Hit of the Lits – FRA Top 40
Another month, another round up of your favourite books as we collate your Hit of the Lits and your favourite reads for the previous month. This month we were looking for your favourite reads of April and as always the list is a big mix of new reads and classic literature!
We’ve added up all your top reads for April, and from those results we have a top ten, and then a top 40, including all the ‘movers and shakers’ from last month too. Last month it was Emma Donoghue’s Room at the top spot, but it’s all change! Here is the Hit of the Lits, FRA Top 40 books for April.
1
The Road to Little Dribbling – Bill Bryson
Released earlier this year, Bill Bryson’s tales of his adventure in Britain is a new entry this month, and it takes the top spot at Number 1!
The Road to Little Dribbling US
The Road to Little Dribbling UK
2
The Martian – Andy Weir
Back in the charts after dropping out completely last month is The Martian by Andy Weir. This has been a regular in the top 40 over the last few months and has barely been out of the charts, with this its second time at Number 2.
3
The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins
The Girl on the Train was one of the hottest reads of 2015, but with the movie trailer just released, many of you are reading in time for the release. A new entry at number 3 this week.
4
All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
Another new entry at Number 4 this month with All the Light We Cannot See, although it has made the charts before. Last year’s Pulitzer Prize Winner has proven a favourite with our group.
All the Light We Cannot See US
All the Light We Cannot See UK
5
Miss Peregrine Trilogy – Ransom Riggs
We’ve just heard there’s a Miss Peregrine movie on the way, and maybe it’s that that has pushed the third book in the trilogy into Number 5 for April.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children US
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children UK
6
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men is a perennially good read, and this month enough of you are reading or rereading it to put it number 6 for the Top 40 chart.
7
The Shepherd’s Crown – Terry Pratchett
It seems someone’s always reading Discworld, and this month we have The Shepherd’s Crown taking Number 7 in our Top 10.
8
Wonder – R. J. Palacio
This touching book is written for children, but many of you are enjoying it as much as the children you’re reading it to, making it another new entry to the Top 10 for April.
9
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah
Up three places this month is Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. It made number 12 in our top 40 for March, but is in the Top 10 for April.
10
Slammerkin – Emma Donoghue
Room took the top spot for April, but it’s another of Donoghue’s works, Slammerkin completing our Top Ten for April.
11. The Storied Life of A. J Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin (+13)
12. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman (New) (review)
13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith (New)
14. The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern (New)
15. And the Mountains Echoed – Khaled Hosseini (New)
16. 5th Wave – Rick Yancey (-14)
17. Room – Emma Donoghue (-16)
18. Shadows of the Workhouse – Jennifer Worth (New)
19. A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole (New)
20. The Pearl – John Steinbeck (New)
21. The Cellist of Sarajevo – Steven Galloway (New)
22. I Know this Much is True – Wally Lamb (New)
23. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon (-8)
24. 11/22/63 Stephen King (-19)
25. The Year of Wonders – Geraldine Brookes (New)
26. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (New)
27. Bazaar of Bad Dreams – Stephen King (New)
28. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – Rachel Joyce (New)
29. The Husband’s Secret – Liane Moriarty (New)
30. Fall on your knees – Ann-Marie Macdonald (New)
31. The One Plus One – Jojo Moyes (New)
32. The Raven King – Maggie Stiefvater (New)
33. The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro (New)
34. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky (New)
35. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier (New)
36. The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss (New)
37. American Gods – Neil Gaiman (New)
38. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (-24)
39. The Widow – Fiona Barton (New)
40. Hell on Earth – David Bowen (New)
FRA Readers’ Choice Top 20 – March 2022
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