Dear friend: how many books I read in 2022 + my list of favorites 📚
Dear friend: how many books I read in 2022 + my list of favorites 📚
The complete list of my favorites, plus my #1 book of the year & a blessing for your reading life
Dear Friend,
With cinnamon tea in my mug and books on my mind, I’m so glad to share about my reading life. This is easily one of my favorite topics, and it was a gift to look back on my last year and the books it brought my way.
I’ve seen plenty of people set goals about how many books they want to read in a year. I can certainly appreciate why this works for so many people. But for me, I’m already reading a lot and having a certain number in mind can feel like pressure when I want to create the space to listen to what books are working (or not working!) for me any given day.
I’ve always known I read more than the average person, but only in the past few years have I tracked my reading, out of curiosity & the practicality of remembering what I’ve read. But it does feel fun to notice how much I’m reading in a given year, not as a metric of success or failure but as good information—
Good information about what brings me joy & rest.
Good information about what I’m learning.
Good information about what isn’t working.
Good information about the season I’m in.
Good information about what is requiring my attention.
I’m all for an impressive number at the end of the year or beating my number from last year, but I’m grateful for this good information beyond those specific measures of success. (I wrote all about different measures of book success last year when I shared my favorites with you, if you want to read that or revisit last year’s 12 favorites.)
But if you were wondering, here’s what I landed this year vs. other years.
In 2019, I read 215 books.
In 2020, I read 213 books.
In 2021, I read 175 books.
In 2022, I read 181 books. I’m so grateful for so much reading this year.
I wanted to share my list of favorite books this year with you with a few disclaimers:
All of these books either got an A or A- from me, but I do not expect the same will necessarily be true for you. I love how different books meet us differently, and that we can have such varied experiences with the same books.
I decided not to do a top “10” or any number list, and just share all my favorites, but I did categorize them by genres. I hope this serves you well.
I did not include any re-reads on this list, with the exception of the read-alouds category. Although it is worth mentioning that I absolutely loved my re-read of the Hunger Games series and it brought me out of a reading rut. It was also a joy to revisit A Crown of Thorns & Roses series with my sister-in-law as she read them for the first time.
Some of the books that made this list have potentially triggering elements (abuse, violence, etc.) or open door scenes. If you’d ever like to know about those specifics to determine if a book is right for you, I’d be so glad to answer your questions. You’re welcome to respond to this email with any book questions you might have.
It should be noted that there were several book-related joys this year that can not be contained in a book list. I loved meeting with my book club, The Paper Ladies so much this year, and even our discussions of books I disliked were a joy. I also celebrated the first anniversary of my very own Little Free Library this spring. Being the curator for this tiny community offering is such a sweet privilege.
Dear friend, it is a joy to share my favorite books with you. These books have nurtured me, taught me & brought me comfort and hope this year. I love how Anne Marie Ryan summarized the power of books in her endearing novel, Christmas By The Book:
“It got my husband and me thinking,” Nora said,” about how books bring people together, and make us stronger. How even at the loneliest and most difficult times in our lives, books give us hope and remind us that we’re not alone.”
Before I present my entire list of favorites, I want to share my very favorite book of 2022 with you:
The Lord Is My Courage by K.J. Ramsey
I’ve shared quite a bit about this wonderful book at this point, but I’ll just tell you it was one I savored all summer long & its pages met me again and again. This book is part tender memoir, part brain science, grounded in the truth of Psalm 23 and is one I’m brought to tears of gratitude to receive. I can’t recommend it enough.
“Courage is the practice of wanting to protect what is good and true and beautiful more than we want to avoid being wounded. Courage is not the absence of anxiety but the practice of trusting that we will be held and loved no matter what happens.” -K.J. Ramsey
And now, without further ado…
My List of Favorite Books of 2022:
Nonfiction
Enneagram Life by Elisabeth Bennett
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
My Body Is Not A Prayer Request by Amy Kenny
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Philip Hoose
Attached To God by Krispin Mayfield
What If It’s Wonderful? by Nicole Zasowski
God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming by Drew Jackson
Making Room in Advent by Bette Dickinson
Memoir
Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey
No Cure For Being Human by Kate Bowler
I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist
Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates
Fiction
The Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Feathers of Hope by Sharon Garlough Brown
The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Lindon
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Christmas By the Book by Anne Marie Ryan
Historical Fiction
The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon
Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce
The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Middle-grade
Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A Wish In the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
Show Me A Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Amari & the Night Brothers by BB Alston
Amari & the Great Game by BB Alston
Fantasy and/or YA
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Kline
Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
See You Yesterday by Rachel Solomon
The Gold Seer Trilogy: Walk on Earth A Stranger, Like a River Glorious + Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
The Queen’s Rising & The Queen’s Resistance by Rebecca Ross
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen
Romance
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Graphic novels
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The Bridge by Peter Tomasi
White Bird by RJ Palacio
Graceling: the graphic novel by Kristin Cashore
Read-alouds
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Dear friend, whether you read anything from this list or not, I want to finish with a blessing for your reading life:
May your heart find comfort and joy in the books that come into your hands and heart.
May the timing of the books that make their way to you be as much of a gift as what is on the page.
May you listen well to the needs of this season and experience the freedom to pick up books & set them down.
May you experience the gift of deeper insight and increased imagination as you read this year.
Dear friend, thank you for being here with me. It means so much that you want to read this letter. As always, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to just hit "reply" to this email. Whether you want to share your favorite book of 2022, tell me what favorite books or genres we have in common, ask for prayer or if my words brought up anything for you, I’d be so glad to know.
Warmly,
Alison