Hybrid Genres: Books and Bites Podcast, Ep. 92

On this episode, we discuss books that are hybrids of at least two genres, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. 

Jacqueline's favorite romantasy novels are a good example. They combine elements of romance and fantasy. Other books mash up elements of science fiction and horror or, in the case of both Michael's and Carrie's picks, Westerns and dystopian fiction.

Some nonfiction titles blend different genres, too, such as A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa or The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock. Both mix the authors' personal memoirs with biographies of historical women.

Jacqueline's Pick

My Lady Janeby Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Not only is My Lady Jane a hybrid romantic comedy, it is also a fantastical historical fiction novel. The novel is a re-imagined account of England’s shortest ruling monarch, Lady Jane Grey.
 

The novel is told in the alternating perspectives of our three main characters and narrator historians who often break the fourth wall to set the historical record straight.

This book brings in fantasy aspects from the beginning while still interweaving history from the sixteenth century.

Pairing: Old-fashioned Blackberry Pudding

Michael's Pick

The Great State of West Floridaby Kent Wascom

Published just this year, The Great State of West Florida blends Southern Gothic with Western, dystopian, and coming of age with hints of sci-fi thrown in for some added flavor.

This book is told by Rally Woolsack, a 13-year–old in 2026. Rally is raised by his aunt after his spurned mother conspires with Rally’s other aunt to wipe out the rest of the Woolsack clan. 

After a violent confrontation, Rally's uncle Rodney takes Rally to meet his aunt Destiny, aka the Governor, who now has a golden robotic arm and is working to fulfill her grandfather’s grandiose dream of establishing the state of West Florida. 

Pairing: Shrimp Po'Boys with Pineapple Slaw

Carrie's Pick

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Upright Women Wanted blends dystopian and Western fiction with a touch of romance. While it's set in the unspecified future, the Arizona landscape feels very Old West.

When we're first introduced to main character Esther Augustus, she's hiding in the back of the Librarians' wagon. Esther is on the run from a marriage her father arranged after he executed her best friend and secret lover, Beatriz, for possessing insurgent reading material.

Esther gradually learns that the Librarians aren't exactly the government agents she'd imagined. They're part of the resistance movement, working to protect people like Esther and Beatriz.

Pairing: Tuscan Stewed Beans