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Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Female Friendships

Click on the buttons below to filter by subgenre/theme, time period and setting.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 225

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Filter by Genre
Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 136
Historical Fiction - 66
Thrillers - 18
Mystery - 5
Romance/Love Stories - 4
Short Stories - 4
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 13

Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 63
1st in Series - 9

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 10
Humor & Satire - 7

Families
Generational Sagas - 31
Parenting & Families - 24

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 11
Coming of Age - 73
Mid-Life Onwards - 14
Dealing with Loss - 43

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 2
Immigrants & Expats - 26
Black Authors - 19
Latinx Authors - 2
Asian Authors - 32
Jewish Authors - 7
Middle-Eastern Authors - 2
Native and Indigenous Authors - 1

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 225
Strong Women - 135
LGBTQ+ - 24

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 5
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 11

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 12
Magical Realism - 1

Miscellaneous
Small Press Titles - 13
Books about Books - 7
Physical & Mental Differences - 14
Books About Animals - 1
War Related - 32
Nature & Environment - 2
Music and the Arts - 6
Activism & Volunteering - 8
Heroes - 5
LibraryReads Picks - 30

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 13
250-400 Pages - 225
Less Than 250 Pages - 21

Filter by Time Period
Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 8
18th Century - 5
19th Century - 21
20th Century (multiple decades) - 17
Early 20th Century - 11
1920s & '30s - 15
1940s & '50s - 20
1960s & '70s - 15
1980s & '90s - 23
Contemporary - 88
The Future - 4
Across The Centuries - 2

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 112
Canada - 6
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 3
Europe - 33
Asia - 21
Africa - 3
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 4
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 1
Global - 3
Imaginary Locations - 4

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 3
Conn. & R.I. - 2
Mass. - 5
Penn. - 3
New York State - 28
New Jersey - 2
Washington DC - 4
Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky. - 4
N & S Carolina - 4
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 6
Florida - 1
Texas - 2
Ark. La. Ok. - 3
Kas. Mo. - 2
Illinois - 2
Ind. Mich. Ohio - 4
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 2
Nebr.& Dakotas - 1
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 1
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 1
California - 27
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 7

USA Regions
New England, USA - 16
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 31
South, USA - 26
Midwest, USA - 11
West, USA - 36

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 35
Scandinavia - 1
France - 6
Spain - 1
Germany - 1
Italy - 3
Eastern Europe - 2

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 7
Central Asia - 1
East Asia (except China) - 4
China - 5
India - 9
South-East Asia - 2

Africa by Region
Middle & Southern Africa - 1
Northern & Western Africa - 2

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  • Hello Beautiful
    Ann Napolitano
    Paperback: 11/19/2024
     
    From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a poignant and engrossing family story that ...
  • Hot Springs Drive
    Lindsay Hunter
    Paperback: 11/12/2024
     
    The third title in Roxane Gay Books' inaugural list, Hot Springs Drive is an urgent, vicious blade of a novel ...
  • The Frozen River
    Ariel Lawhon
    Paperback: 11/05/2024
     
    From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping ...
  • Absolution
    Absolution: A Novel
    Alice McDermott
    Paperback: 10/29/2024
     
    A riveting account of women's lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the ...
  • 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 ...
  • Those Pink Mountain Nights
    Jen Ferguson
    Paperback: 10/15/2024
     
    In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and ...
  • The Dance of the Dolls
    Lucy Ashe
    Paperback: 09/10/2024
     
    A novel about obsessive love featuring two ballet dancers—identical twin sisters Olivia and Clara ...

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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.