Although many surveys will say that fall is Americans’ favorite season, I am firmly a spring-is-the-best-season truther. I love the longer days of sunshine, the flowers blooming (yes, even with Nashville’s terrible pollen forecasts), and the sense that the world is awakening again after a long, sleepy winter. To me, rainy April days are always a sign that rejuvenation and regrowth is on its way– and they’re a perfect excuse to stay inside and work on your to-be-read pile.

If you’re looking for some new books to add to your April reading list, consider curling up with some of these rainy-day reads.

After reading (and loving!) her debut last year, I was so excited to check out Naina Kumar’s latest novel– Flirting with Disaster– which follows a high-powered lawyer who reunites with her estranged ex-husband to seek a divorce, only to find herself forced to spend unexpected time with him after a hurricane strands them together. A loving homage to the 2002 film Sweet Home Alabama, I think this one will appeal to readers looking to add some 2000s romcom vibes to their spring reading list.

If fantasy is more your cup of tea, consider diving into The Way of Kings, the first book in the Stormlight Archive series. Set amidst a world of endless storms, The Way of Kings features serf Kaladin, lord Dalinar, and student Jasnah as they are drawn together amidst a series of mysterious events and discover their potential connection to the ancient Knights Radiant, an order of godlike warriors that have been lost to their world for centuries.

Looking for a good tearjerker? The Art of Racing in the Rain follows Labrador Enzo’s life with his racecar driver owner Denny, as Denny seeks to balance family obligations with his burgeoning racing career. If you’re a movie buff, read the novel before watching the 2019 film adaptation starring Milo Ventimiglia and Kevin Costner– and make sure to have your tissues ready for both!

If classic literature is more your speed, consider reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. A masterpiece of magical realism, the novel spans generations in the lives of the Buendía family, whose patriarch once built the Colombian rainforest village of Macondo. Rain is a constant in Macondo– once raining for "four years, eleven months, and two days"– and its attendant destruction of the village mirrors the increasing degradation of the Buendía family.