Ep. 202: 2025 Micro Genres We Love with Susie (@NovelVisits)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.9 • 732 Ratings
🗓️ 6 August 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 202, Susie (@NovelVisits) and Sarah explore some of their new favorite Micro Genres. Since starting the Micro Genres series, they’ve loved taking the opportunity each year to examine and define their tastes in these sub-sub-genres. This year, they have curated a list of 10 all-new Micro Genres, along with notable books for each category. With over 80 books mentioned, this is another year of niching down for some great book recommendations!
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CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.
Books Told From the Perspective of the Person Left Behind (Sarah) [2:26]
Sarah
- The Wanderers by Meg Howrey (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [3:39]
- Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [3:52]
- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:29]
- Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (2019) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:31]
- Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:42]
- Penitence by Kristin Koval (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:52]
- Z by Therese Ann Fowler (2013) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:11]
- The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:19]
- An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:26]
- The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:35]
- The Wives by Simone Gorrindo (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:59]
- A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [6:41]
Susie
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [7:07]
- Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [7:35]
- The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [7:37]
- Circe by Madeline Miller (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [7:52]
We Begin at the End (Susie) [8:22]
Sarah
- Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson (2019) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:46]
- Penitence by Kristin Koval (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:16]
- I’m That Girl by Jordan Chiles (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:20]
Susie
- The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[10:20]
- What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[10:49]
- Victim by Andrew Boryga (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:48]
- How We Named the Stars by Andrés N. Ordorica (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:21]
- Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:28]
Other Books Mentioned
- We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (2021) [8:33]
- A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst (2025) [13:54]
Big Business Women (Sarah) [14:34]
Sarah
- Anna Bright is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:29]
- The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:46]
- Women Are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:51]
- Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:55]
Susie
- The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker (2019) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[16:30]
- The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [16:55]
Other Books Mentioned
Books By Irish Authors Telling Distinctly Irish Stories (Susie) [17:35]
Sarah
- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:30]
- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:43]
- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:52]
- 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:39]
Susie
- Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:39]
- The Coast Road by Alan Murrin (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:07]
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[20:54]
- Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:59]
- Home Stretch by Graham Norton (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:02]
- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:50]
- Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:07]
Other Books Mentioned
- Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (1996) [19:20]
- Normal People by Sally Rooney (2018) [23:16]
- Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent (2023) [24:07]
- Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent (2013) [24:09]
The Collective “We” Narration (Sarah) [24:33]
Sarah
- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (1993) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[25:59]
- We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:16]
- The Mothers by Britt Bennett (2016)| Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:31]
- Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:56]
Susie
- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:38]
- The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:58]
Other Books Mentioned
- The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (2012) [25:09]
- The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker (2025) [25:11]
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2020) [27:39]
Torn Between Two Lovers: The Women’s Edition (Susie) [29:40]
Sarah
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:05]
- Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (1996) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:14]
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (2005) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:35]
Susie
- Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:18]
- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:38]
- One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:18]
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:44]
Fiction Modeled on Real-Life Serial Killers or Crimes (Sarah) [33:50]
Sarah
- The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:33]
- Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:39]
- Heartwood by Amity Gaige (2025)| Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:42]
- We Burn Daylight by Bret Anthony Johnston (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:52]
- The Girls by Emma Cline (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:00]
- Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:05]
- When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:29]
- Monday, Monday by Elizabeth Crook (2014) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:39]
Susie
- Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:05]
Books with Characters Struggling with Mental Health (Susie) [36:57]
Sarah
- Sociopath by Patric Gagne, PhD (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:24]
- Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:58]
- Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:13]
- Fire Exit by Morgan Talty (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:23]
- When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:28]
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:36]
Susie
- Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:56]
- More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:06]
- Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:43]
- My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:13]
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:58]
Other Books Mentioned
- Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (2023) [42:33]
Dude Thrillers (Sarah) [42:45]
Sarah
- Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:34]
- The Boomerang by Robert Bailey (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:40]
- Departure 37 by Scott Carson (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:55]
- The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:10]
- Red Widow by Alma Katsu (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:27]
- Red London by Alma Katsu (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:28]
Susie
- The Holdout by Graham Moore (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:57]
- The River by Peter Heller (2019) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:24]
- Burn by Peter Heller (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:25]
- The Martian by Andy Weir (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:36]
Other Books Mentioned
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021) [45:41]
- All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby (2023) [45:33]
- Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby (2020) [46:06]
- Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby (2021) [46:13]
Standalone Fantasy Set on Earth (Susie) [46:36]
Susie
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:36]
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:39]
- The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:07]
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (2019) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:08]
- Weyward by Emilia Hart (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:28]
- The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:32]
- Circe by Madeline Miller (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:50]
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:51]
Other Books Mentioned
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (2015) [47:03]
- Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates (2013) [50:30]
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm your host, Sarah Dickinson. Join me every other week as we get real, and sometimes a bit snarky about books and reading. Let's get rolling. |
| 0:22.3 | Welcome to our annual microgenres we love episode. And Susie is back with me today. She has done this |
| 0:29.1 | episode with me for the past few years. Welcome, Susie. Hi, Sarah. This is always a fun episode to do. |
| 0:35.1 | Well, it was your idea originally. Do you remember that? |
| 0:38.7 | No. |
| 0:39.4 | It was my idea, seriously? |
| 0:41.7 | Yes, it was your idea. |
| 0:43.1 | Because I wanted to talk about certain kinds of books. |
| 0:45.8 | Yes, I think so. |
| 0:47.0 | That's sounding familiar, yeah. |
| 0:48.9 | Yeah. |
| 0:50.1 | So if you're new to this episode, you might be wondering what in the world a microgenre is. It is |
| 0:56.9 | sort of a term we made up. And what we're referring to here are very niche types of books that |
| 1:02.9 | we can generally count on to work for us. And these are types of books that are not technically |
| 1:08.2 | genres. They are subsets of subsets of genres. So here's how today is going to work. |
| 1:14.4 | Susie and I are each going to share five microgenres that have been working great for us lately. |
| 1:19.1 | And with each microgenre, we'll share a couple of example books that fall in that particular microgenre. |
| 1:25.9 | For paying members of the show, we are not going to be doing |
| 1:29.2 | our traditional superlatives in conjunction with this episode. Instead, Susie and I are each going to |
| 1:35.0 | share a few books we've read more recently that fit into two of our older favorite microgenre categories. |
| 1:42.1 | So we're kind of going to be adding to the list of a couple |
| 1:45.6 | microgenres that we've loved in the past. Yeah, and I found that really interesting because it's like |
... |
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