This year, I surprised myself by meeting my Goodreads goal and reading over 25 books!
However, to no one’s surprise, I kept forgetting to track my progress on the Goodreads app. That means I spent the better part of this morning going back through my bookshelves and remembering the books I’ve read in 2022.
Sometimes, my creative (okay, disorganized) thinking has its advantages. Looking back on my year as a reader reminded me how many incredible books I enjoyed in 2022, and how many more are patiently waiting to get off my to-be-read list in 2023. Here were five of my favorite reads this year:
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I was physically unable to return to my regular life after reading this book. The family wants dinner? The laundry needs to be folded? Too bad, I’m still in the throes of an emotional crisis. Caused by a novel.
I have no regrets. 10/10 would read and be traumatized by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo again. In fact, this is the book I recommended to friends the most in 2022. You know you’ve found your people when you can say, “This story ripped me to shreds! You should read it!” and they take you up on it.
Where The Children Take Us by Zain E. Asher
I read this book in advance of attending a Happy Women Dinner event featuring Zain Asher in Washington, D.C. “So excited I pre-ordered” is an understatement. I tracked the package all the way up to its delivery on my doorstep, ripped open the envelope, and read the first sixteen pages before I even went back in the house.
The rest of the book was just as enthralling. Meeting Zain and discussing her memoir was one of the highlights of 2022 for me — you can read more about the experience here.
Melting the Blues by Tracy Chiles McGhee
The author of this novel, Tracy McGhee, also attended the Happy Women Dinner event for Zain. We were chatting afterwards and that was how I learned she was a DC-area novelist, too. When Tracy told me she wrote historical fiction, I was immediately excited to read her work. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres.
Let me tell you, this book is one of the best I’ve ever read. While I was absorbed in Melting the Blues, I forgot it was fiction, forgot I was just reading, forgot that it isn’t 1957 and I don’t live in Chinaberry, Arkansas. I felt like I was there! Months after reading it, I still think about this story. Don’t miss this, especially if you love historical fiction.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A good friend recommended this novel to me over a year ago, so I’m kicking myself for taking so long to pluck it from my “to-be-read” list. This was a late night read for me. After everyone else was in bed, I would get my water or sweet tea and curl up in a chair to read more about Ove and his neighbors (or perhaps nemeses?)
I have a soft spot for people with brittle exteriors: “cantankerous” may as well be a synonym for “wounded.” Heartbroken. Not so much lashing out as protecting themselves from more pain. Backman writes this character so well, I felt that I knew Ove — or maybe, perhaps, recognized myself in Ove.
Apparently, we’re only weeks away from the release of a movie adaptation: A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. I’m usually leery of sequels and movie adaptations, but if anyone could play Otto/ Ove and do the character justice, I bet it’s Hanks. Looking forward to checking out the movie, but I know I’ll reread the original book just for fun, too.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
After reading Ford’s novel A Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I knew that everything else he ever wrote was going to be an auto-buy for me. When The Many Daughters of Afong Moy released this year, I actually put it on my Christmas wish list.
And then I saw it in the New Release section of the library at the beginning of December. Did I wait to see if I might have my very own copy in just a few weeks? No, I did not. I checked out the book immediately and devoured it.
This story has fantastic writing, of course, but the structure is where the novel really shines. Ford gave Afong Moy and each of her descendants their own unique plot and then delicately wove them together in a heartbreaking story of love and loss that transcends generations.
Now that I’ve read and returned this treasure to the library, I’ll definitely be grabbing my own copy, too.
There is a downside (if you can call it that) of cataloging all my books for the year at once. I realized this morning how many books I’ve been wanting to read and haven’t gotten to yet. That “to-be-read” list of mine is constantly expanding…but truly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s pretty cool to look towards a new year and think of how many future favorite books are waiting to be enjoyed.
Happy New Year. May your 2023 be filled with more amazing books than you can read.
I only listed five of my favorites from this year. There are 21 other books I thoroughly enjoyed in 2022! If you’re a reader too, let’s connect on Goodreads — I’d love to hear about your favorite books!
this story was originally published on Medium.com