Best Books of 2022
2022: was it a good year or bad year? I experienced some extreme highs and extreme lows this year. The pandemic still lingered, my sister and brother-in-law were in a bad car accident, and I lost an old friend to a fatal motorcycle accident. But I also got signed by a literary agent this year and my latest novel was accepted to be published by a university press (to be released in 2024). More sad news: Malvern Books in Austin, Texas (one of my favorite bookstores) is closing on December 31, 2022; what a terrible way to end the year. But I’m not here to dwell on the bad or gloat about the good. I’m here to talk about one thing: BOOKS! I read so many great works of fiction: novels, collections of short stories, and the craft of writing books. Here is my list of the Best Books of 2022. Many of these were released in 2022. Some were released in late 2021 and some may not be out until early 2023. I have eclectic taste in books, so their categories vary from humor to literary to suspense to surreal. One thing is for sure: all of these books are great! Let's congratulate these stellar fiction writers for their fantastic books.
Best Books of 2022
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
Tell Me One Thing by Kerri Schlottman
The Last Karankawas by Kimberly Garza
Beasts of the Earth by James Wade
Pictures of the Shark by Thomas H. McNeely
Valleyesque by Fernando A. Flores
Black Marker: A Novel in 100-Word Stories by Ran Walker
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
Sparrow By Brian Kindall
Twentymile by C. Matthew Smith
Mixed Company by Jenny Shank
Honorable Mentions of 2022
If you read all of these wonderful books and are chomping at the bit for more, then I offer up my 2022 honorable mentions. Hannah and Ariela By Johnnie Bernhard, More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez, and We Are All Together by Richard Fulco are great novels, too. Two books I’m reading now and enjoying, but haven’t finished yet: Saint Sebastian’s Abyss by Mark Haber and Year of the Buffalo by Aaron Burch. I read quite a few book on the craft of writing, but these were the best I read in 2022: Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell, Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum, and Talk Talk: Interviews with Writers by Allan Vorda. I also read a ton of classics, but the two classics I loved the most in 2022 were: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck and The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. The best coffee table book / comic book aficionado tome was—hands-down: Fantastic Four No. 1: Panel by Panel by Chip Kidd.
Support writers as well as indie bookstores this holiday. Find many of these books over on Bookshop.org at the following link:
https://bookshop.org/lists/books-featured-on-austin-liti-limits
I am grateful to have interviewed many of these fantastic writers on the web series I co-host with my esteemed colleague Larry Brill: Austin Liti Limits. Watch here:
Have a great holiday whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza. And may 2023 be a great year for books, writers, bookstores, and readers everywhere!
Take care,
Scott
