With the year wrapping up (where did it go?!), it’s time to look back fondly, and maybe not too fondly, at the books we’ve read this year. I was fortunate enough to read 94 books this year. I can’t wait to get started on a new batch of books for 2023. Here is my list of the best/worst books I read this year. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget to comment below your favorite/least favorite books you’ve read this year!
BEST
I read quite a few good books this year. Ones that I couldn’t put down and ones that I thought about long after the book have ended. Some characters felt like friends that I miss. Without further ado, here are the top five best books that I read in 2022. (In no particular order)
Loved the NXIVM docuseries on HBO? Do you want to dive deep into how Keith Raniere got these women to brand themselves for him? This book is for you! It was extremely well-researched. I went down a cult rabbit hole last year and felt like I had read everything there is to know about the psychology of cults and the different cult leaders. Montell takes an even deeper dive into what constitutes a cult. This was one I couldn't put down.
I usually avoid books on history (snooze fest), but this one surprised me. It's about the start of plastic surgery during World War I. It's unbelievable what these doctors could do with such little technology. If you're interested in the beginning of plastic surgery, I highly recommend this one. Brace yourself for some gruesome before and after pictures, though.
This is a book I recently read within the last few weeks, and WOW. I sometimes struggle reading translated books because something gets lost in translation. I picked this book up at a bookstore in New Zealand and thought I’d give it a shot. I was sucked in from page one and transported to a small, cozy coffee shop in Japan. This sweet little book made me think about the deep meanings of the people in my life and how they each play a particular part. I went out and purchased two more of Kawaguchi’s books (thank you, Barnes and Noble 50% off sale) set in this world and cannot wait to read them. Next time I see a translated book, I will think twice before putting it back on the shelf.
McConaghy has a way of creating characters that are so raw and real. They feel like people from your family or the town you live in. I missed them as soon as I closed the book. Her book Migrations was one of my favorite books of the year I read it, and it had the same effects on me. I can’t wait to see what McConaghy writes next.
I stumbled upon this book while searching for something light to read on Goodreads. After reading a series of good novels, I had expected it to be a good palate cleanser. I ended up underlining so many beautiful proses. Its has a profound meaning of letting people be themselves and taking people for who they are was beautiful. Excepting a simple palate cleaner, I got one of my favorite books of the year.
Put a good book about Mount Everest in front of me, and I’ll finish it in a matter of days. For some reason, people climbing this 29,000-foot hunk of rock in the sky fascinates the hell out of me. The climber obviously lived to write this book, but I become convinced they aren’t going to make it to the top, instead sliding down, hitting every rock on their way down to the bottom where they will get covered by an avalanche, never to be seen again. I spend at least every two minutes of the five minutes I read, searching google images getting a good grasp on where they are. Honestly, I’m kind of an Everest expert by now. It’s still on my bucket list to climb to base camp someday (sorry, Mom).
I know nothing about Russia’s politics or history. I picked up this one to be semi-educated on what is going on in Ukraine. Russia is scary, and Putin is a maniac. It is very well-researched and kept me captive the whole time. Highly recommend!
I recommended this to a friend with a one-year-old child, and he was horrified by the children getting killed. I felt bad. So maybe don’t read this if you’re about to or have a small child. If you don’t, this one is for you! I’m soooo completely over post-apocalyptic books. They are overdone and don’t bring anything new to the table. This one, however, is really switching up the post-apocalyptic scene. It’s told in different stories from different people’s perspectives through the years after the end of the apocalypse. The ending is also a little bananas.
Oh dear, Molly Shannon, what did we do to deserve you?! She’s been lighting up the screen (in Santa Claus 2, she was the best part of that movie), and now we have her book to savor. This was an absolute delight to read.
*Applause, applause, applause* I was fortunate enough to see Yong on his book tour for this book a few years back and decided this year was the year I was ripping off the bandaid and finally reading it. It was great. He’s such a talented writer (See the “Holiday Roundup” post where I obsessively talk about this book and his new book). Big Ed Yong fan here!
Worst
Luckily, I have read more books that I liked, or at least thought were entertaining, than books I loathed this year. Here’s the list of the worst books I’ve read this year. (In no particular order)
Well, first off, it’s a translated book… I know, I know, I said I would stop hating on the translated books but come on! This book wasn’t even about witches.
Maybe it's because I'm not a mother, but I cannot stand books about the main character being a mother and hating her life. Yeah, no shit you aren't going to get to take a nap and travel when you want to while simultaneously losing a part of who you were before becoming a mother. It's hard for me to sympathize with them, leading to a very dull book. If you're a mother, maybe you'd like it.
The first 20 pages are a wild ride, and the last 284 are 284 individual hellacious trips on the It’s a Small World ride. This would have worked as a short story... a very, very short story.
I will admit that hating this book was entirely my fault. I’m not a massive fan of books without plots. I was warned after looking at the reviews that it was 289 pages of aimless wandering. Sometimes these types of books can be good if they are filled with well-developed characters and strong writing. This one didn’t have those.
Turns out I don’t give one iota about Anna Wintour. She’s kinda an awful person.
Happy New Year!
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." -When You Were Mine: A Novel by Michael Robotham
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." -When You Were Mine: A Novel by Michael Robotham
I could not agree more about Stranger In the Woods! Thank you for recommending it!! Now, you MUST read To Paradise!! PLEASE!!!
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