Hi!
Late last year (the end of 2021, which feels about 3 light years away, doesn’t it?) I heard about a “read your bookshelf challenge.”
There’s another one this year—I’m sure there’s some hashtag—and while I find it intriguing and love the idea behind it (read the books you already own), when it comes to books, I’m less the ‘I’ll just eat a little something from the fridge’ type and more the woman in the comfy pants at the Old Country Buffet who is already pretty full, but goes up for just one more scoop of mac ’n cheese but comes back to the table with a plate of plastic pasta but also with two ribs, a mozzarella stick, some marinara sauce, four slices of pineapple, a scoop of jello, and a fried chicken thigh. Maybe an egg roll and some sunflower seeds.
Which is all to say: I love books. I love to read. And there’s nothing I like more than a good book recommendation from a friend.
So let’s get to it!
Best Epic Fiction read in 2022: A Gentleman in Moscow
Second Best Fiction read in 2022: The Essex Serpent
Best “Fiction” slash Memoir that I want the whole world to read and I think this might be one of my all-time favorite books ever — so creative, so unique, so honest and beautiful and also a bit painful (my favorite): Everything Sad Is Untrue.
Best short book of essays that gave me a new perspective and so much more empathy for families with children with autism and special needs: Gluing the Cracks: Reflections on Motherhood, Disability, and Hope
Best longer book of Essays: Bomb Shelter
Best Memoirs: Know My Name, Monsoon Mansion, Easy Beauty
Best Books about God: This Beautiful Truth: How God’s Goodness Breaks Into our Darkness; Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been; The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness.
Best Heart/Soul Care: Try Softer
Best book that felt a bit mind-blowing and couples nicely with the excruciating work of deep emotional healing: The Wisdom of Your Body
Best super short craft/story/writing books: 101 Things I Learned in Film School, 100 Ways to Improve your Writing.
Okay! What do you think?
What were your favorites from 2022? What’s on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Reading!*
*none of these are affiliate links. I am too lazy to figure out how to do that.
I am dying laughing at buffet Sonya because IT ME. Also, AN HONOR to be included on this list. Also, now I have to get reading. Always have wanted to read A Gentleman in Moscow!
My problem is I love so many books for so many reasons how do I pick a favorite out of the 54 I’ve read this year?! 🤦🏻♀️😂