jim’s iconic character is part of the public consciousness.

But who was Jim? What was his life like? Who were his friends and his family? Not only does Percival Everett question what we know about him, he questions what we know about enslavement, about the people who perpetrated it and the people who endured it. Time and again while I was reading this book I felt myself stopping to examine my own assumptions. What did I know about what life was like in Missouri in the 1840s? Nothing.

Great literature has the power to change hearts and minds. It has the power to correct what we never understood to begin with. It’s hard to imagine there will be a more moving, powerful, or important book this year, not to say one that is more impossible to put down. That’s the magic of James—it is not a punishing lesson, it’s a spectacular read.

Enjoy.

Ann Patchett

More about our First Editions Club: Every member receives a first edition of the selected book of the month, signed by the author. Books are carefully chosen by our staff of readers, and our picks have gone on to earn major recognition including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Plus, there’s no membership fee or premium charge for these books. Build a treasured library of signed first editions and always have something great to read! Makes a FABULOUS gift, too.

Love, Parnassus: April Selection The Prospects: A Novel

By KT Hoffman

The Prospects by KT Hoffman is April’s Love Parnassus pick, and I can’t help but think of it as the grand salami of baseball romances. A book so full of love for baseball and the queer community it bursts right off the page.  The story centers around Gene and Luis, two former college teammates and rivals who find themselves on the same minor league team.  Forced to work together these two quickly learn  what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fence. I hope you love this book as much as I did!

Praise for The Prospects:

“Tenacious, sexy, effervescent, doggedly hopeful, and endlessly charming, with characters to root hard for and an irresistible voice—I completely adored it.” —Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal Blue

The Love, Parnassus box is a monthly subscription box for romance readers curated by the experts at Parnassus Books. Each month you will receive a first edition book (which is sometimes signed), a letter from the author, a custom sticker, and a bookmark to track your reading. The Love, Parnassus selection will focus on debut and new-to-you romance authors. Set up a subscription for yourself or buy a gift membership for your favorite romance reader for 3, 6, or 12 months.