Novels I should read

Hi everyone,

I am finding it incredibly hard to find new novels/ authors to read in the genre that I want to write in (I must be going about it the wrong way, surely!), and so am wondering whether I could get recommendations from fellow AWers.

I am looking for:
- contemporary, real life women's fiction
- written in third, past tense

I would rather avoid:
- chick lit
- topics that I find cliche (life change because hubby/ child dies or leaves...)
- based on mystery/ who done it?
- no erotica (sex is fine if just an incidental part of the story, not its motivation)

As a clue, I have loved novels by Barbara Kingsolver, Patrick Gale, John Irving and Chris Cleave.

If you have read books that you have loved and feel fits these descriptions, please please recommend them to me.

If you are writing a book that would fit these descriptions, let me know, I might be interested in beta reading it!

Looking forward to finding out what might crop up!

(and if you have advice on getting better at finding what I want in book stores and online, I am all ears also!)

lacygnette said:

Try Meg Wolizter - I liked both The Wife (can't remember if it's contemporary) and The Interestings. Elizabeth Strout - I've read everything of hers. Don't remember the time period, but the topics were mostly contemporary. I loved Olive Kittridge, actually I loved all her novels except The Burgess Boys. You might try Marisa de los Santos - more "women's fiction" than the previous, but well written. The Language of Flowers was pretty good. And Tell the Wolves I'm Home excellent, although it featured a young protagonist.

I love Kingsolver. And you'll notice most of these are written by women. Not intentional - I read widely. These were just what popped into mind. BTW, if you read short stories, I can highly recommend Megan Mayhew Bergman.

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Thank you so much for these recommendations, I shall check them out and let you know!

kobold said:

I enjoyed THE WIVES OF BATH by Susan Swan. The protagonist is a teen but the book is not (repeat: not) YA. Unusual story.

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Will definitely check that out too, thank you!