Ep. 175: 2024 Micro Genres We Love with Susie (@NovelVisits)

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

In Episode 175, Susie Boutry (@NovelVisits) and I explore our favorite Micro Genres for 2024. Over the past year, we’ve continued to refine our reading tastes and identify specific themes and types of books that resonate deeply with us. This year, Susie and I have a curated list of 10 all-new Micro Genres, along with standout books from each category. It’s another big episode with tons of great book recommendations!

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Cold War Espionage (Sarah) [3:19]

Sarah

• Red Widow by Alma Katsu | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:49]
• Red London by Alma Katsu | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:50]
• Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:10]
• The Charm School by Nelson DeMille | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:20]
• Red Notice by Bill Browder | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:47]
• The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:01]

Susie

• The Sisterhood by Liz Mundy | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:26]

Angsty Motherhood (Susie) [7:21]

Sarah

• Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:00]

Susie

• Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:38]
• Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:04]
• Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:37]
• When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:53]
• Little Prisons by Ilona Bannister (currently unavailable in the US) [10:54]
• Landslide by Susan Conley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:57]
• The Push by Ashley Audrain | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:00]

Memoirs About the Demise of a Marriage (Sarah) [12:18]

Sarah

• How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:26]
• You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:52]
• A Beautiful, Terrible Thing by Jen Waite | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:11]
• Bankruptcy by Janet Lombardi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:14]

Susie

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:49]

Pandemic Stories (Susie) [15:26]

NOT Based on the COVID-19 Pandemic & More Dystopian [15:49]

Sarah

• Wanderers by Chunk Wendig | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:43]

Susie

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [16:06]
• The Dog Stars by Peter Heller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [16:20]
• The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [16:41]
• Severance by Ling Ma | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:07]
• The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:20]

With the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Background [18:28]

Sarah

• 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:37]
• Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:40]

Susie

• Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:37]
• Day by Michael Cunningham | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:17]
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:47]
• Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:49]

Other Books Mentioned

• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult [21:09]
• Invisible Son by Kim Johnson [21:14]
• This Is My America by Kim Johnson [21:19]
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick [22:03]

Did She Actually Say That?! (Sarah) [23:03]

Sarah

• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:18]
• Happiness Falls by Angie Kim | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:19]
• The Push by Ashley Audrain | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:55]
• All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:14]
• Sociopath by Patric Gagne, PhD | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:42]

Susie

• The Change by Kirsten Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:15]
• On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:32]

Books Revolving Around Generational Trauma (Susie) [27:34]

Sarah

• Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:24]
• Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:28]
• What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:52]
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:54]
• What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry, MD PhD | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:57]

Susie

• Grown Women by Sarai Johnson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:08]
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:58]
• The Postcard by Anne Berest | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:27]
• Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:50]
• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:53]
• Swift River by Essie Chambers | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:56]
• Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshanathan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:59]

Co-Ed Friend Groups (Sarah) [32:18]

Sarah

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:17]
• Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:29]
• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:39]
• All Together Now by Matthew Norman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:47]
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:01]
• The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:14]

Susie

• The Celebrants by Steven Rowley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:36]
• Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:16]

Peace, Love, and Rock n’ Roll / Books Set in the ’60s & ’70s (Susie) [36:58]

Susie

• The Women by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:09]
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:31]
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:57]
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | Amazon | Bookshop.org [spp-timestamp time=”[39:11]″]
• All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:39]
• Last House by Jessica Shattuck | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:53]

Surprisingly High-Quality Celebrity Memoirs (Sarah) [40:33]

Sarah

• Open by Andre Agassi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:05]
• Spare by Prince Harry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:07]
• Open Book by Jessica Simpson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:16]
• Finding Me by Viola Davis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:11]
• Becoming by Michelle Obama | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:15]
• Only Say Good Things by Crystal Hefner | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:21]

Susie

• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:19]

Other Books Mentioned

• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears [41:45]
• The Many Lives of Mama Love by Laura Love Hardin [43:33]

Look Backs (Susie) [44:38]

Sarah

• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:11]
• Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:33]
• Victim by Andrew Boryga | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:06]

Susie

• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:30]
• The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:03]
• Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:08]
• Absolution by Alice McDermott | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:30]

Other Books Mentioned

• Happiness Falls by Angie Kim [47:47]