If you’ve been around Authoring Arrowheads for a while, you may know that I read from a wide variety of genres; however, when it comes to the books I add to my TBR, there are certain niche book genres that dominate the list.

This post is all about those oddly specific book genres that make me nerd out to no end. XD

Memoirs of Contemporary Christian and Country Musicians

Speaking of oddly specific…

Truth be told, I can be a total nonfiction girlie, and 2024 has definitely been my nonfiction era.

And y’all, I don’t know what it is about music memoirs, but I. Eat. Them. Up.

You’d think the reason for that would be because I’m a musician myself… but I can’t sing and can *barely* play the guitar. So, why am I constantly buying, reading, and obsessively fangirling over the memoirs of Contemporary Christian and Country musicians?

Honestly, I think it’s because I love reading about the artists’ personal paths to accomplishing their dreams, especially if the memoirs are written from a Christian perspective, because it gives me hope for my journey as an indie Christian author.

Some of my favorite books in this Niche Genre are:

• I Can Only Imagine: A Memoir by Bart Millard
• Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life by Randy Travis
• It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life by Denise Jackson, wife of country artist Alan Jackson
• My Jesus: From Heartache to Hope by Anne Wilson

Some Music Memoirs I hope to read eventually include:

• Never Look at the Empty Seats: A Memoir by Charlie Daniels (the only one left that I own)
• Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream by Scotty McCreery
• Reba: My Story by Reba McEntire
• Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy by Mandisa

…and I’m sure there will be many more. XD

Fiction Books That Explore What America Would Be Like if It Was a Monarchy

Now, this doesn’t mean that I want America to be a monarchy. That’s definitely not what I want. I just love reading about the “what if?” concept. It’s wildly entertaining to me, and I have no clue as to why. Maybe it’s because of the awesome series I’ve read within this niche genre.

Some of my favorite books in this Niche Genre are:

• The American Royals series by Katharine McGee (I haven’t read book 4 yet.)
• The Selection series by Kiera Cass (I haven’t read book 5 yet, but I plan to soon! I also know this is technically not based in America, but in the dystopian aftermath of what once was America… but still. I love it.)

Some American Monarchy books I hope to read eventually include:

…I have no idea. Please give me some recommendations, because as you can see, I’m about finished with both of the only series I know of for this niche genre. XD

Fiction Books About Someone in the Publishing Industry And/Or Who is a Writer/Author

This one is self-explanatory, because I am an avid reader and writer who is also an indie author, so yeah. I like reading about stuff I can relate to, but with a catch: it has to be believable and accurate. None of that “I wrote that 120,000 word book in seventeen hours, which needed no editing, and it became a bestseller overnight because I accidentally emailed a cloud drive link to my second cousin’s grandma’s neighbor who works in the publishing industry” kind of stuff. Even though there is a DCOM with a very similar plot to that, which I absolutely adore… but anyway. 🙂

Some of my favorite books in this Niche Genre are:

• Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• The Ellie Sweet duology by Stephanie Morrill

Some Publishing Industry/Author fiction books I want to read eventually include:

• Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
• Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
• A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter
• The Last Word by Taylor Adams
• I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

…and those are just the unread ones I own. XD

Gritty, Yet Clean(ish) Southern Historical Fiction set in the 1900s

Since I was born and raised in the southern US myself, and still live here, I’ve found that I like reading historical, fictional stories about my home state of North Carolina and surrounding states, because it helps me understand the time periods which my grandparents and parents grew up in. I love stories like this more if they cover gritty topics that small town southerners often like to keep hush-hush or sweep under the rug, because it amps up the tea factor.

The only downside is, it’s extremely hard to find books like this that have no foul language or heavily detailed uncomfortable content, so if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Some of my favorite books in this Niche Genre are:

• A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (not necessarily gritty, but it fits everything else. Plus, it’s my all-time favorite book!)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (has language and content, but it’s still an all-time favorite.)
• The Forgiving Kind by Donna Everhart (has language and content, but I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I read it!)
• Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe (a gritty Christian one without language!)
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (has a little language and content.)

Some Gritty (Hopefully Clean) Southern Historical Fiction Reads Set in the 1900s I plan to get to eventually include:

…apparently I don’t have any books in this niche genre on my owned TBR, and that makes me super sad. 😦 But, I would like to eventually try:

• Other books by Donna Everhart (because The Forgiving Kind wrecked me in the best way.)
• The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers (set in the 1850s, but still.)
• Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
• Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

Time Travel

I feel like more readers will side with me on this niche genre over some of the others, because who doesn’t love a good time travel book?!

This is a specific genre I’ve loved since I got back into reading in my late teens. What makes a good time travel book for me? Honestly, I just want the time travel method/explanation to make sense and be fleshed out. Like with everything else I read, I also prefer them to be clean.

Some of my favorite books in this Niche Genre are:

• The Timeless series by Gabrielle Meyer (these books are top tier Christian fiction!)
• In 27 Days by Alison Gervais
• Dearest Josephine by Caroline George
• Before Time Runs Out by Amy Matayo

Some Time Travel books I plan to get to eventually include:

• As many more books in the Timeless series as Gabrielle Meyer will write, because I love them so much.
• …and I need more recommendations to books as good as the Timeless series because they’re unmatched in my opinion. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

Do you have any book recommendations for me based on my favorite niche genres? What are your favorite niche genres? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀