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Book Recommendations for General Fiction, set in New York State

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All of these books have been read, reviewed, and recommended by our professional reviewers.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 299

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Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 172
Historical Fiction - 49
Thrillers - 45
Mystery - 26
Romance/Love Stories - 25
Short Stories - 13
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 8
Poetry & Novels in Verse - 1

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Firsts
Debuts - 74
1st in Series - 12

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 7
Humor & Satire - 31

Families
Generational Sagas - 40
Parenting & Families - 43

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 13
Coming of Age - 65
Mid-Life Onwards - 28
Dealing with Loss - 57

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 2
Immigrants & Expats - 50
Black Authors - 23
Latinx Authors - 3
Asian Authors - 19
Jewish Authors - 23
Middle-Eastern Authors - 3

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 28
Strong Women - 87
LGBTQ+ - 23

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 6
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 12

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 17
Magical Realism - 1

Miscellaneous
Books with Discussion Guides - 162
Small Press Titles - 19
Books about Books - 7
Physical & Mental Differences - 19
Books About Animals - 1
War Related - 17
Nature & Environment - 4
Music and the Arts - 7
Activism & Volunteering - 3
Heroes - 2
LibraryReads Picks - 24

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 34
250-400 Pages - 299
Less Than 250 Pages - 36

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Time Period
18th Century - 1
19th Century - 14
20th Century (multiple decades) - 38
Early 20th Century - 10
1920s & '30s - 13
1940s & '50s - 17
1960s & '70s - 18
1980s & '90s - 40
Contemporary - 154
The Future - 3
Across The Centuries - 6

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  • Becoming Madam Secretary
    Stephanie Dray
    Paperback: 03/18/2025
     
    New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an ...
  • A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe
    Mahogany L. Browne
    Hardcover: 03/11/2025
     
    In this poignant mixed voice, mixed form collection of interconnected prose, poems and stories, teen ...
  • Saint of the Narrows Street
    William Boyle
    Hardcover: 02/04/2025
     
    As an Italian American family's decades-old secret begins to unravel, they will have to bear ...
  • Glassworks
    Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
    Paperback: 02/04/2025
     
    A gorgeously written and irresistibly intimate queer novel that follows one family across four generations to ...
  • A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
    Tia Williams
    Paperback: 02/04/2025
     
    In this enchanting love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-...
  • Mona Acts Out
    Mona Acts Out: A Novel
    Mischa Berlinski
    Hardcover: 01/21/2025
     
    An exuberant, darkly humorous novel by the National Book Award–nominated author of Fieldwork.
  • A Gorgeous Excitement
    Cynthia Weiner
    Hardcover: 01/21/2025
     
    A dazzling novel about one young woman's summer of infinite possibility...

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