Books, Favorite Things, Life, Soul Homework, Writing

Favorite Books of 2022

Writer McWriterson

I discovered Goodreads last year after a number of you recommended it to me. I appreciate your advice because it has been a lot of fun keeping track of what I am reading, discovering new books, and so on. But, at the start of 2022, Goodreads suggested that I, along with millions of other humans, participate in their annual reading challenge. The only thing I had to do was pledge the number of books I planned to read this year.

I believed I could read 70 books in a year.

Why 70? Actually, I’m not sure.

In 2021, I read 50 books. I somehow convinced myself that I’d have time to read 20 more books this year. In retrospect, this makes no sense because I am a slow reader. I should mention that I smoked marijuana on a regular basis in 2021, which may have contributed to this figure in some way.

Stone Cold Sober Kari (possibly my wrestling name) has read 36 books as of the publishing of this blog post. I’m attempting to juggle four books at once, which might bring my total to 40 by the end of the year. Higher still if I finish those books and grab more from the library. I mean, Christmas break is approaching, so I might have more time to work on this.

Personally, I admire Kari’s confidence when she stated that she believed she could read 70 books in a year. Perhaps I’ll always chose 70 books per year. Maybe that will be my version of climbing Mount Everest.

Photo by Denis Linine on Pexels.com

Here are my favorite books of 2022.

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron

Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Not All Diamonds and Rose: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It by Dave Quinn

The Call of Intuition: How to Recognize & Honor Your Intuition, Instinct & Insight by Kris Franken

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

Your Sacred Self by Wayne Dyer

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach

Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse by Jackson MacKenzie

Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta by Henepola Gunaratana

Here are some posts from last year you may be interested in:

What Books Are On Your To Be Read List?

Favorite Book of Each Month-2021

If you’re on Goodreads, let’s be friends.

One last thing- Melanie, a friend of mine, gave me a helpful tip this year. She recommended the website Abe Books for affordable book buying. Most of my books come from the library, but if I find one that I really like and want to buy it, I now go here.

How many books do you typically read in a year?

Did you participate in a reading challenge this year?

What were some of your favorite books of 2022?

59 thoughts on “Favorite Books of 2022”

  1. I love Goodreads and have participated in the Reading Challenges for the past six or seven years. Actually, this is the first time in years I reached my goal. Mine is more, ahem, realistic and attainable: 18. I’m currently on pace to finish #19 before the end of the year. Go, me.

    The only book on your list I read was “Midnight Library,” but I did like that one a lot. It was pretty creative and quirky.

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    1. If you want to raise the bar, marijuana is legal just across the border.

      The Midnight Library was a great read for me. He’s also written nonfiction, which I didn’t really enjoy. Which is ironic because I prefer nonfiction to fiction. I’m not sure if you could tell…

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  2. One year I actually read over 125 books. (Do I need to mention that I am an extremely fast reader? I didn’t think so.😉) Then I discovered YouTube 🤣. Now I set a goal of 50 books a year and that is very doable, for me. I am currently at 66 books read for 2022. I have read several of the books on your list. It doesn’t look to me like any fiction books made the cut. Do you read fiction, Kari?

    Deb

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    1. In retrospect, I should have taken my slow reading speed into account. But I like a challenge, so I’m glad I set the bar high.

      The Midnight Library was fiction, and I started but didn’t finish a handful of fiction books because I wasn’t interested. So, theoretically, I may have met my goal of 70 books. I just didn’t finish several of them since they were…fiction. 😂

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  4. I set a goal to read 120 books last year and I felt like that was much too much.. I’m pretty sure I made it since I’m a determined nut job like that but I swore to set my sights lower this year and settled on 100… I’m on book #111 so I’m very happy with that. I tend to take on a book challenge one year and take a break the next year but after a year or so I’m ready for another one. Our library did have an A-Z challenge I participated in this year; we had to read a book for every letter of the alphabet (either title or author’s name so it ended up being easier than I thought and they were pretty flexible with x and other really hard letters like that). I’m struggling to write my favorite books of the year post because as I went back and looked through them it was one of those years where I found so many favorites that I’m struggling to narrow them down!

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  6. Kari, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your list of books because it reminded me that I truly need to read books more. There was a period in my life when I used to read a lot. However, over the past several years, not so much. I am SO impressed that you read 70!!!

    There are quite a few on your list I think I would really, really enjoy. One being, “The Call of Intuition” because I’m very much into listening to my own intuition. When I follow it, it’s always led me in the best direction. And when I didn’t follow it, I said to myself, “Why did I listen to my intuition?!?!” LOL! Another one is “Your Sacred Self.” I’ve read may of Dyer’s books during the 1980s. I also used to watch his videos. I was genuinely sad when he passed away because he was such a positive influence during various times in my life, he felt like a friend.

    Thanks again, Kari! Happy Monday!

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    1. Aww, I didn’t make it to 70 yet! But I like having a lofty goal.

      That intuition book comes highly recommended by me. There were many exercises and journaling prompts in it.

      I like Wayne Dyer as well. This year, I read two of his books, the best of which was Your Sacred Self. I took an entire notebook full of notes just from that book.

      Happy Monday, Ron!

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  7. This was fun to read!

    I set a goal of 50 books this year after several years of setting a 40-book goal. Last year I read 74 of 40, so I thought that 50 was reasonable. So far I have read 80. My favorite book so far this year has been Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Such a great book!

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  9. I didn’t do a reading challenge this year, nor did I read many books. I don’t think the two are related though. I can be a slouch with or without committing to a challenge. I have When Breath Becomes Air in my to be read pile, but I can’t bring myself to read it. It seems so… intense… and sad… but maybe inspiring?

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  10. I feel like your books really had a THEME. Wow! Very consistent. I loved The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, so huge thank you for recommending it. What a great book that was. I am on goodreads but I never remember to record my books there. I vow I will and then I don’t. Well, there’s always 2023. Maybe I’ll join the reading challenge!

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  12. I’m voracious and read 2-3 books a week. The only one we had in common was Midnight Library, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t set a reading goal or keep track…. just go with the flow .
    😉

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  13. I read about 50 books a year and just friended you on Goodreads. It’s a fun way to keep track. I read Julia Cameron’s book too and found it so helpful at this stage in my life and the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is so fun to dip in and out of.

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    1. Hi, Laura! I’m glad to have made a new Goodreads friend! It really is a fun way to keep track.

      That is my favorite Julia Cameron book, followed by The Artist’s Way.

      Dictionary of Obscure Sorrow is such a great book. I read it every now and again. 🖤

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  14. I signed up for a Good Reads account years ago and then promptly forgot all about it. Maybe I should try to log in and see what all the fuss is about. Prior to the pandemic I read A LOT – well, I still do, but no where near as many as I used to because I just didn’t (and still don’t) go out to the bookstore.

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    1. Gigi, this sounds exactly like something I would do. In fact, that is precisely what I did with my blog. I joined Blogger a year before I started writing.

      I like using Goodreads to find new books to read. I also enjoy reading scathing reviews of highly recommended books. I fully acknowledge to having this toxic habit. I’ll talk about it in a future post.

      I began reading more after the pandemic. 🤣

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  15. I didn’t meet my reading goal on Goodreads this year either! I aimed for 50; I’m now reading books 36 & 37. Oh well!

    My favorite fiction: Signal Fires (Dani Shapiro); Chorus (Rebecca Kauffman); The Floor of the Sky (Pamela Carter Joern) & Bewilderment (Richard Powers).

    Favorite non-fiction: These Precious Days (Ann Patchett); A Place Called Home (David Ambroz); The Girl Who Smiled Beads (Clemantine Wamariya) & The Anatomy of Anxiety (Ellen Vora).

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    1. We had lofty goals, Melanie. Oh well, here’s to 2023.

      I want to read more fiction in 2023, so I’ll look into those because you have good taste in books.

      Thank you for all of your amazing book and book-related suggestions this year.❤️

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      1. Even though I listed my favorite fiction books from this year, none of them were 5 stars – all were 4 stars. I’ve read fiction books in previous years that I liked much better. Thus said, I think you might really like Bewilderment. Look it up on Amazon and see what it’s about! 🙂

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  16. First of all, wine filled Jessie is laughing at Kari’s pot reading ambitions and totally getting it. 🤣🤣

    Kindle app tells me I have read 41 titles this year. That’s not counting my 3 and half Harry Potter books I’m working through and probably a few other paperbacks earlier in the year. AND the magazine articles online because that completely counts.

    Now spending the rest of my evening adding your books to my tbr list because I haven’t read any of them yet! (I also check out most books from our library. Thank you for the Abe Books 📚 info!

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    1. I miss high Kari. She was a lot of fun. Sigh.

      That completely counts, Jessie.

      Although Abe Books is a wonderful resource, I find that Amazon is occasionally less expensive. So I go back and double-check just in case.

      I love my local library. It’s been such a fantastic resource for me and my love of reading. ❤️

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  17. I’m a slow reader because I share my free time between writing, reading blogs, and reading books. I think I might read about 30 books a year at most. I might check out goodreads again, I tried it once but it didn’t compel me? I might have to print off this post so I have your list of books! Wow, you must read fast! Hugs, C

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    1. You are the first person to tell me that I read quickly. I follow a few bloggers who read ten books in a month. I’m glad to find that I’m not the only one who reads slowly. ❤️

      I also start a lot of books but never finish them. I either find them boring, too difficult to read, or I can’t concentrate. I don’t include those books in my count, but I think some people do. The end-of-the-year tallies are a lot of fun for me since I didn’t always enjoy reading. My younger self would be really impressed with me. Maybe impressed isn’t the right word…shocked? 🤣

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      1. Me too! I was a late bloomer and reading was not my. passion until 7th grade when I was forced to read The Outsiders. I was hooked and when I stumbled on The Flame and The Flower in high school I became an avid reader!

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  18. Ok, I laughed my ass off at your excuse for the inflated reading goal! 🤣🤣🤣 I was not expecting a post about books to include admittance of partaking in the MJ, but I’m here for it!

    I hate goals and resolutions, so you won’t find any January posts like that on my blog. But according to my library reading history, I’m on book 78 this year. Your problem is that your reading level is on a much higher plane than mine. I read about 6 nonfiction books per year, and they are things like Sedaris’ Happy Go Lucky or the Molly Shannon memoir. The majority of my books are beach reads. I read to relax, not learn anything or improve my life. 🤓 Give me The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves and I’m happy.

    I’d say my top picks for the year are Lucy By the Sea – Elizabeth Strout, Friends and Strangers – J Courtney Sullivan, and Daisy Jones & the Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid.

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    1. Maybe that’s the book I should write? How to raise the bar and read more by smoking marijuana. On shelves in 2024. 😂

      In 2023, I want to read more fiction. I prefer nonfiction because it pushes me to look deeper into myself, but I also enjoy being taken away from my everyday life.

      Because I love Molly Shannon, I’m adding her memoir to my TBR list. Daisy Jones and the Six has crossed my path many times this year. Your mention of it in your top picks is my cue to add it to my list.

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      1. Molly is from Cleveland. I really enjoyed her book. I think you’d enjoy Daisy Jones; fiction about the rock and roll lifestyle of years past. Carnival of Snackery from above is a great Sedaris book. I’ve read them all, some numerous times. Nobody makes me laugh like him.

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      2. I didn’t realize she was from Cleveland! My mom recently informed me that Patricia Heaton was also from Cleveland. My dad said that her father was a sports columnist for The Plain Dealer!

        Carnival of Snackery is a great title.

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  19. I read a couple of books a week – I don’t keep track on Goodreads anymore – there’s a limit to how many socials one can check on. I was thrilled to see, “When Breath Becomes Air” on your list. I adored that book.

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  20. Like you, I’m a slow reader.
    Unlike you, I don’t have a cool wrestling name, and I’m sad about it.
    Stone Cold Sober Kari—36 books is nothing to sneeze at. Unless you have a cold, then sneeze away.
    I used to love reading, pre-internet. I blame the internet for good and bad things, like my ADHD.
    I might have finished two books this year, but I’m currently working on four. Maybe five. See, my attention span is wacked.

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  21. I’m laughing at your wrestling name. Stone Cold is what Coach calls Reg – when Reg gets in trouble, he shuts down and goes into a robotic like mode. Thus, Stone Cold.

    I do not have a challenge. I’ve used Good Reads before, but I’m doing it wrong because I don’t track what I read there. I usaully read what’s on the list for my book club, plus a few extra. So I read maybe 12 books a year. Life is challenging enough, I don’t want a reading challenge. 😉

    I liked Bomb Shelter. I liked other books, but since I don’t do Good Reads, I don’t remember which ones I liked. Maybe in 2023, I’ll do Good Reads. Also, I’m a slow reader and 70 books is so ambitious.

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    1. I love that Reg and I have the same wrestling nickname. 😂❤️

      Life is challenging enough! Hence why I needed to be high in order to convince myself that reading 70 books a year was feasible. 😂😂

      Thanks to Nicole, I’ve added Bomb Shelter to my TBR list as well. In terms of “social media,” Facebook was replaced by Goodreads. I believe that shift was healthier for me.

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  22. Breath becomes Air and Midnight Library are on my favorite list. I set a goal of 52 this year but didn’t get close which has me setting a more realistic goal for next year.

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  23. How many books do you typically read in a year? I don’t really keep track. I’m in quite a few book clubs and sometimes will pick up titles by authors I read there whose work I like. Heck, sometimes I even read the titles of book clubs to which I don’t belong!

    Did you participate in a reading challenge this year? No but then I really don’t set goals for anything! I think that comes from the fact that I could never get behind any numerical goals that were usually set for me by other people. I’m just stubborn that way and have just become more so over the years.

    What were some of your favorite books of 2022? I don’t remember much about most of them but will give the title of the last one. I read A Hero of Our Time for a Classic Book Group that I don’t join very often but since I had ordered this book on AbeBooks, even though I had forgotten why, I did. Glad I did because meetings are on zoom and the group has grown to add members from other countries in the time I’d been “gone.”

    Would you believe I’ve never tried marijuana? It was sort of on my bucket list but since I don’t like even the idea of smoking anything, I got some tablets. Haven’t tried them yet, especially after I read the insert about how long it takes for them to “work.” Meanwhile, I am enjoying my wines and cocktails. The book group that zoomed ends every (2 hour!) session with riddles/jokes and a toast!

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    1. Since August, I haven’t used marijuana at all. I occasionally found it enjoyable, but I don’t believe to the same extent as others.

      Finding something that doesn’t make me feel like I’m a thousand miles away from my body or that doesn’t give me headaches would be ideal.

      That idea for a book club is lovely! Riddles, jokes, and a toast. How fun.❤️

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