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Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Historical 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: 666

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Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 160
1st in Series - 24

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 12
Humor & Satire - 16

Families
Generational Sagas - 106
Parenting & Families - 44

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 20
Coming of Age - 110
Mid-Life Onwards - 22
Dealing with Loss - 94

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 13
Immigrants & Expats - 67
Black Authors - 49
Latinx Authors - 7
Asian Authors - 54
Jewish Authors - 34
Middle-Eastern Authors - 4
Native and Indigenous Authors - 2

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 67
Strong Women - 287
LGBTQ+ - 40

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 8
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 47

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 43
Magical Realism - 15

Miscellaneous
Books with Discussion Guides - 397
Small Press Titles - 30
Books about Books - 26
Physical & Mental Differences - 37
Books About Animals - 5
War Related - 221
Nature & Environment - 24
Music and the Arts - 28
Activism & Volunteering - 3
Heroes - 25
LibraryReads Picks - 65

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 92
250-400 Pages - 666
Less Than 250 Pages - 41

Filter by Time Period
Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 111
18th Century - 40
19th Century - 180
20th Century (multiple decades) - 63
Early 20th Century - 65
1920s & '30s - 56
1940s & '50s - 123
1960s & '70s - 27
1980s & '90s - 9
Contemporary - 28
The Future - 3
Across The Centuries - 37

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 230
Canada - 9
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 24
Europe - 223
Asia - 69
Africa - 19
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 19
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 7
On The High Seas - 16
Global - 9
Imaginary Locations - 2

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 9
Conn. & R.I. - 2
Mass. - 17
Penn. - 5
New York State - 49
New Jersey - 1
Md. Del. - 5
Washington DC - 7
Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky. - 11
N & S Carolina - 12
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 7
Florida - 6
Texas - 8
Ark. La. Ok. - 9
Kas. Mo. - 7
Illinois - 4
Ind. Mich. Ohio - 6
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 5
Nebr.& Dakotas - 1
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 5
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 6
California - 22
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 11

USA Regions
New England, USA - 41
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 57
South, USA - 70
Midwest, USA - 26
West, USA - 43

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 152
Scandinavia - 10
Netherlands & Belgium - 7
France - 43
Spain - 3
Germany - 26
Italy - 26
Eastern Europe - 18

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 24
Russia (North Asia) - 12
Central Asia - 3
East Asia (except China) - 16
China - 15
South Asia (except India) - 3
India - 11
South-East Asia - 8

Africa by Region
Eastern Africa - 6
Middle & Southern Africa - 6
Northern & Western Africa - 5

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  • The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
    Briony Cameron
    Paperback: 05/13/2025
     
    This epic, dazzling tale based on true events illuminates a woman of color's rise to power as one of the few ...
  • The Covenant of Water
    Abraham Verghese
    Paperback: 05/06/2025
     
    Winner: BookBrowse Fiction Award 2023

    From the New York Times–bestselling author of Cutting for Stone ...
  • Remember Us
    Jacqueline Woodson
    Paperback: 05/06/2025
     
    Winner: BookBrowse YA Book Award 2023

    National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson brings readers a powerful...
  • Daughters of Shandong
    Eve J. Chung
    Paperback: 05/06/2025
     
    A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters' harrowing escape to Taiwan as the ...
  • The Pretender
    The Pretender: A Novel
    Jo Harkin
    Hardcover: 04/22/2025
     
    A sweeping historical novel in the vein of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O'Farrell set during the time of the ...
  • The Creation of Half-Broken People
    Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
    Paperback: 04/08/2025
     
    Stupendous African Gothic, by the winner of Yale University's Windham–Campbell Prize.
  • Happy Land
    Dolen Perkins-Valdez
    Hardcover: 04/08/2025
     
    A woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family's ties to it—...
  • The Sicilian Inheritance
    Jo Piazza
    Paperback: 04/01/2025
     
    From bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza, comes a transporting novel rooted in the ...
The reviewer of each book decides which categories it belongs in - but we're only human, mistakes happen. If you see a book that you think is in the wrong place, tell us!

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