April Random CAT - April Loves Books!

Our April challenge is to read a book related to "April". It might be a book that was:

* Published in April
* Released in April
* Written by an author with an April birthday
* Placed in your LT Library in April
* Has an author or character named April
* Has April in the title
* Takes place in April
* Anything else you can think of that relates to April!

Wiki is here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2018_RandomCAT

April of any year works and it doesn't have to be the first published or released date.

A good resource is Goodreads for pubished dates. They have a list of 200 "Most Popular" books published for each month back to 2000. If you want to read a cozy mystery there are several websites with release and publication dates just for them. Another tool is the NY Times Bestseller List, it can be searched for by month and year.

If you have a specific book you want to check, Amazon almost always shows publication dates of month/year.

Here are some Published in April titles:

2017:
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Pandemic by A.G. Riddle

2016:
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

2015:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by J.K. Rowling
Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

2014:
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Natchez Burning by Greg Iles
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

2013:
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou

2012:
The Witness by Nora Roberts
A Natural Woman: A Memoir by Carole King
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

2011:
Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

2010:
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Mapping of Love and Death by Jennifer Winspear (Book 8 in the Maisie Dobbs series)

Have a good time finding and reading April Loves Books!

Oh, neat theme!

I think I'll read Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town; it was published (or so google tells me) in April of 2015.

I will go for the "added to my LT library in April" option on this challenge and read Child's Play, by Reginald Hill. I added it to my library in April 2016.

This will (a) ease pressure on my mystery category and (b) fit the first thought I had for this prompt, which was An April Shroud (I've read it already).

Great theme!

>2 scaifea: I saw it on one of the lists so I'm sure your good.

I've found several on my TBR that will work:

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (paperback published in April)
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanin

I have a Pre-order on Amazon for Circe, Madeline Miller's new book, to be released April 10 and I'd love to jump right in on it BUT...

I had started Killers of the Flower Moon in December and put it aside because I was so busy so I'll probably start it over. If I have time I'll read one of the others too but I'm behind with this month's plan so I may be still working on it!!

Right now I'm leaning towards Lumberjanes the graphic novel. It's one I have on my kindle, and one of the main characters is named April. If I don't read that, I may find something that comes out next month. Sky in the Deep comes out April 24th, and it's on my wishlist.

ETA My SFF KIT pick for April was actually published April 13, 2006. Feast of the Drowned - so that's probably what I'll read, though I may read the others as well.

I'm going to read Vintage Murder, which fits the MysteryCAT and works for this CAT as well. The author Ngaio Marsh was born on April 23, also my mom's birthday!

Oh! the Man in the Queue fits here for me (added Apr 2012) and fits for MysteryCAT. :)

>6 virginiahomeschooler: Lumberjanes is so, so excellent!

I've come up with three books that will fit this theme. Birds of a Feather whose author, Jacqueline Winspear celebrates her birthday on April 30th. Also, the Kindle version of Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg was published on April 5th, 2015, and Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood of which both the paperback and Kindle version were published on April 1st, 2010.

I'm thinking of The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson. My kindle version was published 24th April 2014. Plus, it has a beautiful yellow cover, perfect for a double shot with the ColourCAT. Not to mention that it has also been sitting on my virtual shelf for more than 3 years.

I've was hoping to find one of my TBR books to fit both the RandomCat and the 'Y' element of AlphaKit, and I did! I'll be reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, which was originally published in April. >1 clue: I'm glad you mentioned Goodreads/Amazon list publication dates by month :) I love LT far more than either, but that was convenient :)

Two of the books I'm planning to read in April will work for the "added to your LT catalog in April" option! I added Elizabeth Daly's Unexpected Night on April 13, 2015, and Lindsey Kelk's I Heart New York on April 29, 2017.

I'm thinking about April Lady by Georgette Heyer.

>9 scaifea: My daughter has been trying to get me to read it for a while. She loves them.

I'm planning The Long Way Home by Louise Penny. It's the next in the series for me and was added to my collection in April 2017.

I receive ARCs from NetGalley - would a book downloaded/awarded in April count?

Woohoo! Beartown has been on my TBR since last year. It is our bookclub pick for April AND it was published in April 2017!
Also, Gulp has been on my list for a bit. I'll try to get to that in April also.

My Thingaversary is in April so I'm looking at the list of authors who LibraryThing to see if they are in my TBR pile.

Hmmmm, this might take some thinking. I'd like to see if I have something with "April" in the title, but that may not be as likely. I might check the GR list of books published in April. I like the idea of a character named April, but that might be tricky to figure out....

Besides William Shakespeare (April 23) here are a few authors with April birthdays:

Apr 2 Hans Christian Andersen, Emile Zola
Apr 4 Maya Angelou
Apr 8 Barbara Kingsolver
Apr 10 Paul Theroux
Apr 12 Beverly Cleary, Scott Turow
Apr 13 Eudora Welty
Apr 14 Arnold Toynbee
Apr 15 Henry James
Apr 21 Charlotte Bronte
Apr 23 Ngaio Marsh
Apr 24 Sue Grafton, Anthony Trollope
Apr 26 Bernard Malamud
Apr 27 August Wilson
Apr 28 Harper Lee, Terry Pratchett
Apr 30 Annie Dillard, Jacqueline Winspear

You can view many more at: http://librarybooklists.org/literarybirths/bapril.htm

The Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler features a character named April, but I can't remember which book she first appears in.

If you're reading Louise Penny, The Cruellest Month might work for this challenge too :)

Looked around a little bit, but I might end up going with a couple of the ones mentioned in the original post:
Gulp / Mary Roach
The Cuckoo's Calling / Robert Galbraith

>21 kac522: A very useful list, thank you. I can add Arnold Toynbee to my list of possibilities -- his The Greeks and their Heritages has, I think, been on my TBR shelves for the longest.

I was originally thinking of taking the easy way out and look at books I had added in April, but Judy's post about Jacqueline Winspear has me thinking I could read the next one in the Masie Dobbs series which would be Birds of a Feather for me too.

According to LibraryThing Never Let Me Go was published in April 2005. I've been meaning to read it for a long time, so now seems like a good opportunity.

>17 cyderry: Yes, I think April acquisitions of any kind are fine. I'm not trying to tempt a buying frenzy though! LOL

Some interesting ideas here:
Ngaoi Marsh - read them all ages ago, might be worth revisiting for the MysteryCAT (Golden Age)
An Ember in the Ashes and Beartown are on the shelf waiting for attention
The Cruellest Month is tempting as I want to read more about Inspector Gamache.

This will get me motivated to read the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series, Birds of a Feather, which I've been meaning to get to for a while. Jacqueline Winspear was born in April.

It looks like a few of us are going to use this as impetus for some Maisie Dobbs reading!

Oooh, just got an ARC of the book I won in from LT Early Reviewers. Looks like it's set to be published at the beginning of April, so I think I'll read it:

Black Chuck / Regan McDonnell

I just fished The Enchanted April from the pile while looking for something else.

The book I'm currently readin One in a Million Boy is published in April. It's pretty good so far so I have a feeling I will be finished it before April begins.

ETA: I took a bullet when trawling LT the other day (thanks to sharp shooter Judy - aka DeltaQueen50). The Cleaner by Paul Cleave, kindle edition, was published on April 1st 2012! Is this a sign?

Think I might read Y is for Yesterday which will fit both this challenge for Sue Grafton's birthday and the Alpha for Y.

>32 MissWatson: that's a lovely book.

>35 Helenliz: I've seen the movie years ago and loved it.

>21 kac522: Thank you so much for posting that birthday list. I noticed that Sue Grafton is on it and I was already planning on reading Y is for Yesterday for the AlphaKIT so that will work perfectly here. I may also read The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton and Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli since Goodreads assures me they were both published in April.

I'm planning to read Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, which I think was published in April 2011.

I like the light and fluffy Donut Shop mysteries from Jessica Beck. There are 36 of them, as of this month, I believe, and these take place in April Springs, NC.

If I can get to it, I might also read my next book in the Jacqueline Winspear mysteries.

>39 lindapanzo: Linda, I can't even tell you how many of these i have left to read, I think I'm only at the halfway point. Thank you for reminding me of the name of the town, I completely spaced on that!

>39 lindapanzo: >40 lsh63: I'm not sure if my library has the next one or if it will be available, but if so, I'll try to join you in a Jessica Beck read. You all are probably further along than I am in the series, but at least it will be the same author.

>40 lsh63: >41 thornton37814: There are (or will soon be) 36 of the Donut Shop mysteries. I've read the first 35. These are extremely quick reads. At some point, she (actually he) changed the format, making the books shorter but issuing them more often.

I think that I will read The Enchanted April…

>39 lindapanzo: -36 of them ? I've only read #1. Guess I have a long way to go.

>44 dudes22: They are extremely quick reads.

I just finished a book about the April of 1967 tornado in Belvidere, IL. Poor planning on my part. We remember that one because tornadoes touched down all over Chicagoland and my sister was born a couple of days before this.

>42 lindapanzo: LT only shows 22 in the series. Someone needs to add the series info to common knowledge on the others.

ETA: Found the list at her site and am working on it.

ETA: Completed.

>37 LittleTaiko: I'll join you in Tell Me How It Ends. I was hoping to get to it last month, but I supposed I was intended to wait until April!

I'll also be reading Ngaio Marsh's Scales of Justice There may be others.....

I have finished my first read for this month's theme. Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood was interesting but being a YA story it didn't go into the depth or detail that I would have liked.

I won an ARC via Early Reviewers. The publication date for this says tomorrow, April 3

Black Chuck / Regan McDonell
4 stars

Real’s best friend, Shaun, has died, and Rael feels responsible, though all he remembers is beating Shaun up that night; after that, he can’t remember. Shaun’s 16-year old girlfriend, Evie, is pregnant. As Real tries to come to grips with what happened, he and Evie become closer.

This started off kind of slow, but I liked both Rael and Evie and how they related to each other. I’m not sure how big or small the town was meant to be, but it had a small town feel, with the teenagers drinking, partying, and drugs being available.

Just picked up The Enchanted April on an Amazon special today.

I finished The Long Way Home by Louise Penny that was added to my library in April 2017. I have enjoyed others in the series, especially the last two, but found this one disappointing. However, I'll continue with the series.

I just finished The enchanted April and loved it. Arnim's slightly barbed style prevents things from getting too sweet, and it has a timeless quality, the atmosphere of letting go in a holiday setting is caught perfectly.

>50 beebeereads: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I am currently reading A Song of War, a collaborative novel. Two of the authors, Libbie Hawker and S J A Turney, have April birthdays.

>52 MissWatson: Thanks for the encouragement to raise this up on my list. I really do plan to get to it in April after I finish my book club book. Looking forward to it more now with your recommendation.

I loved Backman’s first novel, A Man Called Ove but was not drawn to go forward with his others. The buzz about Beartown (published in April 2017) was so good that I couldn’t resist adding it to my TBR. Then it was the April selection for my book club. Wow! So, so glad I read this. As he did in Ove, Backman explores universal experiences like loneliness, bitterness, friendship, parental love, marriage, good/evil, coming of age, sports culture, bullying, sexual assault and rape.
As he reveals his characters, the author is searching inside their souls to flesh out a moral dilemma. Backman does a thorough job of building up the back story of each character so that the decisions each makes seem plausible and even predictable. At the same time, there are surprises in plot and character--no one knows how he or she will respond in any given situation until the opportunity presents itself. Does life on the outside have anything to do with the game? Can a person be a great player and a terribly flawed human being? Can we admire skill or talent and ignore moral character? Where is the line between the good of the whole and the rights of the individual? All questions worth pondering after this excellent read.

I finished Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton - her birthday would have been on April 24th.

I finished my selection this weekend (this one was published in April 2015):



Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
Krakauer delves into the college town rape culture by recounting and dissecting two high profile court cases held during a four-year period of sexual assault scandal that deeply involved the Missoula football team.

Much of what this book discusses doesn't surprise me: the epidemic-level rate of sexual assault on a college campus; the doubt that comes in waves from police and, of course, rabid football fans; the hero cult and resulting culture of entitlement surrounding the football players; the "boys will be boys" attitude. It's all there, everywhere. What made me most nauseous as I read Krakauer's account of the trials was the actions and attitude of the Missoula County prosecutor, Kirsten Pabst, who oversaw all charges of rape, dismissing most of them as unwinnable, and then standing as a character witness (*reels from another wave of disgust and nausea*) for one of the football players at a campus trial for rape.

What I find at least slightly comforting, though, is Krakauer's admitting his former ignorance of just how prevalent sexual assault is in this country, and then deciding to try to do something to spread awareness. This book came out before the #MeToo movement started, but it's part of a trend that is, at least, encouraging in some respects. At any rate, it's an important read.

I finished Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, which was published in April last year. This is an intriguing YA fantasy series.

So far this month I have read two books purchased in April: Ladies for Liberty by John Blundell (April 2015) and Women Illustrators of the Golden Age by Mary Carolyn Waldrep (purchased on a trip two days ago). The touchstone for Waldrep's book points to the correct book with a different title. Blundell's book about over 20 women is
written from a conservative viewpoint. Waldrep's book is primarily illustrations with very brief biographies of 22 American or British women illustrators.

>56 LittleTaiko: Oh, good to know! I finished that a few days ago myself for the AlphaKIT :)

I finished two books which I entered in my library in April 2016: Pietr le Letton and Chez les Flamands, both very early Maigret mysteries who also count for the MysteryCAT.

I've finished Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear. The author was born in April.

Starting Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor, whose birthday is in April.

I finished Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, whose birthday is April 28th. I have only read a couple of these (aside from all the Tiffany Aching ones), so I wasn't sure if be able to follow it, being the 27th book, but for the most part it read like a stand alone. And I really enjoyed it. I definitely plan to continue with the series (but maybe a bit more in order).

I finished my selection (in >3 rabbitprincess:) and have posted a review on the book's work page.

I've finished my first book for this month's challenge: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 4*. This was a great story which happened to have been published on my birthday, 4/26/16.

I'm also working on two other books which will count for this month. Time and Again by Jack Finney, the Audible release date was 4/7/11 and I am listening to the Audible edition. And
Henry VI, Part II by William Shakespeare who has an April birthday.

Finished my first read to fit this challenge - The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall - which was added to my LT Library just last week. Overall, a decent enough mystery for mystery fans to enjoy and a story I can heartily recommend to the P.G. Wodehouse fans who appreciate the farcical, tongue-in-cheek irony that P.G. Wodehouse perfected, just not that great if you are expecting a fascinating steampunk read.

I read three books by Samuel Beckett for Irish author challenge (in the 75ers) which I added to RandomCAT wiki since Beckett was born in April.

COMPLETED Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor

I had no idea how apposite Das Schwert und der Mond would be for the April RandomCAT when I saw this on my bookmooching site last week. It is the story of El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, born in April 1539, died in April 1616. On the same day as William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, as the author would have it, ignoring that the English had a different calendar at the time, so it would have been the same date, not day. A sad story, but wonderfully written.

I just finished The Here and Now by Ann Brashares, published 4-8-14. I read it for SFF time travel so happy to discover it was published in April.

Read Y is for Yesterday. Sue Grafton was born in April. A somewhat disappointing read - certainly not one of her best (in my opinion).

I read The Hounds of Spring by our very own LTer Sybix aka and just published this April. It was wonderful!

Henry James was born in April, so I finally picked up Washington Square which turned out to be much better than I hoped for after my first encounter with this author: The portrait of a lady dragged a lot.

I completed my read of Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear, who was born in April.

It’s been decades since last I read Ngaio Marsh, but she was one of my favorites. I read Clutch of Constables for this and for MysteryCAT.

One more Henry James: The Europeans. Loved it.

Starting Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris. It was first published in May 2014, but the paperback came out in April 2015.

I've finished The Man in the Queue for this and for the MysteryCAT. I bought it in April 2012.

I manged to read two more books for this challenge - The Hideaway and Tell Me How it Ends, both books that were published in April 2017.

I finished The Enchanted April and found it charming.

I eventually finished The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun but it took nearly two weeks (interspersed by other reading). Found at a FOL booksale in April 2016.

I just finished Cutter And Bone by Newton Thornburg and I really enjoyed this gritty thriler that was originally published in 1976.

I bought a lot of books at a charity sale for the library and read one of them immediately, an essay by Marguerite Yourcenar on the ladies of Chenonceaux : Schloß der Frauen. Told me quite a few things the documentaries failed to mention.

Another April acquisition was Blumen im Schnee by Akira Yoshimura. Historical fiction about bringing smallpox vaccination to Japan in the first half of the 19th century.

edited for touchstone

I added the audiobook A Small Case for Inspector Ghote? by H.R.F. Keating to my library in April 2017. Sam Dastor did a fabulous job of the narration.

I couldn't get a copy of Vintage Murder this month, so I read Death of A Peer which was a fun read. This book, unlike most of the others in this series, didn't have a theatrical focus.

I also read To Die But Once, Ms. Winspear's birthday is April 30.

I completed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Gann. Original publication date is 4/18/2017.

Finished Year of Wonders last night, which Goodreads tells me was published in April :)

I just discovered an old ROOT (2012) on my Kindle called April's Lady so I am reading that.

I just finished The Enchanted April which I would not have picked up if not for this challenge. Written and set in 1920’s London and the Italian Riviera, this is a delightful escape from the dreary April weather that has become common to us here in New England. The story is a bit insipid, compared to contemporary fiction, but it was refreshing to ponder a simple holiday in a beautiful medieval Italian castle. Through her characters the author explores many life experiences and the many faces of love. Light and delightful.

I would definitely recommend this for anyone doing the May Random challenge. Flowers abound in this setting!

Closing out the month with an LTER book I acquired at the start of the month: The Adventures of Dagobert Trostler by Balduin Groller. Recently translated into English this was a very enjoyable read of short stories that should join the ranks of the Golden Age mysteries more widely read by English speaking readers.

I'm terribly late with my update, but I did finish two books for April's challenge: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett and Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh. Both authors have April birthdays, as has been mentioned earlier in this thread.