Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Debuts

Click on the buttons below to filter by subgenre/theme, time period and setting.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 893

Page 1 of 112
Reset Filters
Filter by Genre
Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 500
Historical Fiction - 160
Thrillers - 79
Mystery - 78
Romance/Love Stories - 49
Short Stories - 65
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 76
Poetry & Novels in Verse - 1

Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 893
1st in Series - 59

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 38
Humor & Satire - 48

Families
Generational Sagas - 141
Parenting & Families - 106

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 64
Coming of Age - 200
Mid-Life Onwards - 46
Dealing with Loss - 167

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 32
Immigrants & Expats - 140
Black Authors - 86
Latinx Authors - 13
Asian Authors - 113
Jewish Authors - 26
Middle-Eastern Authors - 19
Native and Indigenous Authors - 7

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 63
Strong Women - 257
LGBTQ+ - 52

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 21
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 51

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 82
Magical Realism - 16

Miscellaneous
Small Press Titles - 108
Books about Books - 27
Physical & Mental Differences - 71
Books About Animals - 17
War Related - 132
Nature & Environment - 47
Music and the Arts - 11
Activism & Volunteering - 4
Heroes - 8
LibraryReads Picks - 55

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 55
250-400 Pages - 893
Less Than 250 Pages - 121

Filter by Time Period
Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 36
18th Century - 11
19th Century - 69
20th Century (multiple decades) - 90
Early 20th Century - 23
1920s & '30s - 31
1940s & '50s - 70
1960s & '70s - 57
1980s & '90s - 96
Contemporary - 369
The Future - 23
Across The Centuries - 17

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 407
Canada - 19
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 21
Europe - 132
Asia - 110
Africa - 43
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 20
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 6
On The High Seas - 7
Global - 19
Imaginary Locations - 25

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 16
Conn. & R.I. - 6
Mass. - 19
Penn. - 12
New York State - 74
New Jersey - 8
Md. Del. - 4
Washington DC - 7
Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky. - 17
N & S Carolina - 16
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 17
Florida - 9
Texas - 12
Ark. La. Ok. - 18
Kas. Mo. - 7
Illinois - 11
Ind. Mich. Ohio - 10
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 16
Nebr.& Dakotas - 3
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 9
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 10
California - 43
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 13

USA Regions
New England, USA - 62
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 98
South, USA - 107
Midwest, USA - 52
West, USA - 76

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 129
Scandinavia - 10
Netherlands & Belgium - 4
France - 20
Spain - 5
Germany - 10
Italy - 11
Eastern Europe - 15

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 35
Russia (North Asia) - 9
Central Asia - 4
East Asia (except China) - 25
China - 15
South Asia (except India) - 8
India - 20
South-East Asia - 17

Africa by Region
Eastern Africa - 11
Middle & Southern Africa - 11
Northern & Western Africa - 23

Select your view:
Order books by:
  • Happy
    Happy: A Novel
    Celina Baljeet Basra
    Paperback: 11/12/2024
     
    For fans of Vikas Swarup and Charles Yu, the story of a starry-eyed cinephile who leaves his rural village in ...
  • Women's Hotel
    Women's Hotel: A Novel
    Daniel M. Lavery
    Hardcover: 10/15/2024
     
    From the New York Times bestselling author and advice columnist, a poignant and funny debut novel about the ...
  • Murder by Degrees
    Ritu Mukerji
    Paperback: 10/15/2024
     
    For fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery set in 19th ...
  • A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    Raul Palma
    Paperback: 10/01/2024
     
    A genre-bending debut with a fiercely political heart, A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens explores the weight of ...
  • Before the Mango Ripens
    Afabwaje Kurian
    Hardcover: 09/24/2024
     
    Set against the backdrop of 1970s Nigeria teetering between post-colonial dependency and self-rule, Before the...
  • Where There Was Fire
    John Manuel Arias
    Paperback: 09/17/2024
     
    A lush and lyrical debut novel about a Costa Rican family wrestling with a deadly secret, from rising literary...
  • King of the Armadillos
    Wendy Chin-Tanner
    Paperback: 09/17/2024
     
    A transcendent debut novel about family, love, and belonging, set against the backdrops of 1950s New York City...

Full results are for members only - but you can cross-reference more than one theme by using the buttons in the right column. Members please login. Interested in becoming a member? Explore the many benefits of membership here.

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!

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.