What We Read in April 2026

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April was a ridiculous roller coaster here in terms of weather. We had days as warm as the 70s and as cold as the 40s, one day after the next. The month felt weird for me, too—like it went really quickly at first, then slowed down in the last week and a half or so.

I’m on kind of a reading kick in general, finishing more books per month than I did last year. Maybe that’ll change, but for now, I’m loving it.

Here’s what we read in April:

Cathy

Do Interesting: Notice. Collect. Share. by Russell Davies

I got this book a couple of years ago after I found Russell Davies’ article Don’t try to be interesting. DO interesting and found the idea of “Interesting isn’t a personality type, it’s a set of habits and a way of seeing the world.” cool. And the blog lead me to the book Do Interesting: Notice. Collect. Share.

This super short (137 pages or so) has a number of tips about how to “Do Interesting” with inspo from creatives plus challenges you can take on yourself to notice more – and, thus, become more interesting.

I’ve read this book three or four times now because I like the philosophy of do interesting by being interested. It feels less elusive than just “be creative” and easier than morning pages. Davies’ main point is that you can notice something, keep noticing it, notice the changes, notice what stays the same and you’ll have found something interesting that you can share with others who might also find it interesting. It’s quite a refreshing take on tips on how to be creative, it takes the pressure off and, weirdly, it gives me enough to ponder over that I eventually feel like I’m “being creative” again.

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Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn

The Camino de Santiago is one of the most famous hiking routes in the world – pilgrims start in France and travel, by foot, along the north of Spain, eventually ending in Santiago de Compostela. It’s a route I’m vaguely familiar with after spending time in Galicia (Northern Spain) during my year abroad at uni.

Call of the Camino is a fictional book about two women who walk the Camino seventeen years apart. They both experience extraordinary and wonderful things while undertaking the physically and emotionally challenging route. As the story goes on, you find out what the connection is between the two women and why they both chose to start the Camino de Santiago.

I really enjoyed this story – I liked the two stories running parallel to one another (one in 2024 and one in 1997). The jumps between the two timelines are pretty seamless, every switch felt like a smooth transition from one protagonist’s POV to the other. I loved the setting of the story and the author’s descriptions of the scenery and the feeling of being on the Camino were a pleasure to read. My only complaint was that the descriptions of physically walking the route – which the author herself has done – became less frequent as I got further into the book. But if she had, the book would have been super long so I understand why she did this.

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Joli

Still Life by Louise Penny (Audiobook)

Louise Penny’s whole Inspector Gamache series has been on my list for YEARS…pretty much ever since former LQ reviewer Caleigh wrote a lovely review of the series. And I’m happy to say I finally tackled the first book!

I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be funny, but there are the best little quips and barbs that kept popping out at unexpected moments. I fell in love with the bucolic little town and its inhabitants that are all tied together in some way or another. I grew up in a small town and, although it wasn’t as small as the one in this book, I felt some of those “everyone knows each other” vibes that I grew up with.

The mystery is a fun solve and I loved that it all comes down to a painting that looks like it was done by a child, even though it was created by a full-grown (and now murdered) woman.

For the most part, I loved it. I’m definitely putting the next one on my TBR!

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Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel

I absolutely loved the first book I read by Frankel in book club years ago – This is How It Always Is. It was so heartfelt and beautiful! Although other books of hers have been on my TBR, I just haven’t gotten to them…until Enormous Wings.

And just wow. The premise sounds totally absurd—a pregnant grandmother in her 70s. But Frankel takes the absurd and not only creates something semi-believable, but also creates the loveliest of commentaries on life, what it means, and what living is really all about.

Funny and heartwarming, Enormous Wings is a fantastic book club read (as long as your book club is okay talking about abortion and a woman’s right to choose).

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The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi

I’ve been a fan of Kendra Adachi’s Lazy Genius podcast for probably a year or so now, but hadn’t read her book. I finally picked it up from the library and I’m really glad I did.

In a nutshell, Adachi’s “Lazy Genius Way” means living according to your values, being kind to yourself, and getting rid of what doesn’t matter. The book is divided into 13 principles to live by, and they each adhere to that mission.

It sounds simple and, in a way, it is. But I really got a lot out of reading the book. She’s just so kind…it’s like sitting down with a friend who really cares about you, your family, and your life.

I will caution that there’s some God stuff in here, as Adachi is Christian and works at a church. It’s not a ton, but it’s there. I do think the book is totally readable if you just skim or skip the couple bits of that if you need to. Or just replace “God” with the word of your choice while reading.

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Audiobook)

I go through such moods with my audiobooks. Sometimes I want serious nonfiction, sometimes something lighter, and sometimes I just plain want to be entertained. I picked Malibu Rising for the entertainment factor, and I was not at all disappointed.

Normally, a super dramatic book isn’t really my jam. I just get annoyed by all the drama, instead of entertained. But Taylor Jenkins Reid…I don’t know how she does it, but this book was awesome. The amount of backstory was just right for building out the characters and the anticipation, and the epic party that the book promises is seriously insane. I mean, people are doing lines of coke off of silver trays instead of eating appetizers off of them. Somebody’s getting naked in the hot tub. Somebody else is getting in a fight. And what’s going on with long lost dad? It just keeps getting better instead of dramatic in a bad way.

Highly recommend this one.

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Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller (Audiobook)

This was my book club’s pick for April. While at times it was hilarious and I loved it, it just tried to do soooo much. The basic premise is that someone replaces books in a terrible woman’s library with banned books underneath the dust covers. Townspeople take the books, totally unsuspecting of what they are, and hilarity and eye opening ensues.

While there were great things here, it eventually got to be so many characters and storylines that I was just kind of lost. My book club mostly agreed.

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A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais

This book had a lot of promise, and it…kind of delivered. It’s a murder mystery that also includes puzzles embedded in the book that you have to solve in order to get clues as to what’s going on.

The mystery was fun. Maybe a little over the top at times, but I just let it be entertaining instead of dissecting it. The puzzles were okay. A couple of them were questionable, I thought. I did appreciate that the answers are in the back of the book, so I could check to see if I was right…or just go straight to the answers if I wasn’t feeling like solving the puzzle.

It was a little bit clunky in a few spots where you have to send an email in order to get a missing bit of the story. I wasn’t a huge fan of having to set down the book and send an email in order to keep going.

Overall, it was okay. If you’re into mysteries and puzzles, it’s a fun one to pick up and try.

Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph | PangoBooks

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Molly

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

This book has been on my list for a long time, and I finally took the time to read it. A sweeping, multi-generational story, Pachinko explores the lives of Koreans living in Japan from Japan’s colonization of Korea in the early 1900s through World War II and into the 80’s.

Lee depicts the complexities of Korean-Japanese identity and its evolution across decades, from illiterate Sunja, who immigrates from a small Korean fishing village to Osaka in a time of desperation, to her grandson Solomon, an American-educated banker who discovers his multicultural upbringing won’t save him from anti-Korean prejudice.

Although the pace was sometimes slow, Pachinko is full of deeply flawed but endearing characters and moments of both joy and devastation.

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A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo

Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills cycle is a series of Asian-inspired fantasy novellas. The books can be read in any order, but all feature Cleric Chih, a follower of Singing Hills Monastery, which records stories and histories from around the country and its neighboring territories.

The latest installment goes back to Cleric Chih’s early days traveling to collect stories with the help of Almost Brilliant, a talking hoopoe with a magically enhanced memory.

I greatly enjoyed seeing Cleric Chih as a younger, clumsier, but still deeply humanitarian story collector. Check out my full review!

Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

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Renee

Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang

Not only the son of a former nun and former Franciscan brother, John Fugelsang is also a comedian. In this book, he examines how Christian Nationalists are co-opting the Bible to spread an agenda of hate that is inconsistent with what the Bible actually says, and offers rebuttals of those beliefs using Bible-based evidence and nuanced context.

If you have a low tolerance for religious hypocrisy, this is the book for you.

See my full review on StoryGraph.

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Strong Female Character by Fern Brady (Audiobook)

I really liked Fern Brady on Taskmaster, so I listened to her memoir, Strong Female Character, on audio.

It’s an interesting look at her life growing up with undiagnosed autism and all the ways people tried to explain her issues away before she finally got her diagnosis as an adult.

She also talks about the calming mechanisms she uses, even now, when she starts getting overstimulated. Being a spectrum disorder, autism doesn’t present the same in everyone, but I found her story enlightening. It also focuses on the ‘expectations’ for women with autism, so the gender aspect of it was interesting, as well. Women have a harder time getting care in just about every way, everywhere.

See my full review on StoryGraph.

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Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

In the close-knit neighborhood of Lake Hollow, it’s been more than a year since the Truetts were killed in their home while they slept. Ruby Fletcher, who lived in the neighborhood and walked the Truetts’ dog, was sent to prison for the crime.

Now, as the neighborhood prepares for its annual 4th of July party, Ruby suddenly reappears, and things start getting weird.

The whole neighborhood is on edge, but it will take another death before they all learn what really happened that night the Truetts died.

Atmospheric and perfect for summer.

Check out my full review on StoryGraph.

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Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in the same foster home. Their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, played mind games and treated them horribly.

Now, years later, each of them is still dealing with the trauma they experienced in that house. What they’ve always had is each other.

When the old house is knocked down to build a McDonald’s, human remains are discovered buried there. The girls go back to the town to answer questions and try to put some mysteries to rest for good.

This book was compulsively readable. The biggest problem I had with it was that the editing was horrible. I felt like they published an unproofed reader’s copy. Words would be repeated, almost as if someone moved them around in Track Changes but then never actually removed the original phrasing. This happened so frequently throughout the book that it took me out of the story sometimes.

Check out my full review on StoryGraph.

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The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

With Jacob Finch Bonner gone, his wife, Anna, takes over his book tour and works with his publisher to settle his affairs. When she mentions wanting to write a story of her own, they jump at it.

She publishes a book of fiction about dealing with grief.

And when she goes on tour, she starts receiving messages referring to her late brother. Things no one should know.

The Sequel illuminates aspects of the whole story that weren’t covered in The Plot. It’s dense and leans more literary than many thrillers, but it’s captivating. Toward the end, I was thinking nothing made sense with how they were resolving it, but it turns out that wasn’t the end at all. I liked that twist.

You do need to read The Plot to understand The Sequel. I had to go back and re-read the last 50-75 pages to remind myself of the details of how it ended.

Check out my full review on StoryGraph.

Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph | PangoBooks

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That’s it! That’s what we’ve been reading. What did you read in April?