10 Rare Book Genres You Have Never Heard of

By Daisy Torres

As the title proclaims, what I am about to show you will greatly expand your knowledge of existing literature genres.

Science fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance--we've heard of those before. The normal genres. The--dare I say it?--safe genres. But there are new genres all their own, and they're going to either make you want to write a new book, laugh, cry, or maybe do all three. So sit back and enjoy the show!

1. Canadiana

Grab your Maple syrup, boys and girls--this first one is for the Canadians.

Canadiana, which is similar to Americana, is pretty much what it sounds like: Canadian Literature.

 'Anne of Green Gables' would probably be a very good book series to throw in here. The genre's stories are based in and around Canada. From rural towns to cities, this genre has been heavily soaked with stories of identity, family, cultural differences, and just all-around people and their struggles as humans.

2. Fake Memoir

Fake memoir--a genre for the author that wants to tell a realistic story without it being true. This genre would likely fall under the category of "Realistic Fiction", as they share a similarity with each other. 

These genres allow you to tell a story that seems real, but actually is false.

Fake Memoirs can be written and published from the start as being fake, or you can hide the truth until it is figured out eventually--there's no such thing as bad publicity, after all! (Although you may want to be on the lookout for angry readers once they discover the truth about their favorite historical figure...).

Some brilliant book examples I found of Fake Memoir are: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, Love and Consequences by Margaret Jones, and Misha: A memoir of the Holocaust Years by Misha Defonseca. These books are brilliant because they fooled the world with their dramatic flair, but were simply stories from their author’s imagination. Some have a tiny stretch of truth to them, but they tend to be mostly fictional.

3. Feghoot

Feghoot started as a series of science fiction pieces titled Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot. 

The pieces were only a few paragraphs long and always ended with a deliberately bad pun. Honestly, I didn't know this existed until researching this article, but now that I know, this seems right up my alley. Bad puns are underrated.

4. Furry Sleuth

This genre is very similar to Cozy Mysteries, which tend to be located in small towns with a small town Police Department. Think of ‘Nancy Drew’ by Carolyn Keene. 

Furry Sleuth books feature a cat, mouse, or dog as an investigator. Very rarely is the protagonist a scaly dinosaur or a feathered chicken. Like cozy mysteries, they tend to take place in small towns. They're typically about a sleuth that's a cat or a dog who has connections to the police--either through a friend or a husband/wife. They use those connections to sleuth around and discover the criminal.

5. Bitpunk

Bitpunk is the 8-bit version of Cyberpunk. The aesthetics of this genre takes its roots in musical genres such as chiptune and chipcore. These music styles are the basic video game tunes you used to hear in any 70’s arcade game. Think of Nintendo’s ‘Mario’ music.

 The nostalgia for classic video games and technologies of the past three decades isn’t getting weaker. Quite the contrary. The genre explores new vistas of creativity and perpetuates itself in literature. 

These books delve into the political and social themes of the "punk" side of things by diving into the skins of characters (or a society) and their beliefs. 

Bitpunk is a design similar to Steampunk or Cyberpunk, but centered around the 8-16 bit era of video games. This includes a variety of classic arcade and home consoles like the NES/Famicom, Commodore 64 or Commodore Amiga, Sega Genesis, etc. 

'8-BIT CHRISTMAS' by Kevin Jakubowski would be a good example of Bitpunk. Another example is 'Warcross' by Marie Lu. These books base their settings off of old arcade games from the 70’s and 80’s. Imagine a novel where the main character is trapped in ‘Donkey Kong’ for a week and has to survive.

The genre is still pretty new so there aren't many of these books out here yet. Personally, I think that means it's the perfect time to write your own Bitpunk and get ahead of the game! (Pun intended)

6. Cli-fi

Cli-fi explores the possibilities and results of Climate Change.

It is up the alley of Sci-Fi Genres like Cyberpunk or Dystopia, but it revolves around the Earth's climate. 

'Twilight Zone' aired an episode during 1959 that pretty much encapsulated Cli-Fi called, "The Midnight Sun". In that episode, the Earth is gradually moving closer towards the sun, meaning Earth would soon be burnt up. However, it all turns out to be a dream, so when the main character wakes up, she finds that the opposite was true--the Earth was moving away from the sun. 

That episode showed both sides of Cli-Fi, which is why I'm describing it. Cli-Fi can show a world freezing or a world burning, which gives some pretty interesting world-building possibilities.

7. Bizarro

Millions of readers love weird fiction. As a response to the growing demand for all kinds of weirdness, a group of American publishers created a new genre, which was called Bizarro. 

Everything is possible in bizarro novels. Imagine what it would be like if Rod Serling directed a Japanese Cartoon about Artificial Intelligence and flying fire-breathing Ukuleles. Imagine a series of fairy tales for adults, heavily based in folklore with talking, riddle-solving animals--and pretty much everything your brain can think of that’s weird. If it sounds like a pizza dream, throw it in here.

This is what bizarro is all about. 

A great example of this genre is Jeff Burk’s Shatnerquake. If you’ve ever seen Star Trek, you might know Captain James Kirk. In this book, William Shatner, the actor who plays James Kirk, decides to enter our reality and kill the real William Shatner.

8. Nordic Noir

Imagine a private eye story, with the internal monologue and everything, set in Scandinavia. This genre has morally ambiguous police officers, suspense, psychopathic criminals, and lots of murder mysteries.

It's basically the Nordic opposite of a cozy or furry mystery. 

9. Cashier Memoir

Similar to 'Fake Memoirs', Cashier Memoir tells the story of a regular person like you or me, from behind a cash register. 

These stories are more popular in the UK than the US, since the US tends to want someone flashier or more eye-catching to read about. This genre makes you stop and look at life from someone else's eyes--people that you may see almost daily: Cashiers. 

These stories can be humorous or heartless, or even a mix of both--but one thing they all have in common is that they give us a new perspective from the humble-and-average-worker's eyes.

10. Solarpunk

One of my personal favorites is Solarpunk. If you like the idea of Sci-Fi or Dystopian or even Cyberpunk, but can't seem to find a book that's lighter and not so dark, try Solarpunk. 

If you’re an optimist who believes in a future of sunshine and gardens, you might enjoy the Solarpunk genre.

Such books show how progressive technology can tackle environmental and social concerns such as pollution, climate, agriculture, and social inequality. Imagine tall skyscrapers, but they serve a double purpose as giant gardens that people can live or work in.

That pretty much sums up 10 genres you've never heard of!

Are there any other genres you didn't see here that deserve a spot on this list? What's your favorite genre from the ones I mentioned? Did this article help you? Did you know about any of these genres? I'd love to hear your thoughts below!

Until next time, keep writing for our King!