Though I wasn’t able to read as many books in 2022 as I did in 2021, I am proud to have finished nearly 60 books, with a heavier emphasis on nonfiction.
Several books were recommended by friends (and one book was written *by* a friend), while some of these title recommendations came from the annual book list shared by former President Obama. Once again I was aided with even more recommendations through another episode of the podcast Yo Is This Racist? with the host of a podcast called The Stacks, Traci Thomas (call it a crossover episode, if you will). Between the two, plus a few random recommendations, this is the list that evolved over the course of the year.
(Speaking of podcasts, I have become a regular listener of one called Gettin’ Better with Ron Funches. I highly recommend, especially if you want to hear stand-up comedians have heartfelt moments of vulnerability with each other).
All of these titles were obtained via my Los Angeles Public Library card through the Overdrive/ Libby app. All of this awesome content, education & entertainment… for free!
Comments are not open on this post because I am so tired of spam. If you know me or follow me on IG, feel free to start a conversation there about these titles or authors. Without further ado, here’s the list, in the order that I read them:
| Title | Author | Genre |
|---|---|---|
| Game of Secrets | Dawn Tripp | Fiction |
| Stiletto | Daniel O’Malley | Fantasy |
| Ms. Adventure | Jess Phoenix | Nonfiction |
| Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone | Diana Gabaldon | Historical Fiction |
| Harlem Shuffle | Colson Whitehead | Fiction |
| Prisoner of Love | Beverly Jenkins | Historical Romance |
| Remote | Jason Fried | Nonfiction |
| All About Love | bell hooks | Nonfiction |
| Presence | Amy Cuddy | Nonfiction |
| Ain’t I A Woman | bell hooks | Nonfiction |
| The Lost Apothecary | Sarah Penner | Fiction |
| Before the Dawn | Beverly Jenkins | Historical Romance |
| Wanderlust* | Rebecca Solnit | Nonfiction |
| The Whole Language | Gregory Boyle | Nonfiction |
| A Court of Thorns & Roses | Sarah J Maas | Fantasy |
| How We Fight For Our LIves | Saeed Jones | Memoir |
| The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina | Zoraida Córdova | Fiction |
| The F*ck It Diet | Caroline Dooner | Self-Help |
| How to Raise Your Self-Esteem | Nathaniel Branden | Self-Help |
| Empire of Pain** | Patrick Radden Keefe | Nonfiction |
| The Sentence | Louise Erdrich | Fiction |
| The Rose Code | Kate Quinn | Historical Fiction |
| The Diamond Eye | Kate Quinn | Historical Fiction |
| Bridgerton Collection, Vol. 2 | Julia Quinn | Romance |
| Hope in the Dark | Rebecca Solnit | Nonfiction |
| We Should All Be Feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Nonfiction |
| Old Man’s War | John Scalzi | Sci-fi |
| Burnout | Emily Nagoski, PhD | Nonfiction |
| The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek | Kim Michele Richardson | Historical Fiction |
| A Court of Mist and Fury | Sarah Maas | YA Fantasy |
| The Hippest Trip in America | Nelson George | Nonfiction |
| Shine Bright | Danyel Smith | Nonfiction |
| Things in Jars | Jess Kidd | Mystery/ Historical Fiction |
| Tired as F*ck | Caroline Dooner | Nonfiction |
| The Ghost Brigades | John Scalzi | Sci-fi |
| The Bookwoman’s Daughter | Kim Michele Richardson | Historical Fiction |
| A Court of Wings and Ruin | Sarah Maas | YA Fantasy |
| How To Change Your Mind* | Michael Pollan | Nonfiction |
| She Who Became the Sun | Shelley Parker-Chan | Historical Fiction |
| The City We Became | N.K. Jemisin | Fantasy |
| The Movement That Made Us | David J. Dennis Jr. | Memoir |
| The Lager Queen of Minnesota | J. Ryan Stradel | Fiction |
| Gods of Jade And Shadow | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Fantasy |
| The Fifth Season | N.K. Jemisin | Fantasy |
| The Starless Sea | Erin Morgenstern | Fantasy |
| The Cartographers | Peng Shepherd | Suspense |
| The Witch’s Heart | Genevieve Gornichec | Fantasy |
| All The Seas of the World | Guy Gavriel Kay | Historical Fantasy |
| The Alloy of Law | Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy |
| The Priory of the Orange Tree | Samantha Shannon | Fantasy |
| Building a Second Brain | Tiago Forte | Nonfiction |
| Cinder | Marissa Meyer | Sci-fi (YA) |
| Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? | Dr. Julie Smith | Nonfiction |
| In The Dream House | Carmen Maria Machado | Memoir |
| The Light We Carry* | Michelle Obama | autobiography |
| The Way Of Kings | Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy |
*I didn’t finish these three books because I ran out of time before my loan ended: Wanderlust, How To Change Your Mind and The Light We Carry. As usual, my eyes were bigger than my brain could handle (or that I just had time to read at the time I had them). I have holds on them and will finish them next time I get them.
** I finished Empire of Pain the second time I got it from the library and it was worth the effort- started it in 2021.
There were 2 books that I started and didn’t finish on purpose: Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney and Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. As far as I’m concerned, it’s totally fine to decide a book isn’t for you and abandon it. There are too many books to read and not enough time!
Favorites:
It was pointed out to me that I forgot to say which ones were my favorite! Whoops! Though honestly, there were a lot of 5-star books for me this year. Guy Gavriel Kay is my favorite living author and his All the Seas of the World is yet another gorgeously written and meticulously researched historical fiction/ fantasy that continues the epic near-world he’s created over so many books, reaching all the way back to The Lions of Al-Rassan, which is the most well-worn paperback I own.
Other Books in the Top 5 (Fiction):
- She Who Became The Sun
- The Starless Sea
- The Fifth Season
- The Priory of the Orange Tree
- Special Mentions: The Lager Queen of Minnesota, Go Tell The Bees I Have Gone, The Lost Apothecary, The Ghost Brigades and any of Kate Quinn’s WW2 heroine novels as well as the 2 Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek books (I told you there were lots of 5 star books this year)
Top 5 (Nonfiction):
- The Movement that Made Us
- The Whole Language
- Hope in the Dark
- Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
- Presence
- Special Mention: Ms. Adventure by Jess Phoenix
Meh:
- The Court of Thorns & Roses series
- Things in Jars (I especially didn’t like a particular writing quirk of the author’s)
