If you — like me — made a resolution back in January to read more books this year, you are probably feeling the heat right about now. I haven't kept up with my rigorous resolution (10 books a month — what was I thinking?) but that doesn't mean that I haven't read some incredible books this year, a few of which are included on this list of 37 new books coming out in April 2019. Whatever your literary tastes, there's something on this lineup that will help you hit your reading goals for 2019.
My two favorite books of the year (thus far) are both included on this list: Optic Nerve by María Gainza and Normal People by Sally Rooney. You've probably already heard a bit about the latter book: It was released in the U.K. in 2018 to rave reviews. It was longlist for the Man Booker Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among other accolades. But you may not have heard about Optic Nerve, a dazzling novel-in-translation about an Argentine woman who is obsessed with art and tells her story through the lens of the artists whom she admires.
There are 35 other books to discover below — here's what to look forward to in April 2019:
'I’ll Miss You When I Blink' by Mary Laura Philpott (April 2)
A memoir of ordinary life, I'll Miss You When I Blink is an exploration of the meaning of, you know, being alive and finding contentment, even if your life isn't one currently filled with big adventures.
'Lost and Wanted' by Nell Freudenberger (April 2)
In Nell Freudenberger's inventive new novel, the life of Helen Clapp, a world-renowned physicist, changes in a single instant when she receives a call from her dead friend, Charlotte.
'Sabrina & Corina' by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (April 2)
In her debut short story collection, Kali Fajardo-Anstine turns the spotlight on Latinas of Indigenous descent in the American West.
'Women Talking' by Miriam Toews (April 2)
When a group of Mennonite women in Bolivia discovers that men in their community have been repeatedly drugging and raping them over the last two years, they must make a tough decision: stay, or go — even though they have no knowledge of the outside world and are unable to speak the language of the country where they live.
'The National Team' by Caitlin Murray (April 2)
You're probably more familiar with the names of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team than of the Men's National Soccer Team: There's Mia Hamm and Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe. The U.S. team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. They earn huge amounts of revenue for FIFA and U.S. soccer, and have changed perceptions of the game around the country. And yet, the players endure incredible inequality in the form of low pay, poor playing conditions, and limited professional opportunities. This book is an expansive look at U.S. women's soccer and the players' fight for equality.
'Brute' by Emily Skaja (April 2)
April is National Poetry Month, and you have truly no excuse for skipping the poetry section when there are so many amazing new collections to devour, including Emily Skaja's Brute.
'Finding My Voice' by Valerie Jarrett (April 2)
The longest serving advisor in the Obama White House shares the stories you're dying to hear about what it's like to advise (and just hang out with) former President Barack Obama. But Valerie Jarrett is much more than Obama's confidante: In this book, she takes readers through her journey to becoming one of the most powerful Black women in America.
'Maybe You Should Talk To Someone' by Lori Gottlieb (April 2)
What's happens when your whole life is a mess... and you're a therapist? Well, you find another therapist. In her memoir, bestselling author, columnist, and therapist Lori Gottlieb explores her own issues — and discovers just how similar they are to the problems of her clients.
'The Girl He Used To Know' by Tracey Garvis Graves (April 2)
A second-chance romance that will get you ready for days of dreamy summer reading (and dating), The Girl You Used To Know follows Annika and Jonathan, former lovers who were split apart by an unforeseen tragedy. A decade later, fate brings them together again.
'Fast Cakes: Easy Bakes in Minutes' by Mary Berry (April 2)
Nearly 100 of the bakes in Mary Berry's new cookbook take under 10 minutes to make. Ten minutes! Heat up your ovens, strap on your aprons, and throw your own Great British Bake-Off in your home.
'The Affairs Of The Falcóns' by Melissa Rivero (April 2)
A rendering of the complexity of the immigrant experience, The Affairs of the Falcóns follows Ana Falcón, an undocumented immigrant from Peru attempting to build a life for herself and her family in New York City. Stability and survival aren't guaranteed, and as the situation worsens in the United States, Ana's family questions whether or not they belong there at all.
'Save Me The Plums' by Ruth Reichl (April 2)
The last editor-in-chief of defunct Gourmet magazine, Ruth Reichl knows food — and how to write about it. In Save Me The Plums, she takes readers on a journey through her days at the helm of one of the most influential food magazines of all time. Plus, there are recipes.
'Soft Science' by Franny Choi (April 2)
In her second poetry collection — another essential read for National Poetry Month (and every month thereafter) — Franny Choi combines technology and poetry to stunning effect.
'Beyond The Point' by Claire Gibson (April 2)
In Beyond The Point, Claire Gibson examines the friendship of three women through their days at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, just after the attacks of 9/11.
'How To Do Nothing' by Jenny Odell (April 9)
The question of "how to unplug" is one you've probably asked in your own life — for mental health purposes, or to increase productivity. But in How To Do Nothing, Jenny Odell frames unplugging as an act of resistance and preservation — because tech companies aren't just vying for your attention, but your money, your data, and more.
'All That You Leave Behind' by Erin Lee Carr (April 9)
In this memoir of grief and memory, Erin Lee Carr, the daughter of late journalist David Carr, juxtaposes her own story with the words of her father, as expressed via the hundreds of emails he wrote to her over the course of his life.
'Optic Nerve' by María Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead (April 9)
My favorite book of 2019 (thus far), Optic Nerve is composed of a series of vignette-like sections that each focus on a different artist. Through the stories of Rothko, Courbet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others, the reader comes to understand something essential about the novel's narrator, an Argentine art historian who has built her life on the foundation of the work of the artists she idolizes.
'Girls On The Verge' by Sharon Biggs Waller (April 9)
Camille is having a wonderful summer — until the night she finds out she got into a prestigious theater program and learns she's pregnant. Along with her best friend and a girl she knows from theater, Camille sets out on a road trip to get an abortion.
'When We Left Cuba' by Chanel Cleeton (April 9)
You may recognize Chanel Cleeton — she is, after all, the author of one of Reese Witherspoon's book club selections in 2018, Next Year In Havana. In her latest novel, Cleeton returns to 1960s Florida for a story about a young Cuban exile caught between her allegiances to her family, her heart, and her country.
'How To Make Friends With The Dark' by Kathleen Glasgow (April 9)
From Kathleen Glasgow comes a haunting novel about grief, isolation, and independence. How To Make Friends with The Dark follows Tiger, whose entire world is upended when her mother — her only family — passes away suddenly. With no one to help her, Tiger must navigate her own sadness and survival alone.
'Trust Exercise' by Susan Choi (April 9)
Trust Exercise is a novel in two parts that circles the students of a high school theater class. Don't let the vivid, saturated colors of the book cover fool you — this book delivers a narrative twist that will have you seeing spots.
'Life Will Be The Death Of Me' by Chelsea Handler (April 9)
Like so many Americans, Chelsea Handler had a major wake-up call after Donald Trump was elected president. In this book, she recounts her personal reckoning (how to use the toaster, how to pick up dog poop, etc.) and her political awakening, all told through her signature dark humor.
'Meet Cute' by Helena Hunting (April 9)
If a "rom-com in book form" is what you're after this spring, you can't go wrong with Meet Cute, about a totally normal woman who strikes up a relationship with the former actor she loved as a teenager.
'The Risk Of Us' by Rachel Howard (April 9)
A novel about balancing one's desire for motherhood with the fear and anguish of it, The Risk of Us is a book that will surely speak to those who have complicated feelings about becoming a mother at all.
'Descendant of the Crane' by Joan He (April 9)
In this riveting YA debut, Princess Hesina of Yan becomes queen of an unstable kingdom following the murder of her father. She's desperate for answers about her father's death — desperate enough to illegally enlist the help of a soothsayer, even though magic is banned in her kingdom.
'Normal People' by Sally Rooney (April 16)
Normal People is author Sally Rooney's highly-anticipated follow-up to the 2016 novel Conversations with Friends. An incisive will-they-won't-they romance paired with a coming-of-age story, Normal People follows two young adults as they grapple with the power dynamics of their fluctuating feelings for one another and find their momentum and purpose apart from the other.
'Miracle Creek' by Angie Kim (April 16)
Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical device in rural Virginia, where people pay to dive in their pressurized oxygen chamber in the hopes of curing incurable maladies. But when the device explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial ensues.
'The Murmur Of Bees' by Sofía Segovia, translated by Simon Bruni (April 16)
In the first Sofía Segovia novel to be translated into English, a small Mexican village is changed forever by the appearance of a boy covered in bees. Some in the village forsake him, believing him to be cursed; but Francisco and Beatriz Morales take in the mysterious boy, only to discover that he can see the future — and save his adopted family from the worst of it.
'I Know Who You Are' by Alice Feeney (April 23)
In this thriller from the author of Sometimes I Lie, an actress must reckon with the dark past she has always kept secret when her husband goes missing.
'The Mother-in-Law' by Sally Hepworth (April 23)
Everyone loves Lucy's smart, polite, and generous mother-in-law, Diana — except Lucy. But when Diana turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, the family fractures under the weight of their own secrets.
'The Lazarus Files' by Matthew McGough (April 30)
In The Lazarus Files, Matthew McGough walks readers through the investigation of the murder of Sherri Rasmussen in 1986, who told her husband days before her death that she had been threatened by his ex-girlfriend, a police officer. The case went cold until decades later when a DNA evidence implicated a suspect: LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus.
'What My Mother And I Don't Talk About' edited by Michele Filgate (April 30)
Despite the title, not every essay in this collection is written by someone estranged from their mother. Rather, the writers of the essays in this book all have complex, nuanced, dynamic relationships with their mothers — and by talking about the things they don't talk about, they might give you some insight into your own life and mother, too.
'Love From A to Z' by S.K. Ali (April 30)
In the newest novel from S.K. Ali, two Muslim teenagers grappling with their own issues of health, family, and identity, meet unexpectedly and form a connection that is both unlikely and a marvel.
'You Are Always With Me' by Frida Kahlo (April 30)
Frida Kahlo wrote a number of letters to her mother, and for the first time, 50 of them are available to read in English. The letters begin in 1923, when Kahlo was 16 years old, and continue until her mother's death in 1932. These letters are a treat for true Frida devotees.
'Soft Targets' by Deborah Landau (April 30)
In a world defined by climate change, terrorist attacks, gun violence, and political strife, what use is a small act of love? In Soft Targets, poet Deborah Landau attempts to bring that love back into focus, without blurring the view of all that threatens to destroy us.
'Little Darlings' by Melanie Golding (April 30)
Already optioned for film, Little Darlings is a thriller-horror hybrid that shouldn't be missed. The book follows Lauren, an exhausted new mother to twins. She needs rest, but she is also confident in her memory of the night her daughters were born: She saw a woman try to take her babies and replace them with something not-quite-human. But then her babies do disappear, and when they're found, something is very, very wrong.
'The Unlikely Adventures Of The Shergill Sisters' by Balli Kaur Jaswal (April 30)
From the author of the Reese Witherspoon book club selection Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows comes a novel about three sisters on a journey to fulfill their mother's final wish. Before her death, she asked her daughters, who barely get along, to make the pilgrimage together to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to carry out her final rites.
