Literary novels are often abstract, experimental and sometimes difficult to read. The style is often original and innovative. Most novelists who have won the Nobel Prize in Literature are literary novelists, like Dorris Lessing whose novels include "Children of Violence" and "Ben, In the World". Gunter Grass is another Nobel laureate. His famous novels include "The Tin Drum" and "The Rat".
Commercial novels are very popular, and the category includes many genres. Women's fiction, usually written by women for women, is widely read. The mainstream women's fiction category exists as well as sub-genres. Mainstream women's novels usually have strong female characters and focus on relationships and overcoming obstacles. Well-known novelists in this category include Anne Tyler, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Anne Rivers Siddons.
sub-genres like Chick Lit and Romance.
Chick lit and romance, are popular sub-genres of woman's fiction. Chick lit, a comparatively recent novel type, covers women in contemporary society and their careers, relationships and conflicts. Helen Fielding and Jennifer Weiner are best-selling authors, respectively, of "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Fly Away Home". Romance novels often revolve around a twenty- or thirty-something woman and a hero-lover -- often overcoming odds for her. Nora Roberts is a leading romance novelist with many published novels.
Thrillers and mysteries are very popular genres. Thrillers contain action, suspense, strong plots and an atmosphere of imminent danger. There are legal thrillers -- like those of John Grisham and Scott Turow -- and military thrillers -- like those of Tom Clancy. Mysteries focus on a crime, usually murder, and the question, "who done it?" Central characters are often intriguing detectives and sometimes complex criminals. Top contemporary mystery novelists include Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaason and Robert Parker.