My Year in Books 2022

I made several resolutions at the start of my year of reading. How do I feel about those choices in December? I feel great.

A sample of my reading year:

Compared to the past three years, this year I’ve read less books, but reading more wasn’t the goal. As I’ve mentioned before, reading is work to me — and I don’t mean that as a negative. I don’t see reading, while being a Filipino author writing romance, as work that I’m forced to do. I’m still Filipino and a romance author when I read, so there’s no reading that doesn’t at all affect those parts of me.

Even when I read a different genre, or I consume media that isn’t a book, I understand something about that genre/medium that may have a parallel in mine, or I pick up a feeling/emotion/truth that will be useful in romance writing. I’m just like this now, so it makes sense to me to tailor my reading year in a way that satisfies me (as a reader and a person in the world of publishing).

So how did I do across different “resolutions”?

Read more Filipino authors. Filipino authors whose books I did not edit or help publish made up 32% of my year. I’ve read more, but I edited or helped publish some of the books, so they’re not counted as “choices.” I’m happy with this percentage by the way, and will likely maintain it.

Read more Southeast Asian authors. I have a separate post about this. It’s also 32% of my reading year, and I’d like to bump that up next year.

Is it possible to read zero books with [redacted]? For reasons, I won’t discuss this last resolution in detail, but will say that it was still 18% of my reading year (so I did not read zero of [that thing]). As far as ambitious goals go, I’ll still congratulate myself on this, and resolve to get that percentage closer to zero next year. (Realistically there are reasons for [redacted] to be part of my reading but 5% is probably a more fair allocation and still an ambitious target.)

Here are all the books I finished reading.

4-Eyes: An Online Malaysian Love Story by haiyatotheskyNoelle the First by Nicole FallsHer Pretend Christmas Date by Jackie LauThe Ballad of Citra Sidek and Her Terrible Taste in Men by Ellie PurnamaBreathless by Beverly JenkinsKSL by Chencia C. HigginsBlack Water Sister by Zen ChoLove Is All Around: An Alta Holiday Anthology by Carla de Guzman, Suzette de Borja, and Bianca Mori Bibliolepsy by Gina ApostolThe Five-Day Reunion by Mona ShroffSing Me to Sleep by RM VirtuesSo Yabang by Zara IrigoCherishing the Goddess by Lucy EdenA Match Made in Lipa by Carla de GuzmanGoing Public by Hudson LinAunty Lee’s Chilled Revenge by Ovidia YuHer Favorite Rebound by Jackie LauWatch Me by Liz LincolnMy Quarantine Diary by Ines Bautista-YaoLibby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending by Jodi McAlisterShe Said Yes by Tasha L. HarrisonThe Children of Bathala Volume One by Arnold ArreCafe con Lychee by Emery LeeScales and Sensibility by Stephanie BurgisTake Two by Kaith C. CimafrancaSomeone Like Me by Julissa ArceLove to Meet You by Jay E. TriaBlack Love Matters edited by Jessica P. PrydeAru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani ChokshiMorning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. NascostaGrand Theft N.Y.E. by Katrina JacksonKick at the Darkness by Suleikha SnyderHusband Material by Alexis HallRuby Fever by Ilona AndrewsCollision Course by Christina C. JonesControlled Chaos by Christina C. JonesClose Contact by Christina C. JonesTo Catch A Raven by Beverly Jenkins Mango Cake and Murder by Christy MurphyCrossword by qixingSet on You by Amy LeaAn Illicit Seduction by Chencia C. HigginsApple Pies and Alibis by Christy MurphyLetters to a Young Brown Girl by Barbara Jane ReyesSome Bali to Love by Carla de Guzmanf*ck around and find out by Nicole FallsTarantadong Kalbo vol. 2 by Kevin RaymundoA Career in Books by Kate GavinoMan vs Ipis Volume 1 by AJ BacarCompromised into a Scandalous Marriage by Lydia San AndresThe Austrian and the Asian by Eden BayleeOne Floor Up Volume 1 by Lady StorykeeperLive for Love by Saquina Karla C. GuiamSabbatical by Katrina JacksonHow to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria RessaMatch with the Demon by Chace VerityHani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022/3862800

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