Best/Favorite Books READ in 2022

[Barbara]

Continuing a long tradition here at Constant Reader, I am listing my favorite books read in 2022. Note that these are not necessarily books that were published in that year. They are the books that I read. I'm dividing mine up by category but don't feel that you need to do the same. I get so many good ideas from reading the lists from everyone else here. Hope you will add yours.

Fiction
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
True Biz by Sara Nović
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
The Story Prize: 15 Years of Great Short Fiction
Beloved by Toni Morrison
All the Days and Nights: The Collected Stories by William Maxwell
A History of Loneliness by John Boyne
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan


Nonfiction:
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Sleep Fix: Practical, Proven, and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work, and More by Diane Macedo
Am I Alone Here?: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live by Peter Orner

Poetry:
What's Left Over by Ruth Bavetta
On the Way Out, Turn Off the Light: Poems by Marge Piercy
Stolen Air: Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam

Graphic Novel:
Let There Be Light by Liana Finck

Audiobooks:
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

[Donna]

I love these lists, too, Barb. And I like reflecting on what I've read over the past year. I read some very good books in 2022. Here are my favorites:

Fiction
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders
Matrix by Lauren Geoff
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
A History of Loneliness by John Boyne

Nonfiction
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
Keats: A Brief Life in Nine Poems and One Epitaph
by Lucasta Miller
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Devil-Land: England Under Siege, 1588-1688 by Clare Jackson
Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America by Nick Bunker

[Barbara]

Donna, I see some of my own favorites on your lists but also some intriguing new or forgotten titles. I recommend How the Word is Passed to everyone, one of the most important books published in 2021. Also, I had forgotten about Erdrich's The Sentence. I am.putting it on my TBR list now.

[Book Concierge]

Of the 165 books I read in 2022 I gave out exactly TEN 5-star ratings. In alphabetical order (by title):

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
A Good American by Alex George
A History of Loneliness by John Boyne (re-read)
Icy Sparks by Gywn Hyman Rubio
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (re-read)
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (re-read)
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
The Turtle Warrior by Mary Relindes Ellis

[Barbara]

Thanks, B.C.! I definitely give more 5 star ratings than you do. Will be checking out some of these titles that I haven't read.

[Tamara]

I have a fairly eclectic mix of favorites.
In fiction, I enjoy a lot of books in translation, books about other cultures, re-reads of classics, and mythic re-tellings.
I enjoy just about anything in non-fiction as long as it is well-written and thought-provoking. I lean towards books that discuss different religious traditions and those that expand my understanding of the natural world and the universe.

My favorite reads of 2022 in no particular order:

Fiction
The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller; translated by Philip Boehm.
Ithaca by Claire North.
Walking on the Ceiling by Aysegül Savas.
Deacon King Kong by James McBride.
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel.
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson; translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born.
Optic Nerve by María Gainza; translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead.
Butcher's Crossing by John Williams.
Augustus by John Williams.
Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness; translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton.
White on White by Aysegül Savas.
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (a re-read)
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (a re-read)
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol; translated by Robert Maguire (a re-read).
Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic by Sophus Helle. This is my favorite epic poem. I've read several translations, and this is by far the best. His analysis and discussion of the poem blew me away. This is my favorite book of the year.

Non-fiction
The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar.
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit.
Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit.
Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations by Michael A. Sells.
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell.
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moiya McTier.
Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane.
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber.
A Collection of Essays by George Orwell (a re-read).
The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts by Karen Armstrong.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben.

I write reviews of everything I read and post my reviews on Goodreads and on my website. It's the only way I can remember what I've read :)

[Theresa]

I am enjoying everyone’s lists. I see some of my own faves definitely past years, and some new books to add to my own TBR list. I am impressed by how many books some of you read. I only read a few books in 2022, not enough to make a favorites list, but I did enjoy each of the few books I read so maybe I will just list them all.

I see that Tamara’s list includes “Dead Souls.” I read that book years ago and tried so hard, but failed, to find something to like about it. It’s a classic! A must read!! Everyone loves it!!! I had to force myself to finish. Good thing it’s a short book. Years later I still get the heebie jeebies when I see it mentioned. Not a criticism of anyone (the many many anyones) who enjoyed “Dead Souls.” Just a comment on the variance of personal taste.

Theresa

[Ruth]

I guess I should start keeping a list of books read again.

[Tamara]

Theresa wrote: "I see that Tamara’s list includes “Dead Souls.” I read that book years ago and tried so hard, but failed, to find something to like about it. ..."

Theresa, I see Dead Souls, as Gogol satirizing Russian society with its rampant hypocrisy, corruption, unethical behaviors, and bureaucratic quagmire. His satire is threaded with gentle humor. Parts of it are laugh out loud funny.

But I get what you're saying about the variance of personal taste. I think that's a good thing. It would make for a pretty dull world if we all liked the same books :)

[Justin]

For me, 2022 was a special year. Last January, I read a new all-time favorite that became a turning point in my reading life, encouraging me both to read more and to explore new genres, especially classic literature. In the reading frenzy that followed, I discovered new authors I love (e.g., Anthony Trollope) and read wonderful novels that were never even on my radar before.

The book that started it all is Les Misérables, and I currently think of it as the literary love of my life.

In addition to it, my other favorites from this past year are:

Jane Eyre

The Dutch House

The Last Samurai

Barchester Towers

Dr. Thorne

The Color Purple

I noticed that two of you put These Precious Days: Essays on your lists. Although I didn't read it in 2022 (I read it this past week), come next year, it will certainly be on my "best of 2023" list. It was fantastic.

[Barbara]

Justin, I so agree with you about Les Miserables. I read it when my two, now grown, sons were small. And I still have crystal clear memories of how much it affected me.

[Donna]

I love your post, Justin. I think I need to read Les Miserables.

[Gina]

I had a wonderful reading year. I think my very favorite was Deacon King Kong

My 5 star reads this year are:
Cloud Cuckoo Land
The Color Purple
Moon Tiger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
As We Are Now
House on Endless Waters
The Sentence
A History of Loneliness
When All the World Was Young
The Bone People
The Lincoln Highway
Selected Stories
The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows
Lucy by the Sea
These Precious Days: Essays
Small Things Like These

My favorite reread was The Gift of Rain.

[Kat]

Justin wrote: "For me, 2022 was a special year. Last January, I read a new all-time favorite that became a turning point in my reading life, encouraging me both to read more and to explore new genres, especially ..."

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anthony Trollope! Have read all his major works and some of the minor ones. He's such a pleasure.

[Barbara]

Kat and Justin, what are your favorite Anthony Trollope novels? I've only read Can You Forgive Her? and keep meaning to read more.

[Mary]

2022 was a good year…some of these had been on my TBR for a very long time and some were new discoveries and others were recommended by people whose opinion I respect - like all of you.

Fiction — 5 stars

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
The Watch that Ends the Night by Hugh MacLennan
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy

Non-Fiction —5 stars

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement that Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Fiction & Non-Fiction — 4 stars that could have been 5 had I rated them on another day

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Women, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier
The Trees by Perceval Everett
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not the movie star)
Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe by Steven H. Strogatz

[Tamara]

Gina wrote: "I had a wonderful reading year. I think my very favorite was Deacon King Kong

Gina, Like you, I loved Deacon King Kong. I'm hoping to read more of McBride's novels this year.

[Tamara]

The Lincoln Highway has popped up on a couple of the lists. It must be good. I've put it on my TBR. Thanks.

[Justin]

Tamara wrote: "Gina wrote: "I had a wonderful reading year. I think my very favorite was Deacon King Kong

Gina, Like you, I loved Deacon King Kong. I'm hoping to read more of McBride's novels thi..."

The high praise in this group for Deacon King Kong makes me really want to read it; I'm going to try to get to it early this year.

[Kat]

Barbara wrote: "Kat and Justin, what are your favorite Anthony Trollope novels? I've only read Can You Forgive Her? and keep meaning to read more."

There are two series of Trollope books considered especially good, his Barchester Towers series, which begins with The Warden, and his Palliser series which begins with Can You Forgive Her. I would say all the novels in each series stand alone pretty well, though. The Barchester Tower series has and ecclesiastical background and the Palliser novels have a parliamentary background. But in both cases it's really the relationships of the characters that makes the main part of the story.

A good stand alone novel is THE WAY WE LIVE NOW.

It should be mentioned that Trollope was an antisemite, and this occasionally comes up in his books. This is always distressing, of course. For me it can't ruin the otherwise wonderful novels. Someone else might feel differently.

[Justin]

Barbara wrote: "Kat and Justin, what are your favorite Anthony Trollope novels? I've only read Can You Forgive Her? and keep meaning to read more."

Barbara, thus far, I've only read five of Anthony Trollope's novels (the first four of the Barsetshire series, along with Dr. Wortle's School) plus his Christmas short stories. Of those, Dr. Thorne was probably my favorite, although I enjoyed all of them, including the short stories. Everything I've read by him has either been good or great, which is amazing given that I hadn't even heard of him at this time last year.

[Barbara]

Thank you, Kat and Justin!

Wow, I am truly loving these lists.

[Gina]

Justin wrote: "Tamara wrote: "Gina wrote: "I had a wonderful reading year. I think my very favorite was Deacon King Kong

Gina, Like you, I loved Deacon King Kong. I'm hoping to read more of McBri..."

You'll love the humor, and recognize the suffering. I think you'll like it.

[Donna]

Gina wrote: "Justin wrote: "Tamara wrote: "Gina wrote: "I had a wonderful reading year. I think my very favorite was Deacon King Kong

Gina, Like you, I loved Deacon King Kong. I'm hoping to rea..."

This was a five star read for me, too. Somehow I missed it on my list of favorites.

[K]

Wow! What a treat to read all of these lists! They made my night! I've been told I'm too generous with my 5-star ratings but here are mine from 2022, in no particular order:

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

The Promise by Damon Galgut

The Echo Chamber by John Boyne

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

We Live in Water by Jess Walter

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Foster by Claire Keegan

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The only non-fiction I gave a 5-star review was for a unique memoir that combined the natural world. It was Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl. I'm not particularly drawn to memoirs, but this one was spectacular!

Thank you for all of your lists. I have a few of the titles already on my shelves, so I am now motivated to finally read them!

[Tamara]

I, too, am loving these lists. My mountain of books to read keeps getting longer and longer.
I've picked up a couple more from your list, K, including Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss because that looks really interesting.
Thanks.

[Barbara]

I'm really glad that everyone likes the lists because I do too. It's been a nice tradition here.

K, I keep meaning to read more by Miriam Toews. All My Puny Sorrows is on my TBR list. Seeing it on yours motivates me to get to it sooner.

[Mary Anne]

I mentioned elsewhere that I have been finding it difficult to concentrate on reading, and I feel the loss deeply. But what a joy it is to see the comments made each day by all of the Constant Readers. Thank you all. You have helped me more than you know.

In the midst of my reading struggles, a few gems were very special for me in 2022. Some of them were second readings:

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest - Suzanne Simard
These Precious Days: Essays - Ann Patchett
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell
The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles
Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi
Beloved - Toni Morrison
A History of Loneliness - John Boyne
Sandy Hook - Elizabeth Williamson
Deacon King Kong - James McBride
Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr
The Office of Historical Corrections - Danielle Evans

[Shirley]

One of the best novels I read in 2022 was The House of Broken Angels, by Luis Alberto Urrea. I was impressed by his masterful opening chapter and his vivid portrayal of the family.
Lucy by the Sea induced me to go back and reread all of Strout’s Amgash novels. I rarely reread novels, but Strout’s are an exception.

[Ann D]

Shirley,
I really liked The House of Broken Angels too.

[Ann D]

My Favorite Books of 2022

Non-Fiction
Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marja Satrapi (graphic autobiographies)

These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg


Fiction

The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad

A History of Loneliness by John Boyne

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart


Favorite mystery series

Slow Horses by Mark Herron

[Lynn]

Ann, I want to thank you for your earlier recommendation of the Slow Horses series in the "What I'm Reading" thread. I started making my way through them last summer while I was at the cabin. My library up there has a great free interlibrary loan service and can get them pretty easily. Here I have to pay for interlibrary loans, so I choose to read the ones I can get as ebooks until I get back up north. I'm currently waiting in line for Joe Country.

[Ann D]

You're further than I am Lynn. I like to read them on Kindle. A couple I read out of sequence due to availability, but I think it's better to read them in order. I have read 4 so far. They are always a treat.

[Ann D]

Both Tom and I really like the Apple TV Slow Horses series. There's a great cast. They have broadcast 2 series already and are filming series 3 and 4 now. It's definitely worth signing up for Apple TV for a month or two.

[Lynn]

I've resisted the streaming series because I don't have Apple TV and am afraid of getting sucked in to a longer term relationship if I try it for a month or two :-) I wonder if my daughter has it, though... hmmm.