8 Book Deals for Mid April

This is a GOOOOOOD weekend for book deals, particularly because Chirp is running a big spring sale with lots of buzzy bestselling audiobooks on major discount.

You can see the whole sale here and I’ve picked out some of my favorites below (as well as non-Chirp sale titles!).

The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon
I absolutely loved her book What the Wind Knows because it has everything I love in a good book – plot twists I didn’t see coming, a terrific romance, and history I knew very little about. I think this one sounds just as terrific about Butch Cassidy (one of America’s most notorious train/bank robbers in the Old West) falling in love.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
I read this WWII middle grade novel about children who were evacuated from London to the countryside during the Blitz in 2015 and still remember it so clearly – it’s fantastic and a worthy recipient of a Newbery Honor. (Full review here).

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
I probably wouldn’t have picked this up because I’ve only read one other Ann Patchett book (The Magician’s Assistant) and I did NOT care for it. But then my friend Jessica called me to say “YOU MUST READ THIS” and the audio – narrated by Meryl Streep – was included on Everand, so I picked it up and I’ve loved it. It’s maybe a bit slower than my normal reading picks, but it worked beautifully for me!
(I did a 30-second book review of it here.)

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
After reading Empire of Pain last year for book club, someone suggested this to me as another compelling narrative non-fiction read and when I read the description, I was very intrigued – a family with 6 of their 12 children being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the researchers investigating the genetic origins.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
This historical fiction title was a definite win in my book. It’s set in Romania in 1989 and while most European communist regimes are falling apart, Romania is still deep in the throes of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s dictatorship, with most of the world completely unaware. Cristian is 17 years old and dreams of a different life for himself, but when he’s blackmailed into becoming an informer, it looks like all his dreams might go up in smoke unless he’s willing to risk absolutely everything. I HIGHLY recommend this one on audio!

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
I feel like every person probably needs this book, whether they’re parenting children or trying to figure out what to do with their own lives (the audiobook version is excellent – my husband and I both listened to it!). Epstein takes you on a deep dive into the idea that generalists, not specialists are more apt to become successful and how too much specialization can stifle creativity and innovation. Really thought-provoking and applicable.

The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz
Owen and Luna have been close friends since college (but never romantically involved). The one thing they seem to have in common is that people around them keep showing up dead. Twenty years later, it happens again…Luna finds Owen’s wife brutally murdered. You better believe all sorts of secrets are going to start coming out.

A New Friend: Adventures of Sophie Mouse: Book #1 by Poppy Green
For Christmas, we gave Star a 10 book box collection of these books and she was THRILLED (there are 18 books in the series currently) and they follow the adventures of brave little Sophie Mouse and her woodland friends. It’s also a Libro.fm deal so you can make it into a Yoto card!