Hello! It’s been quite some time since I’ve had the time or energy to write here, but I wanted to at least document my favorite books I read this year. I’m not sure if I’ll get back blogging regularly in 2023 or not—as my job has become busier and more focused on creating content, it’s been a challenge to have leftover brain space for writing in my spare time. But I’m still doing a lot of reading, so who knows, maybe I’ll have some momentum to pick it back up.
Anyway, I still managed to do a ton of reading this year. At work I joke about how reading is my stress relief, so the more books I read, the more stressed I’ve been. My grand total for this year is 114 books, which might be saying something about the kind of year it’s been. No, it’s actually been a good year, but one of the busiest in terms of both work and home life. Reading is definitely my solace.
Here are my favorites. These were books not necessarily published in 2022, although many were, but ones I read in 2022.
Fiction Favorites
Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. Since she changed her mind about going to med school, Emma Starling has felt a bit lost. She returns home to help her family after her father is diagnosed with a mysterious brain condition. At home, she helps care for her father, who has been hallucinating small animals and conversing with a ghost since his diagnosis, and tries to repair her relationship with her brother, a recovering addict. She also takes a job as a long-term substitute fifth grade teacher—a much harder job than she originally thought. Somehow, Hartnett manages to combine elements both bizarre and serious (ghosts, caring for a loved one, addiction) to tell a cohesive yet complex and heartwarming story. There is so much going on that any summary would be incomplete, so this is one that if you like the author’s tone, you just have to trust yourself in her hands and go with it. I adored this book; it’s unlike anything I’ve read, but in the best way.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Sam meets Sadie while he’s in the hospital recovering from a terrible car accident, and they bond over Super Mario Brothers. This begins both a life-long friendship and love of video games. It’s been years since they’ve seen each other, but when Sadie and Sam run into each other at a Boston subway stop, their friendship reignites, and a with it, a collaboration to build a video game that is an instant success. As they grow a business together, their friendship changes along with their lives. While video games play a starring role in this book, more than anything this is a story of friendship. It is definitely character-driven, and Zevin’s writing made me fall in love with the characters, even when they weren’t all that easy to love. I wanted to both cry and hug this one when I finished it. It was excellent.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Elizabeth Zott is a talented, intelligent scientist… but it’s the early 1960s and women aren’t exactly encouraged to be leaders in research and academia. Despite trauma, discrimination, and harassment, Zott works hard to keep her head down and work at Hastings Research Institute. There, she meets Calvin Evans, another brilliant scientist, and they fall in love. However, a few years later Zott’s life has changed dramatically; she’s a single mother of a precocious daughter and the beloved yet controversial host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. This is a book that contains multitudes—commentary on sexism and discrimination that may have been more prevalent in the 1960s but is clearly still a thing, a story of found family and friendship, and a portrait of two of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered in a while: Elizabeth Zott and her dog, Six-Thirty. This book made me laugh several times, while also touching on sad and difficult themes, but overall left me feeling warm and fuzzy.
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter. Based on the true story of the author’s family, this is about the Kurcs, a Jewish family living in Poland at the start of World War II. Nechuma and Sol have five children, all of whom are grown and starting, or about to start, lives of their own. When the Nazis invade Poland, their lives are turned upside down as they struggle to survive. Addy, in France during the invasion, ends up on a boat to South America. Herta and his wife are exiled to Siberia. Mila doesn’t know where her husband Selim is, but does everything she can to keep their young daughter Felicia safe. Jakob and Bella marry under the cover of darkness and try to find work to stay safe, while Halina and Adam pose as Aryan to avoid certain death. This book is immersive and emotional, and I didn’t want to step away without knowing the fate of this amazing family. Had I not known that this book was based on a true story, I would have found some of it difficult to believe, which makes it even more amazing. Of course it was heartbreaking in many ways, as a World War II book typically is, but more than anything is was inspiring and triumphant, and I loved every moment I spent with this loving, fascinating, resilient family. What an amazing book.
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Civil Townsend wants nothing more than to give back to the African American community where she grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. It’s 1973 and she is a new graduate from nursing school, passionate about making a difference in the world. She begins work at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, where part of her job as a nurse is to provide birth control to people living in a rural community outside of town. She’s shocked to learn that her newest patients are young girls aged 11 and 13, but because they are Black and poor, they are on the list to receive birth control shots. Civil soon gets involved with the girls and their family, determined to help them lead a better life, but she quickly learns that she’s not the only one who thinks she knows what’s best for them. This was a complex, challenging, and heart-breaking story, but it’s told with so much compassion. I listened to this on audio and was blown away by Lauren Daggett’s talent as a narrator, especially since (I believe) this is her first audiobook. This was unforgettable and moving, and I loved it.
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka. This is the story of Ansel Packer, a man on death row for the murder of four women. We hear Ansel’s story from his own perspective, counting down the hours to his execution, and we also hear from 3 women whose lives have been impacted by Ansel in some way: his mother, a detective, and the twin sister of his ex-wife. While this novel doesn’t shy away from the crimes Ansel committed, this isn’t a thriller or a police procedural. Instead, it’s much more focused on the three women and how the decisions they made affected Ansel’s life, and how his life in turn affected theirs. I was fully immersed in this story as I was reading it, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the structure and the unique way the author told the story.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick. On a day that seems as ordinary as any other, a delivery arrives at doorsteps around the world. All adults aged 22 or older receive a box with a string inside, with no explanation other than a cryptic inscription on the box. The world soon learns that the length of the string represents the length of the recipient’s life, and suddenly a divide opens up between the “short stringers” and the “long stringers.” I chose this book for a book club I’m in, and what a great discussion it was! While reading this you naturally wonder what you would do in this situation, and whether our current world would respond the way the world described in the book did. It was fascinating and compelling, and although it was this premise that made me pick it up, ultimately it was the characters and their individual struggles that made me want to keep reading. If you want to get completely absorbed in a story, this is an excellent one to pick up.
Misery by Stephen King. I wondered if I could handle this book, given that I’m kind of a weenie. I listened to it on audio and told myself that it would be a “day only” book, which I (mostly) stuck to. This is about Paul Sheldon, a successful writer who gets into a car accident on a snowy Colorado road, and happens to be rescued by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes. Annie nurses Paul back to health, but we soon see that she is completely unhinged, and Paul is trapped in her care. Annie might the villain that I love to hate the most. She is obviously pure evil, but somehow quirky and surprising at the same time. I have purposefully been reading more Stephen King over the past year, and I continue to be blown away by his skill as a writer. I was completely absorbed in this story, and it was excellent on audio as well.
Kindred by Octavia Butler. I’ve been trying to read more science fiction, and this had been on my list for a long time. Dana, a Black woman, is newly married to her white husband in 1976, when she is suddenly transported into the past. She arrives in the antebellum South, where she saves Rufus, the son of a plantation owner, from drowning. She continues to travel back and forth through time, forming a complicated relationship with Rufus, whose life she saves repeatedly yet who refuses to see her as an equal. The way Butler wrote the time travel into the story was flawless—it felt like I was there with her during the gripping and often terrifying chapters when Dana went back in time, and the disorienting nature of her return to her modern life was palpable through the page. I can see why this novel is considered by many to be a classic. It was unforgettable.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. Alice Stern is content with, if not overjoyed by, her life. As she approaches her fortieth birthday though, she often wonders if there could be more. She is also struggling to face the declining health of her father, a renown writer with whom she’s always had a close relationship. On the night before she turns forty, she has a few too many drinks, and when she wakes up she is surprised to find herself in her childhood bedroom, and even more surprising, she finds herself in her sixteen-year-old body. What is most astonishing to Alice though, is how young and healthy her father is, and as she develops an understanding of the strange “new” world she finds herself in, she tries to soak up as much time with her father as she can. I absolutely loved this. It reminded me a lot of The Midnight Library, although the time travel element was much different, with touches of The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan (a memoir). The father-daughter relationship is what took this one from good to great for me; I found it both relatable and so endearing.
Nonfiction
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice by Anthony Ray Hinton. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with murder in Alabama. Since he was clocked in at his job when one of the murders was allegedly committed, he felt confident they would get the truth sorted out and he would be home soon. However, as a poor Black man from the South, Hinton’s (valid, legally sound) arguments of innocence weren’t taken seriously, and he was convicted and sent to death row. This is his memoir of his time spent in death row, how he got there, and how—after 30 years of incarceration—he finally got the justice he deserved. His story is powerful and inspiring, challenging, yet somehow hopeful. I’ve read a lot of excellent nonfiction, but this is one of the best. Hinton’s story is unforgettable. I highly recommend this one, especially if you enjoyed Just Mercy or A Knock at Midnight.
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser. In this collection of essays, Hauser reflects on her life, and especially on love. In the title essay, she tells the story of how she joined an expedition to study the whooping crane just days after calling off her own wedding. Her narration is honest and unexpected, and very relatable despite the fact that her life is a lot different from mine. Throughout the book I kept thinking of other people who would appreciate it, which to me is a sign of a great book. I loved how she wove in books and pop culture into her (often emotional) personal experiences. It struck a balance of light and dark that for me that isn’t always easy to do, even in well-written memoirs. This was excellent, and I thought her narration on audio was very pleasant to listen to.
Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam. Laura Vanderkam is a time management and productivity expert, yet even she recognizes that life can feel chaotic and overwhelming. Tranquility by Tuesday provides principles for creating calm and joy in life in the midst of the busy and the mundane. She shares 9 strategies, starting with the most basic (giving yourself a bedtime) to the more meaningful (try effortful before effortless). I have been feeling exhausted by life lately, and Vanderkam’s advice feels like just what I need to feel more like I’m thriving than surviving. I’ve enjoyed this book so much that I’m planning to implement the strategies week by week with Aaron in 2023. I found this book to be the perfect balance of practical and inspirational.
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall. In Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall offers a critique of mainstream feminism, arguing that many women are ignored in the modern feminist’s plight. Through both research and personal essays, Kendall shares how issues like food insecurity, access to education, and quality medical care are feminist issues too, and without prioritizing basic needs like these, feminism fails to include a significant number of women, mostly women of color. Hood Feminism uses research to explore the limitations of modern feminism, yet it never felt dry or academic—I listened to this on audio and devoured it in just a few days. I think this should be required reading for all.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb. As a licensed therapist, Lori Gottlieb encounters patients struggling to work through issues and become more self-aware every day. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone gives the reader a fascinating glimpse into those patients’ lives. Yet when her own world is shaken, she offers an even more unique perspective. What happens when the therapist goes to a therapist? Through honest stories of her own growth—painful and slow as it sometimes was—along with an in-depth look at some of the people she helps, Gottlieb explores what it means to be human. This was a fascinating read, and I felt invested in the lives of Gottlieb’s patients (and Gottlieb herself!) in a way I often do with a novel, and I had to remind myself that this was nonfiction. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys learning about the human condition and who would appreciate a little “behind the scenes” peek at the therapist’s office.
What were some of your favorites this year? Have you read any of these?
