In Episode 116, Susie Boutry (@NovelVisits) joins me to talk about niching down from traditional genre categories into the micro genres we love.  Over the past year, I have picked up on some key themes and types of books that I can generally count on for successful reading. Today, we’re putting them all in one special episode as Susie and I bring you a delightfully overflowing list of the micro genres that work for us, books from each, and why we love them.

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

Micro Genres We Love  [2:41] Books by Former or Current Attorneys [3:20]

Sarah

• The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:08] & [6:11]
• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:13]
• A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:15] 
• The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:18]
• All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:20]
• The Eddie Flynn Series by Steve Cavanagh [6:24]
• The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:29]
• Fake by Erica Katz | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:44]
• What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:52]

Susie

• Whisper Network by Chandler Baker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:57]

Frenzied but Favorable Family Dynamics [7:19]

Sarah

• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:04] 
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:05]
• Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:39]
• Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:44] 

Susie

• The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:31] 
• The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:44]
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:07]
• French Braid by Anne Tyler | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:13] 
• The Family Tabor by Cherise Wolas | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:16]

Suspenseful Books That Are Not Truly Thrillers,But That Publishers Market as Thrillers  [11:09]

Sarah

• The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:47] 
• My Sunshine Away by M. O. Walsh | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:59]
• The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:31]
• The Cutting Season by Attica Locke | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:46] 
• You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz (also retitled as The Undoing for the tie-in edition) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:00] 

Susie

• Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:09] 
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:16]

Hell No! Women’s Stories  [16:22]

Sarah

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:01] 

Susie

• Circe by Madeline Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:27] 
• The Change by Kirsten Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:33]
• The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:46]
• Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:05] 
• Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky (June 14, 2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:12]
• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:17] 
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:40] 
• Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:51] 

Historical Fiction About Women Breaking the Stereotypes and Limitations of Their Time  [19:19]

Sarah

• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:44] 
• Circling the Sun by Paula McLain | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:13] 
• The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:24]
• The Lunar Housewife by Caroline Woods (June 14, 2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:31]

Susie

• Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:46] 
• The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:06]

Literary Angst  [22:41]

Sarah

• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:55] 
• The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:08] 
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:35] 
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:07] 
• On Writing by Stephen King | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:11] 
• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:16] 
• I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:26]

Susie

• Writers & Lovers by Lily King | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:51] 
• Groundskeeping by Lee Cole | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:00]
• We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:09]
• Hell of a Book by Jason Mott | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:27] 
• Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:29]

Oral Histories  [28:13]

Sarah

• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:21] 
• The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:23] 
• Live From New York by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:40] 
• These Guys Have All the Fun by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:51] 
• From Scratch by Allen Salkin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:13] 
• The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:20] 
• The Office by Andy Greene | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:29]
• Bourdain by Laurie Woolever | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:33] 
• Voice From the Pandemic by Eli Saslow | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:57]

Trust No One  [33:45]

Sarah

• Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:35] 
• Tangerine by Christine Mangan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:43] 

Susie

• I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:25] 
• Foe by Ian Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:33]
• Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:00]
• Cover Story by Susan Rigetti | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:39] 
• Sunburn by Laura Lippman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:53]
• Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:59]
• Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:03]

Badass Female Athlete Fiction / Competition Novels  [38:09]

Sarah

• The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:37]  
• The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:51]
• The Turnout by Megan Abbott | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:02] 
• The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:23] 
• Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:41] 
• Home or Away by Kathleen West | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:46] 
• Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (August 30, 2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:07]
• We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:36]

Faithful Friends / Ensembles [44:05]

Sarah

• The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:10] 
• Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:25] 

Susie

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:45] 
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:08]
• The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:25]
• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:44] 
• Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:44]

Other Books Mentioned

• Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman [4:20] 
• Dare Me by Megan Abbott [13:39] 
• Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll [13:41] 
• One Day in September by Simon Reeve [32:23]
• We Spread by Ian Reid (September 27, 2022) [35:53]

About Susie Boutry

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Susie has loved reading for as long as she can remember. Some of her fondest childhood memories involve long afternoons at the library and then reading late into the night. More than ten years ago, she began journaling about the books she read and turned that passion into writing about books. Her first forays were as a guest reviewer on a friend’s blog, but she soon realized she wanted to be reviewing and talking about books on a blog of her own. From there, Novel Visits was born. That was in 2016 and, though the learning curve was steep, she loves being a part of the book community. Novel Visits focuses on new novel reviews (print and audio), previews of upcoming releases, and musings on all things bookish.