As life’s rich pageant of books passes through Goodreads World Headquarters, we often take note of certain thematic and topical trends that suddenly feel like they're everywhere. These aren’t genre trends, exactly. In fact, what makes them interesting is that they often manifest across multiple genres.
 
We like to catalog these strange little pulses while they’re still in circulation, so we've gathered below a selection of new (published since 2022) and upcoming books sorted into five cross-genre trends we're currently spotting. Some are familiar and tend to come in waves over time—vampires are back, for instance—while others feel like distinctly 21st-century concerns. What's with all the books that are set in 2040, anyhow?
 
We’ve added some quick introductions and synopses. Click on the book cover images for more information about each book. Have fun, and if you want to add books or compare notes on other cross-genre trends you're noticing in books these days, feel free to continue the discussion in the comments section!