The difference between literary fiction and genre fiction can be highly debatable. For my purposes here-sharing great new books-I’ll offer loose definitions. Literary fiction is character-driven and tells a story using complex characters and themes. Genre fiction is plot-driven and tells the story using tropes, plot structures and genre conventions. Literary fiction is about why and how things happen while genre fiction focuses on what happens. After reading a literary fiction story, readers are often left with more questions than answers. After reading genre fiction, readers have a resolution. Both literary and genre fiction are wonderful! If you are in the mood for a story with an ambiguous plot point, want to ponder philosophical themes and don’t need a happy ending, start a reading adventure by trying a title from this list!

“Broken Country” by Clare Leslie Hall

“Awake in the Floating City” by Susanna Kwan

“Notes on Infinity” by Austin Taylor

“Old School Indian” by Aaron John Curtis

“The Road to Tender Hearts” by Annie Hartnett

“Run for the Hills” by Kevin Wilson

“So Far Gone” by Jess Walter

“I See You’ve Called in Dead” by John Kenney

“Flashlight” by Susan Choi

“The Emperor of Gladness” by Ocean Vuong

“The Names” by Florence Knapp

“The Antidote” by Karen Russell

“The Original Daughter” by Jemimah Wei

“Sleep” by Honor Jones

“The Bright Years” by Sarah Damoff

If you’d like to request these or any other titles, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog, or call the library at 507-359-8331. New Ulm Public Library is located at 17 N Broadway and is open from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday-Saturday. The library will be closed on Monday, May 26, for Memorial Day.