Time to Vote for PBT's Top 10 Reads of 2022

[Karin]

Congrats on becoming a mother! I'm impressed that you were able to read this much :)

[LibraryCin]

Rachel N. wrote: "Worst read The Zookeeper's Wife - Ackerman, my only 2 star read of the year so overall a good reading year...."

Ohhh, I'm so sorry you didn't like this!

[Amy]

Me too!

[Jen K]

My top 10 for 2022:

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma - Foo
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Ogawa
Nettle & Bone - Kingfisher
True Biz - Novic
Know My Name - Miller
Book Lovers - Henry
Glory - Bulawayo
Writers & Lovers - King
The Colony - Magee
The Sweetness of Water - Harris

Least favorite- The Spanish Love Deception

[DianeMP]

l. Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus
2. Station Eleven - Mandel
3. The Haunting of Hill House - Jackson
4. Greenlights - McCounaughey
5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Reid
6. The Nightingale - Hannah
7. The Four Winds - Hannah
8. Hail Many - Weir
9. The Maid - Prose
10. The Giver -Lowry

[Nicole]

Thank you everyone for the congratulations and book recommendations!! We’re very excited to raise a little reader - so far his favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar ♥️

[Anita]

I am going to start tallying everyone's responses, so please, if you make any changes from this point forward, just note it in a separate message, and I will make the edits accordingly. Note the book you are dropping and the one you are substituting.

Thank you!!

[Jgrace]

The Sentence - Erdrich
Horse - Brooks
Mercury Pictures Presents - Marra
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep - Parry
Braiding Sweetgrass - Kimmerer
All the Seas of the World - Kay
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Van Pelt
A Single Thread - Chevalier
The Ink Black Heart - Galbraith
The Summer Book - Jannsson



Honorable Mentions - (They may float to the top ten. I'm indecisive and fickle)
The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune
The City We Became - Jimisin
A Murder Unmentioned - Gentill
Love, Death & Rare Books - Hellenga

Still reading..... always hoping for something mind blowing up to 11:59 pm on Dec. 31!

[Anita]

NancyJ wrote: "Here are some books that delighted, moved, informed, puzzled, or impressed me this year. I'll take a closer look -and reformat - after I get caught up with my reviews. Or January 3rd.

[book:The Y..."

Please make sure to post your top 10 as a separate post (after this one) because I will miss it otherwise.

[Anita]

Definitely not my best reading year, but here's my favorites:

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City - Elliott
I'm Glad My Mom Died - McCurdy
Between Two Kingdoms - Jaouad
The Colony - Magee
The Dutch House - Patchett
Blood Orange Night: My Journey to the Edge of Madness - Bond
The Boys in the Boat - Brown
Writers & Lovers - King
Glory - Bulawayo
Lucy by the Sea - Strout


My list was memoir heavy this year. And also leaned in the non-fiction direction. Not sure what that's about, but I felt my fiction reading was definitely subpar. I had a number of two star reads (eight to be exact) this year, and it's very hard to say which I disliked the most. What's worse is that several of these were some big books from this year or the recent past. . .books a LOT of people really loved. Not sure what this says about my taste.

[KateNZ]

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Skloot
Project Hail Mary - Weir
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - Kingsolver
Ordinary Grace - Krueger
A Gentleman in Moscow - Towles
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century - Johnson
Miss Benson’s Beetle - Joyce
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - King
The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune
The Colony - Magee

Lots of honourable mentions, including a couple of complete series by Lois McMaster Bujold, and “The Narrowboat Summer”, which were all glorious. But the book I was saddest to miss off the list was Miriam Margolyes’ autobiography, “This Much Is True.”

Worst book:
Forever, Interrupted - Reid.

It narrowly beat out another debut novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie. Both debut novels, so no shame!

[annapi]

Anita wrote: "I had a number of two star reads (eight to be exact) this year, and it's very hard to say which I disliked the most. What's worse is that several of these were some big books from this year or the recent past. . .books a LOT of people really loved...."

Now you've intrigued me, Anita - what books were those?

[Anita]

annapi wrote: "Anita wrote: "I had a number of two star reads (eight to be exact) this year, and it's very hard to say which I disliked the most. What's worse is that several of these were some big books from thi..."

The Lincoln Highway and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida and Anxious People. Sigh.

[annapi]

KateNZ wrote: "It narrowly beat out another debut novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie..."

I can remember being very disappointed by this, as it was Poirot's first case and I had read several others before this.

[Linda C]

Replacing msg 33 with this list

In no particular order

Rose Code - Quinn
Lincoln Highway - Towles
A Lady in the Smoke - Odden
Deacon King Kong - McBride
Dinner with Edward - Vincent
Persuasion - Austen
The Guncle - Rowley
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood – Noah
Klara and the Sun – Ishiguro
Island of Sea Women - See

Least Favorite - The Confederacy of Dunces - Toole

I replaced Kingsolver's Bean Trees (a reread of a favorite) with something I just finished and gave 5 stars - Island of Sea Women

[punxsygal]

The Book Seller - Pryor
Before We Were Yours - Wingate
Salvation of a Saint - Higashino
Girl at War - Novic
The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Lefteri
The Rose Code - Quinn
The Henna Artist - Joshi
A Midsummer's Equation - Higashino
True Biz - Novic
Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus

[Anita]

Linda C wrote: "Replacing msg 33 with this list

In no particular order

Rose Code - Quinn
Lincoln Highway - Towles
A Lady in the Smoke - Odden
Deacon King Kong - McBride
Dinner with Edward - Vincent
Persuasion - ..."

Thank you for pointing out the specific change of title! That's exactly what I needed.

[Margaret]

Born a Crime - Noah
The Reading List - Adams
Mercy - Baldacci
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Ogawa
These Precious Days - Patchett
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Honeyman
Murphy"s law - Bowen
The Christmas Blessing - Carlson
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot - Cronin
A Year on Ladybug Farm - Ball

[Joanne]

I noticed someone else besides me has Horse on their list-the way the vote is going all over the place that could give it a top spot! I hope so, it truly deserves it

[Booknblues]

Joanne wrote: "I noticed someone else besides me has Horse on their list-the way the vote is going all over the place that could give it a top spot! I hope so, it truly deserves it"

I've seen The Horse on several lists, including mine.

I'm seeing several books I had on my top 10 or honorable mention and several, which I enjoyed in the past.

[Theresa]

It is really wonderful how rich and varied the Top 10 lists are this year.

[Kerrin]

Amy wrote: "*The Personal Librarian – Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr
*Honor – Thrity Umigar
*The Diamond Eye – Kate Quinn
*The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles
*..."
Awesome list.

[Robin P]

Also amusing that some people's top books include someone else's least favorite!

[Jenni Elyse]

Congrats on becoming a mother, Nicole!

[Tracy]

I guess this was a better reading year than I thought- I had a lot more memorable books than I expected. In no particular order:

Elena Knows- Piniero
Time is a Mother- Vuong
Liberation Day- Saunders
Nuclear Family- Han
Treacle Walker- Garner
The Bread Givers- Yezrerska
The Man Who Could Move Clouds- Rojas Contreras
What We Fed to the Manticore- Kolluri
Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta- Hannaham
Lungfish- Gilliss

Special mentions to:
Demon Copperhead by Kingsolver and
the entire collection of essays by Joan Didion (May she be happy with her husband and daughter in eternity).

The worst read wasn’t even a contest, and there were some pretty bad ones—
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother- Chua

[Nicole D.]

I read some exceptional books this year, and I lean towards thinking the ones I read most recently were really the best, but as I look at my list I know that can't be true. But I really really loved the McCarthy's. (also beating myself up for ONLY consuming 80 books, which is really dumb.)

The Passenger - McCarthy
Stella Maris - McCarthy
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Karunatilaka
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies - Mortimer
The Colony - Magee
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy - Ford
The Sense of an Ending - Barnes
The Last Days of California - Miller

There were a couple others I could add to the list (I guess call them my honorable mentions)
The Buried Giant - Ishiguro
The Slowworms Song - Miller
Trees - Everett
American Pastoral - Roth



The books I read this year which I thought were the dumbest ....
sorry everybody
Project Hail Mary - Weir
Nightcrawling - Mottley (what a waste of time) (assuming you don't track these so I'm not worrying about formatting)

and the worst of the worst ....

The Listeners - Tannahill

[Book Concierge]

Well, of the 165 books I read this year, exactly 10 got 5-stars, so that made choosing my top ten a little easier. Three are re-reads, but so be it.

Ask Again, Yes - Keane
The Sweetness of Water - Harris
A History of Loneliness - Boyne
Invisible Women - Perez
The Nickel Boys - Whitehead
The Turtle Warrior - Ellis
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Bradbury
These Precious Days - Patchett
Icy Sparks - Rubio
A Good American - George



Oh and my worst ...
The Deal of a Lifetime - Backman
A snippet from My review of the audiobook:
DNF - zero stars
I quit after about the equivalent of 30 pages. Didn't seem like the feel-good Christmas story I was expecting. I hated the narrator / main character. And thought the whole idea of "the woman in the grey sweater" was creepy and ridiculous.

[Lyn]

My favorite reads of 2022:

The Book of Magic - Hoffman
The Dutch House - Patchett
Plainsong - Haruf
Magic Hour - Hannah
Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus
Pachinko - Lee
Marie Curie and Her Daughters - Emling
The Island of Sea Women - See
Ship of Ghosts - Hornfischer
Beartown - Backman

Worst read this year was Bees in Amber by Oxenham, a small book of poetry than I barely finished.

[Kimber]

The Overstory - Powers
Braiding Sweetgrass - Kimmerer
Euphoria - King
The Poppy War - Kuang
How the Word is Passed - Smith
Fates and Furies - Goff
Mr. Splitfoot - Hunt
The Good Neighbor - King
Frankissstein - Winterson
The Summer Before the War - Simonson

[Diana]

Anxious People - Backman
A Man Called Ove - Backman
The Story of Arthur Truluv - Berg
The Constant Princess - Gregory
What Alice Forgot - Moriarty
The President is Missing - Clinton/Patterson
And Then There Were None - Christie
Apples Never Fall - Moriarty
Once There Were Wolves - McConaghy
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Jackson

The worst read of the year is Cloud Atlas which I was listening to for a month and really didn't get.

[Raine]

Wish You Were Here - Piccoult
The Maid - Prose
The Last House on the Street - Chamberlain
Malibu Rising - Jenkins Reid
The Hired Man - Forna
Daisy Darker - Feeney
In Five Years - Serle
The Lost Apothecary - Penner
Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus
Cover Story - Rigetti

I didn't rate anything under 3 stars this year, so I don't have a "worst" read

[Raine]

Amy wrote: "*The Personal Librarian – Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr
*Honor – Thrity Umigar
*The Diamond Eye – Kate Quinn
*The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles
*..."

Mad Honey was great......I have it as a f2f book club this week

[Hannah]

My favourite reads of 2022:

Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus
March Book 2 - Lewis
The Personal Librarian - Benedict and Murray
Our Woman in Moscow - Williams
Salt Houses - Alyan
Of Women and Salt - Garcia
The Diamond Eye - Quinn
People Person - Carty-Williams
The Sun Down Motel - St James
All We Ever Wanted - Giffin

Honourable Mentions:

The Lions of Fifth Avenue - Davis
The Radium Girls - Moore
Who Is Vera Kelly? - Knecht
The Address - Davis
The Henna Artist - Joshi

Worst reads of 2022:

If I Could Tell You - Wilhide
The Girl in the Pink Raincoat - Hughes
Haven - Donoghue
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Kundera

[Nicole R]

In no particular order:

Book Lovers - Henry
The Diamond Eye - Quinn
Horse - Brooks
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality - Brown-Nagin
Carrie Soto is Back - Reid
Every Summer After - Fortune
Honey & Spice -- Babalola
Demon Copperhead - Kingsolver
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Zevin
Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus

My hands down favorite of the year was Horse by Geraldine Brooks.

My least favorite book of the year and was a DNF was A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (I know it is wildly popular so sorry y'all!)

[Nicole R]

Cora wrote: "Comfort Me With Apples - Valente
The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Vo
The Dutch House - Patchett
How Lucky - Leitch
Pet - Emezi
Interview with the Vampire - Rice
Blackbird House - Hoffman
King and ..."

I say every year I am going to read Interview with the Vampire and I never do! Encouraging to see it on your list!

[Nicole R]

Theresa wrote: "Oh, I've been waiting for this! By order read:

The Martian - Weir
The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune
Madame Bovary - Flaubert, trans. Lydia Davis
Love, Death & Rare Books - Hellenga
Narrowboat ..."

I loved Migrations! I was less enamored with her follow up book (something about wolves), but it was still good.

House/Cerulean seems to be wildly popular! I may need to get to that this year.

[Nicole R]

Holly R W wrote: "Top Ten Books

The Sentence - Erdrich
Violeta - Allende
Black Cake - Wilkerson
True Biz - Novic
Chilean Poet - Zambra
Little Faith - Butler
Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir of Friendship - Totenberg
Tom..."

Tomorrow3 also made my list! I was hesitant to start because of the gaming angle but I really liked it.

Black Cake was also very good. I gave that one 4 stars and I think it suffered for me from being so hyped.

[Nicole R]

Amy wrote: "*The Personal Librarian – Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr
*Honor – Thrity Umigar
*The Diamond Eye – Kate Quinn
*The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles
*..."

The Diamond Eye made my list too! Can Kate Quinn do wrong?! I hope she has a new one coming out this year...

I must get to Remarkably Bright Creatures. I have it downloaded on audio and it looks so good. It will be an early 2023 read for sure.

[Nicole R]

Robin P wrote: "In order read:

The Nesting Dolls - Adams
Migrations - McConaghey
Little Fires Everywhere - Ng
Last Call - Okrent
Call Us What We Carry - Gorman
The Man Who Died Twice - Orman
Search - Huneven
Brai..."

Still Life is literally sitting on my coffee table looking at me. lol. I went to Italy earlier this year and I friend recommended I read it before I go....which didn't happen but better late than never?

[Nicole R]

Sue wrote: "The Boys in the Boat - Brown
The Dutch House - Patchett
How High We Go in the Dark - Nagamatsu
Klara and the Sun - Ishiguro
The Lincoln Highway - Towles
NOS4A2 - Hill
Piranesi - Clarke
Plainsong - ..."

Project Hail Mary was such a fun read! Didn't make my top 10 but I will read whatever Weir writes!

[Nicole R]

Olivermagnus wrote: "In no particular order.

NOS4A2 - Hill
Project Hail Mary - Weir
Bloodline - Rollins
Beartown - Backman
Dark Lover - Ward
And Then There Were None - Christie
Back of Beyond - Box
Razorblade Tears - ..."

LOVED Madam Tussaud when I read it a few years ago. I literally knew nothing about her! That also reminds me that I really like Moran's books....I need to see if she has anything new....

[Nicole R]

Jenny wrote: "In no particular order!

A Gentleman in Moscow - Towles
The Priory of the Orange Tree - Shannon
Blood and Sand - Gardner
Braiding Sweetgrass - Kimmerer
The Poisonwood Bible - Kingsolver
This Much i..."

Must eventually get to Braiding Sweetgrass. It is a long-time lingerer on my TBR.

[Nicole R]

Booknblues wrote: "This was really hard because I had quite a few 5 star books this year and I hated eliminating any of them. Here is my final

Briefly, A Delicious Life – Nell Stevens
The Oregon Trail: A New America..."

Horse was so great! I think I spent as much time reading about the read life horse and people as I did actually reading the book.

Tayari Jones has had Old Fourth Ward listed as an upcoming release for years now, I wonder if it will ever come out. I would love something new by her!

[Nicole R]

Joy D wrote: "The Immortal King Rao – Vara
The Colony – Magee
We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies – Lama
The Winter Soldier – Mason
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – Karunatilaka
The Sparrow – Russell
Project ..."

You loved so many books that I have never even heard of! Off to check some of them out.

[Nicole R]

NancyJ wrote: "Here are some books that delighted, moved, informed, puzzled, or impressed me this year. I'll take a closer look -and reformat - after I get caught up with my reviews. Or January 3rd.

[book:The Y..."

I read Sorrow and Bliss last year (thanks to Susie!) and also really liked it. Surprisingly so. It may have made my Top 10 last year...

[Nicole R]

Michelle H wrote: "Ranked 1-10

The Measure - Erlick
Finding Me - Davis
Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus
The Guncle - Rowley
Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes - King
It'..."

Lessons in Chemistry was so good! And also so freaking infuriating at the same time.

[Nicole R]

Joanne wrote: "All 5 Star reads


Facing the Mountain - Daniel James Brown
Black Hawk Down - Mark Bowden
Horse - Geraldine Brooks
The Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk
Checkmate In Berlin - Milton Giles
Under Heaven - G..."

Yay for more votes for Horse!

[Nicole R]

Kelly wrote: "The Winners - Backman
And Now She's Gone - Hall
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Jackson
Carrie Soto is Back - Reid
The Perfect Couple - Hilderbrand
The Paris Apartment - Foley
The First Lady - Pat..."

Carrie Soto was a hit for me too. I thought it was so great, but Carrie definitely got mixed reviews!

[Nicole R]

Kateloves2read wrote: "I had a horrible reading year and most of my books are three stars and below.

However, my top five favorites are:

Persuasion-Austen
Studmuffin Santa-Fenske ( best title as well!)
A Redbird Chr..."

I used to read A Christmas Carol every year, but haven't done so in a while. I may need to revisit it.

Not book related, but have you seen The Man Who Invented Christmas? Not a big budget movie but has some big British names and was SO GOOD. It is about Dickens as he writes A Christmas Carol.

[Joanne]

Nicole R wrote: "In no particular order:

Book Lovers - Henry
The Diamond Eye - Quinn
Horse - Brooks
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality - Brown-Nagin
Carrie Soto is Back - Reid..."

YEAH! another Horse fan!