Looking back on the books I’ve read during the past twelve months is my favorite way to close out a year. Books have always been linked to moments and memories for me, so as I scroll through my Goodreads account, it’s a sweet little walk through the past year.
Whether it was on a plane ride to Rome (the perfect time to read The Power of Fun), the first pick from a new book club I joined (oh, Finlay Donovan, you’re killing it), the book devoured in a hammock by the lake (I’m looking at you, Book Lovers), or the audio book the kids and I listened to in the school drop-off line (but gotta watch out for those cuss words in James and the Giant Peach), each book reminds me of a moment in 2022.
I read more this year than ever before- 47 books, 12,695 pages—thank you for doing the math, Goodreads. This is up from 32 books the year before, and I’m looking back on this year of reading with such joy.
So here it is. My top reads, a couple favorite audio books, a few misses, and two tips that helped me read more this year than ever before.
2022 Favorite Reads
Click on each book to see my Goodreads review.
Favorite Audio Books
Both of these books were narrated by their authors. Listening to Tucci and Graham read their own words bumped up each of these “pretty good” books to “absolutely delightful” books.
A Few Misses:
Goodreads and Amazon tell me a lot of readers like these books, but I was left with an “eh, it was fine” kinda feeling.
I really wanted to like this one. It wasn't what I was expected when I read the summary of year-long delights, and I only enjoyed a handful of the essays. Gay's unique voice was witty and refreshing, but it took me forever to get through this book, and I was never excited to pick it up.
This one was good but not great for me. The biggest problem was I didn't care about any of the characters. Their "rich and famous problems" were written about in such a way that I obviously couldn't relate, but I also couldn't find any common ground. There was an attempt to bring depth to each character, but it just fell flat for me.
Oof. This was a tough one to get through. I would have dropped it around page 100, but I was reading it aloud to my kids and they liked it more than I did, so we plowed through—which took two months! Way longer than it ever takes us to read a book. This is a sweet story, but this book should have been half as long. There are paragraphs and paragraphs of detailed description that add nothing to the story and actually caused me to zone out. The characters are likable but not memorable. (If you're looking for a sweet story with likable characters, I would go for The Very Far Far North a hundred times over!) This book ends with a cliff hanger that is meant to propel you into reading the next two books in the series, but even these unanswered questions are not enough motivation for me to pick up the next book.
My Reading Tips
I tried something new this year! I always start a book with the hard copy in my hand. Once I get a few chapters in, I begin to also listen to the book on audio. Fifteen minutes on the way home from preschool drop off, another fifteen minutes on the way to pick up Charlotte at dance, another thirty minutes as I go for a walk around the neighborhood, plus reading the hard copy in bed each night helped me read more books this year. I use free apps through my library like Hoopla and Overdrive to check out all my audio books. For whatever reason, my brain must start with the actual book in hand before adding the audio version.
After finishing a book, I have a strict rule to start a new one within 24 hours. In order to do this, I always have at least 5 books already checked out from the library, ready and waiting for me. I make sure there is a variety of genres within those books because I can’t predict what I might be in the mode for next, but whatever I choose, I get started on the next book right away. If I let too many days go by, I start to lose my reading enthusiasm and momentum.
Looking Ahead
As you can tell, I use Goodreads to chronicle my reading life. I love to see what my friends are reading, so if you’re a Goodreads user, be sure to find me and create your own reading challenge. I get nearly all my book recommendations from other readers, so hit me up with all your 2022 favorites, too!