Genre Mash: RTW x Realistic

Looking for a grounded, contemporary story to read for Read the World? This list has you covered.

Updated April 14, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Hope and other dangerous pursuits
Lalami, Laila
Paper Book
In her exciting debut, Laila Lalami evokes the grit and enduring grace that is modern Morocco and offers an authentic look at the Muslim immigrant experience today.  The book begins as four Moroccans illegally cross the Strait of Gibraltar in an inflatable boat...

RTW Africa (Morocco)

We need new names
Bulawayo, NoViolet
Paper Book
A remarkable literary debut shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize: the unflinching and powerful story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and to America. Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her...

RTW Africa (Zimbabwe)

Selection day : a novel
Adiga, Aravind
Paper Book
From the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger and Amnesty, a "ferociously brilliant" (Slate) novel about two brothers coming of age in a Mumbai slum, raised by their crazy, obsessive father to be cricket champions. *A NETFLIX...

RTW Asia (India)

The space between us
Umrigar, Thrity N.
Paper Book
"This is a story intimately and compassionately told against the sensuous background of everyday life in Bombay." --Washington Post Book World "Bracingly honest." --New York Times Book Review A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of Thrity Umrigar's critically...

RTW Asia (India)

Conversations with friends
Rooney, Sally
Paper Book
NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES * From the New York Times bestselling author of Normal People . . . "[A] cult-hit . . . [a] sharply realistic comedy of adultery and friendship."--Entertainment Weekly SALLY ROONEY NAMED TO THE TIME 100 NEXT LIST * WINNER OF THE...

RTW Europe (Ireland)

Swing time
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
"Smith's thrilling cultural insights never overshadow the wholeness of her characters, who are so keenly observed that one feels witness to their lives." --O, The Oprah Magazine "A sweeping meditation on art, race, and identity that may be [Smith's] most ambitious work yet." -...

RTW Europe (U.K.)

Across a hundred mountains : novela
Grande, Reyna
Paper Book
Across a Hundred Mountainsis a stunning and poignant story of migration, loss, and discovery as two women -- one born in Mexico, one in the United States -- find their lives joined in the most unlikely way. After a tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana García leaves her small town in Mexico...

RTW North America (Mexico)


Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.