Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Contemporary

Click on the buttons below to filter by subgenre/theme, time period and setting.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 1,333

Page 1 of 167
Reset Filters
Filter by Genre
Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 822
Historical Fiction - 25
Thrillers - 246
Mystery - 156
Romance/Love Stories - 67
Short Stories - 99
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 57
Poetry & Novels in Verse - 7

Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 369
1st in Series - 46

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 70
Humor & Satire - 106

Families
Generational Sagas - 166
Parenting & Families - 210

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 45
Coming of Age - 254
Mid-Life Onwards - 140
Dealing with Loss - 316

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 62
Immigrants & Expats - 166
Black Authors - 81
Latinx Authors - 20
Asian Authors - 126
Jewish Authors - 49
Middle-Eastern Authors - 24
Native and Indigenous Authors - 11

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 88
Strong Women - 312
LGBTQ+ - 71

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 48
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 65

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 94
Magical Realism - 23

Miscellaneous
Small Press Titles - 118
Books about Books - 39
Physical & Mental Differences - 116
Books About Animals - 28
War Related - 105
Nature & Environment - 70
Music and the Arts - 26
Activism & Volunteering - 14
Heroes - 6
LibraryReads Picks - 117

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 85
250-400 Pages - 1333
Less Than 250 Pages - 210

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 680
Canada - 29
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 41
Europe - 181
Asia - 114
Africa - 44
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 22
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 8
On The High Seas - 11
Global - 28
Imaginary Locations - 14

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 29
Conn. & R.I. - 8
Mass. - 31
Penn. - 14
New York State - 152
New Jersey - 20
Md. Del. - 10
Washington DC - 16
Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky. - 26
N & S Carolina - 16
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 17
Florida - 20
Texas - 16
Ark. La. Ok. - 13
Kas. Mo. - 4
Illinois - 19
Ind. Mich. Ohio - 21
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 21
Nebr.& Dakotas - 5
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 22
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 14
California - 102
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 30

USA Regions
New England, USA - 122
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 197
South, USA - 139
Midwest, USA - 78
West, USA - 164

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 190
Scandinavia - 19
Netherlands & Belgium - 3
France - 23
Spain - 10
Germany - 7
Italy - 24
Eastern Europe - 13

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 39
Russia (North Asia) - 9
Central Asia - 8
East Asia (except China) - 27
China - 13
South Asia (except India) - 7
India - 25
South-East Asia - 13

Africa by Region
Eastern Africa - 12
Middle & Southern Africa - 13
Northern & Western Africa - 21

Select your view:
Order books by:
  • 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 ...
  • 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 ...
  • The Oceans and the Stars
    The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)
    Mark Helprin
    Paperback: 10/29/2024
     
    Mark Helprin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Winter's Tale and A Soldier of the Great War, ...
  • Canoes
    Maylis De Kerangal
    Paperback: 10/29/2024
     
    A colorful cast of female characters contends with UFOs, sonic waves, and the legend of Buffalo Bill in a ...
  • 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 ...
  • Blood Test
    Blood Test: A Comedy
    Charles Baxter
    Hardcover: 10/15/2024
     
    From the winner of the PEN/Malamud Award and "one of our most gifted writers" (Chicago Tribune) comes a comic ...
  • The Puzzle Box
    Danielle Trussoni
    Hardcover: 10/08/2024
     
    Two sisters. A lost imperial treasure. The world's greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the ...

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.