The 10 Best Books I Read in 2022
Gorgeous gorgeous girls live their lives between the pages of a book.
Last year for me, it was 24 books to be exact. I bought a second bookshelf, started organising my books in colour order*, made a Goodreads account and create a bookstagram account. I am truly back in my 'hot girl reading' era and thriving. My self-set challenge for the year had been to read 52 books and though I barely made it halfway, it was a phenomenally good reading year. I read more good books than bad and discovered some authors I love.
*read: the correct way to organise your books
Shout outs to the Shameless podcast girlies for their stellar recommendations, Notion for letting me organise my library virtually with in-depth notes and my new but yet-to-be-named kindle.
Without further ado, here are the 10 stand-out books from 2022, ordered only by when I read them of course.
Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
In either the book's acknowledgements or an interview I read, Faridah talked about how she loves the idea of black youths/ black people wreaking havoc and/ or saving the world. Not only is this an absolute vibe in general, but it is also the vibe for this novel. Simply put, this book is about some black students at a predominantly white institute for the wealthy and elite being bullied by a mysterious bully named Aces. I should have seen the Get Out vibes coming.
This book dealt with race in a way that I wasn't expecting or maybe even hoping for. I wanted anything but to believe Tyrell's beliefs about who the big bad could be and when all this was confirmed I felt lost. Some books are intended to be escapes from the darkness of the world, but I don't think that was the point of this one. It's a camp, high school thriller about race with some Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liar vibes and that's maybe the best way I can describe it. During my first reading, I assumed the location was somewhere in America because of how much American media I consume and it was only when it was pointed out to me that I realised no location signifiers had been provided. Keeping location out of this story means it hits close to home to any black people but especially those of us who frequent PWIs (predominantly white institutions). I loved this book and am obsessed with the vibes Faridah delivered.
what i would change/ criticisms: This is not anything close to a valid criticism, but I hate that the term 'social eugenics' has now been added to my vocabulary. Faridah Abike-Iyimide you are a literary genius
the rating: life-changing 💗
the Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I have at many times described reading this book as a religious experience. This is absolutely because of the following line, "His religion is buried in the silence of freshly fallen snow, in a carefully crafted cocktail, in between the pages of a book somewhere after the beginning but before the ending."
This is a book written for book lovers. It feels like a love letter to the reader. The main characters are book lovers, the setting is the library of my dreams and the writing style is unlike anything I have experienced anywhere else. It felt like such a privilege to read something that made me feel so known, seen and loved.
This was the first Morgenstern novel I read and it turned me into a fangirl indefinitely. Her writing style is consistently enchanting and unlike anyone else’s that I have encountered. The plot was beautiful, the world enchanting and the characters lovable but it was the way they were presented to me that sold it for me. I loved the interludes. I loved the stories within stories. I loved that the main mystery wasn't the only one we were tasked with uncovering. I loved that the harbour was this safe space we all dream of, a place to love books, to read in comfort, to sit in cozy nooks and to drink whatever our drink of choice is all whilst escaping in a book. I love that in a way, she [Morgenstern] made herself play the role of fate for a little bit. Laughing at us as we sat surprised that there would be a happy ending to this story after all. Letting us know that endings really mean new beginnings. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that the way endings were discussed has genuinely changed some of my outlook on life.
the rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
the Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
This is the dark academia/ heist/ destiny novel of my dreams. To put it simply and with as few spoilers as possible, this book follows six magical humans or medians as they are referred, who have been chosen for the chance to compete for five spots in an elite society that has something to do with the library of Alexandria. That's all I am willing to share because any more would simply ruin the fun.
why i loved it: I am a simple creature who loves to be confused by what she is reading and loves to not be able to figure out the plot before it is handed to her and this book did exactly that for me. I love that every time I had something figured out, I didn't and that no detail was ever for no reason. That's super fun to me. This was a book that yes is literary perfection but emotively, it was also such a joy to read. I don't just intellectually appreciate this book or see its value as a piece of art, I also loved reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of pouring over it. For every reviewer of this book that has said it has no plot and just vibes… the vibes are immaculate so what’s your problem? On that note, however, as the first book of what was always intended to be a series, I think it provided the perfect amount of plot in between some stellar world-building.
what i would change/ criticisms: I wish people would stop comparing it to Six of Crows because these two books have to be allowed to exist separately from each other. This next one is a spoiler… I think Ezra's chapter went by a little too quickly. There was a lot to reveal, yes but it was hard to digest because it was all happening at once whilst I was still trying to decipher if this was Libby's Ezra.
the rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
the Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
why i loved it: Whilst this was one of the shorter books I read last year, it took me 14 whole days to read it. The book isn't physically heavy but its content is. It's not the kind of thing that you can inhale in a few days and simply put away when you’re done; I had to take time to read it slowly, take in it’s contents and then digest. Which is exactly what you're looking for in a non-fiction/ self-help book, specifically one by Brene Brown.
It’s no secret that I have perfectionist tendencies. It’s taken years of intentional work to let myself get to a place where I can acknowledge how detrimental that can sometimes be to my life. As a practical person, I loved that this book was structured into 10 individual guideposts and that in the chapters about each of them were not only an explanation of the theory, but some real-life testimonies and practical ways of acknowledging how you’re doing and what you need to improve on. This was my first Brene Brown book but I am eager to add some more to my library.
I would recommend that anyone, before or after reading this book do the wholehearted inventory quiz because it really helped me identify some guideposts for what I want to work on and what I actually want out of life.
the rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
As the title tells us, this book is about a circus... a circus that operates at night.
What the title doesn't tell you is that the underrunning themes are about humanity, human relationships and human ambition. How this book explores the origins of magic and illusion and deception. Continuing with that, the relationships in this book [whether sibling-like with the Murray Twins with or without Celia; romantic; familial; companionship; acquaintance; admirer etc] were written really well. I love that every person in this book was to a degree defined entirely by the people they had known and loved. We are all tied to each other in some way, great or small and this book relayed that idea beautifully.
Grief is a topic I have a complicated relationship with, partly because I find it difficult to understand. I love that the grief dispersed throughout this book is not ignored, but instead made lighter through people's warm memories of the person. When some important characters passed, it was still incredibly sad but instead of focusing on just the sadness, we were redirected instead to appreciate their legacies. Very much 'focus on the love, not the loss' energy. This is not to say that sadness shouldn't be felt, but it felt less like remembering a life lost than a life lived well. I appreciate that.
the rating: life-changing 💗
Love Stories by Trent Dalton
why i loved it: Very few books have made me cry in the author's note. Actually just one book. This one.
I can't quite put my finger on the singular thing that made me feel this strongly about this book except for the general feeling of warmth and cosiness it delivered. I now more deeply understand Victor Hugo's statement, "to love another person is to see the face of God." Through this book and the stories throughout it, I have found a new appreciation for the simpler, every day, almost banal acts of love. Love is not just in grand gestures, it can be found in getting someone a morning coffee, taking the time to listen, a hug that lasts more than 3 seconds and a shared laugh. Those are the acts that love that will probably make the biggest impact on the people we meet.
In the world we live in, it's all too easy to write people off or assume the worst but I want to get back some of my naivete. Reading these love stories was a good first step. You could even say it helped restore my faith in humanity.
the rating: life-changing 💗
the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
This is a story about fate. It's a retelling of a Greek story we are all familiar with [the Illiad] and yet it is so fresh and new and unlike anything I have yet to read. It's a love story. It's a tragedy. It's better than anything Shakespeare could have written and Homer himself would be proud to have inspired it. It's the story of a hero, the best of the Greeks and my favourite type of love; the one that comes slowly then all at once.
This book took Miller 10 years to write and the edition I own is a 10-year anniversary edition. I'm not sure if I discovered this book or if it just crept up into my consciousness. I don't remember a time when I didn't know of its existence. It impresses me also that regardless of the years that have passed since its release, it remains an audience favourite and it is unwavering in popularity. I now understand why those who love this book ride so hard for it. In fact, I would now classify myself as one of them.
what i would change/ criticisms: Though this one left me in tears, it was a beautiful ride and I cannot wait to be on it again.
the rating: life-changing 💗
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo [a re-read]
This was a re-read of one of my favourite books of all time and for that reason, I'm going to shamelessly plug the 2021 version of this post for this one.
TLDR; This one is still a favourite, even on the second [or third] read. This still holds up as one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading so far. I've always been a fan of a good heist/ spy/ fantasy trope and this provides all of that and more.
the rating: life-changing 💗
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
This is one of the funniest memoirs I've ever read yet it discusses some of Jennette’s most difficult life experiences. It's hard to imagine that someone who was a staple in my and others' childhoods could have been going through all this in the background. Yet we know it to be true that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Interestingly, this memoir is written in first person which I think gave her retellings of past trauma more gravitas. Before this, I had not encountered any of her work outside of acting so I was amazed to discover how talented a writer she is. Her writing credits include a series of columns for The Wall Stree Journal, Seventeen Magazine and Huffington Post.
Trigger warnings are abundant for this one but don't let that stop you if you are in the space to read it. This book and Jennette's story gave me hope. It also gave me permission to be sad about my own experiences which I think is important to do. Reading this book was validation that I am not a terrible person for feeling the way that I do. It's not fair that I have to do so much work to undo the damage others have inflicted and it's okay to be angry about that.
This title is catchy and controversial. It was made to provoke a strong emotional reaction which it does. Some of us who have complicated parental relationships though understand that sometimes the people that were meant to take care of you and love you are not always safe spaces. That's just reality.
the rating: life-changing 💗
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
why i loved it: Like all of Casey's books [yes, we're on a first-name basis now] - this book is so so gay which I so so love.
This book is about a mysterious girl who disappears, found family, loving Jesus but not his people, and the religious trauma you end up with after growing up queer in the Bible Belt. One of my favourite things about this book was surprisingly, the way religion was discussed. I don't know what Casey's exact relationship with religion is but from the way she wrote about it, I can tell that she knows and loves people in the church and has seen first-hand the love and peace and kindness that should radiate from those who love Jesus. I too hold a lot of contempt and discomfort for some of the experiences I have had with Christians but I love Jesus and I genuinely find value in my relationship with him. It was lovely to have someone else tell me in a roundabout sort of way that my feelings are valid and that I can be sitting where I am now. It feels so good to have someone validate your feelings to you, even if they will never be fully aware that they did that for you.
This is at its heart a sapphic love story but Casey McQuiston is a talented writer who skillfully tackles other topics in there too. If you're not into religion, don't let that put you off. This is still an amazing YA read and it will leave you just as warm and fuzzy inside as her other novels; Red, White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop.
the rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Since I read 28 books last year, I decided to make my reading goal for this year 30 books. I don’t set this goal for the sake of reading for achievement rather than for enjoyment but instead because reading is an activity I enjoy and want to be more intentional about.
If you’re someone who has also set themself a reading goal for 2023, I wish you a wonderful reading year but let me remind you that life is too short to wade through a book you don’t enjoy. For that reason, I am giving myself [and you] permission to stop reading any book you’re simply not into. It’s okay to DNF and re-read a comfort book instead.
cover image credit: <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/bookmark-book-arrangement-top-view_34002652.htm#page=4&query=books&position=3&from_view=search&track=sph">Freepik</a>
