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Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Literary Fiction

Click on the buttons below to filter by subgenre/theme, time period and setting.
All of these books have been read, reviewed, and recommended by our professional reviewers.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 1,690

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Firsts
Debuts - 507
1st in Series - 28

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 103
Humor & Satire - 133

Families
Generational Sagas - 303
Parenting & Families - 248

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 120
Coming of Age - 389
Mid-Life Onwards - 180
Dealing with Loss - 365

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 99
Immigrants & Expats - 259
Black Authors - 113
Latinx Authors - 29
Asian Authors - 198
Jewish Authors - 78
Middle-Eastern Authors - 37
Native and Indigenous Authors - 14

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 138
Strong Women - 364
LGBTQ+ - 88

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 77
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 92

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 102
Magical Realism - 25

Miscellaneous
Books with Discussion Guides - 977
Small Press Titles - 148
Books about Books - 55
Physical & Mental Differences - 145
Books About Animals - 33
War Related - 244
Nature & Environment - 78
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Activism & Volunteering - 15
Heroes - 8
LibraryReads Picks - 106

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 144
250-400 Pages - 1690
Less Than 250 Pages - 267

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Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 17
18th Century - 8
19th Century - 52
20th Century (multiple decades) - 192
Early 20th Century - 36
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1940s & '50s - 119
1960s & '70s - 150
1980s & '90s - 226
Contemporary - 837
The Future - 25
Across The Centuries - 28

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Major Regions
USA - 813
Canada - 34
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 55
Europe - 252
Asia - 187
Africa - 59
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 34
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 13
On The High Seas - 13
Global - 36
Imaginary Locations - 24

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 33
Conn. & R.I. - 13
Mass. - 47
Penn. - 19
New York State - 172
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Mis. Ala. Ga. - 30
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Ind. Mich. Ohio - 28
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 30
Nebr.& Dakotas - 14
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 16
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 24
California - 117
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 27

USA Regions
New England, USA - 153
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 207
South, USA - 185
Midwest, USA - 112
West, USA - 175

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 232
Scandinavia - 13
Netherlands & Belgium - 8
France - 54
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Eastern Europe - 28

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 57
Russia (North Asia) - 15
Central Asia - 8
East Asia (except China) - 38
China - 32
South Asia (except India) - 16
India - 40
South-East Asia - 25

Africa by Region
Eastern Africa - 17
Middle & Southern Africa - 13
Northern & Western Africa - 28

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  • Tom Lake
    Tom Lake: A Novel
    Ann Patchett
    Paperback: 04/01/2025
     
    In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself ...
  • The Usual Desire to Kill
    Camilla Barnes
    Hardcover: 04/01/2025
     
    An often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their ...
  • Lessons in Chemistry
    Bonnie Garmus
    Paperback: 04/01/2025
     
    A must-read debut! Meet Elizabeth Zott: a "formidable, unapologetic and inspiring" (Parade) scientist in 1960s...
  • A Short Walk Through a Wide World
    Douglas Westerbeke
    Paperback: 04/01/2025
     
    The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, ...
  • Say Hello to My Little Friend
    Jennine Capó Crucet
    Paperback: 03/25/2025
     
    Scarface meets Moby Dick in this groundbreaking, darkly comic novel about a young man's attempt to capitalize ...
  • Real Americans
    Rachel Khong
    Paperback: 03/25/2025
     
    From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An ...
  • Counting Backwards
    Binnie Kirshenbaum
    Hardcover: 03/25/2025
     
    A middle-aged couple struggles with the husband's descent into early-onset Lewy Body dementia in this profound...
  • Theft
    Theft: A Novel
    Abdulrazak Gurnah
    Hardcover: 03/18/2025
     
    In his first new novel since winning the 2021 Nobel Prize, a master storyteller captures a time of dizzying ...
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