Quick Summary
Books, movies, and other physical items were flying off the shelves last month. If you’re curious to know which titles have patrons rushing to place holds, look no further.
Do some of these look familiar? That’s probably because you’ve seen them in your library request system, or are requesting them yourself. As the seasons change, tastes and interests will surely follow. These are the most-requested items for April 2026, based on all our systems in Resource Sharing (in no particular order). Descriptions courtesy of MNLINK.
Books
The One and Only Ivan (2012) - Applegate, K.A.
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
(TW: SA) When Lizzy Hershberger turns fourteen, her schooling ends at eighth grade, and she has no choice but to leave home to work as an unpaid maid for another family. To avoid being shunned by her ultra-conservative Swartzentruber Amish family and community, Lizzy is forced to abandon her dreams because they are “too worldly.” After being raped by an Amish deacon over two dozen times, Lizzy makes her first attempt at “jumping the fence” to pursue a non-Amish lifestyle… This gripping true crime memoir reveals the truth behind one of America’s most revered and secretive religious sects—hidden behind the blue curtains of the Amish lifestyle.
Project Hail Mary: A Novel (2019) - Weir, Andy
A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that.
Seeking Persephone (2026) - Eden, Sarah
Lodged deep in a thick forest infested with wild dogs, the Duke of Kielder's castle is as cold and forbidding as the Duke himself, a man with terrible scars on his body and his soul. But the Duke's steely determination to protect his heart at all costs is challenged by his growing attachment...
The Road to Tender Hearts (2025) - Hartnett, Annie
At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren't for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn't have much time left—he's had three heart attacks already. But when PJ reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he's going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.
Other Physical Media
Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it's reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.
Project Hail Mary Book on CD (2021) - Weir, Andy and Porter, Ray
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a last-chance mission. If he fails, humanity will perish. But he doesn't know that. Ryland can't remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment.
Sleuth (1972) - Mankiewicz, Joseph L.
Wealthy mystery novelist Andrew Wyke invites lower-class hairdresser Milo Tindle to his elegant English mansion to discuss Milo's affair with Wyke's wife. But when Andrew proposes that Milo participate in a robbery scheme to benefit them all, the two rivals find themselves locked in an increasingly devious duel of wits and deceptions.
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Radio Dramatization (2000)
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905) - Doyle, Arthur Conan
First edition. First appeared in Collier's and Strand magazines, Sept. 1903-Jan.
