April 2026

Monthly Themed Reading Lists for Adults

Themed lists curated by your local librarians. Discover and rediscover books in the local collection based on monthly reading themes!

What if Worlds?

Click on the book images below to learn more about each book and even reserve a copy with your Perry Public Library Card!

Dive into these books that ask What if...?

  • What if...evolution were reversing itself? Future Home of the Living God

  • What if...you were exiled to the past for speaking out against tyranny? Hazards of Time Travel

  • What if...our future society found new ways to grieve and honor the dying and the dead after a pandemic? How High We Go in the Dark

  • What if...a Zambian American novelist wrote a new myth of Zambia’s history and possible future? The Old Drift

  • What if... Charles A. Lindbergh defeated Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election? The Plot Against America

  • What if...women were in charge? The Power

  • What if...society placed extreme limitations on reproductive rights? Red Clocks

  • What if...it’s the end of the world, but you don’t notice? Severance

  • What if...a musical theater troupe traveled a post-pandemic wasteland inhabited by a dangerous prophet? Station Eleven

  • What if...the underground railroad was a literal subterranean tunnel with tracks, trains, and conductors? The Underground Railroad

  • What if...three different versions of life are told in parallel, each advancing at the same pace? The Versions of Us

  • What if...the government limited women to no more than 100 spoken words daily? Vox

Books Exploring Joy

Click on the book images below to learn more about each book and even reserve a copy with your Perry Public Library Card!

National Library Week is April 19-25, 2026. This year's theme is "Find Your Library Joy." To honor our 2026 theme, we're highlighting books that explore joy.

  • 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life

  • The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

  • Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times

  • Dessert Can Save the World: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes for a Stubbornly Joyful Existence

  • Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life

  • Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World's Most Brilliant Dog

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  • The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  • Paris in Love: A Memoir

  • Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace

  • The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: Their Stories are Better than Bestsellers

  • Soul Shift: The Weary Human's Guide to Getting Unstuck and Reclaiming Your Path to Joy

  • Swimming in the Sink: an Episode of the Heart