My Top Books Read 2022
In 2022 I read 102 books. Most of them were good, and some were exceptional. As I reflected on the books I read in 2022 three books stood out to me. These three books really resonated with me and made me feel all of the feelings.
The Winners by Fredrik Backman
"The Winners," the final book in Fredrik Backman's Beartown trilogy, is a heart-wrenching and emotional tale about the everyday lives, struggles, and challenges faced by the residents of the small Swedish forest towns of Beartown and Hed. Every book in the Beartown series was excellent. This book was a worthy conclusion. Fredrick Backman has a way of writing characters that I became so personally invested in. The story builds like a spiderweb, one strand at a time, at first it can be difficult to see where the strands will lead, but eventually the beautiful pattern becomes clear. The novel explores themes of loss, forgiveness, and the importance of community, and features Backman's signature wit and sincerity. This is my favorite book I read this year.
"Her hundred years will be our very best, most loved, most told story. And that says a hell of a lot, because we’re a hockey town. We have nothing but stories here. But all our stories have really only been about one thing: ever since the very first, about a boy who made it all the way from here to the NHL and came back with his family, about his daughter who found the best friend in the world, about a terrible crime and love that was like organ donation. About tears and struggle, about hugs and laughter, about a stage and a guitar and thousands of people in the audience. About a boy who was born in a place that had never seen ice but who one day could move faster on skates than anyone else, about other children who became the best in other ways, about the boy who became a coach and the ones who became parents and the girl who flies a helicopter to save the whole world. About a young man who could never see himself as a hero but who died like one, who ran toward fire to save a child. About families and friends. About climbing trees and adventures. About a vast forest and two small towns and all the people here who are just trying to live their lives. Sit in a boat. Tell lies. Catch zero fish.
All of this has been about the same thing: Alicia. Every person we have talked about, every story we’ve been told, every single one leads to her. This is where all the others end. This is where hers begins.
One day she will make us feel like winners again.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: A Novel by Marianne Cronin
"The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot" is a heartwarming tale about intergenerational friendship and the love that develops between 17-year-old Lenni Pettersson and 83-year-old Margot Macrae. The story follows Lenni and Margot as they paint a picture for each year of their combined 100 years of life. They share the key stories and events in their lives. Lenni becomes an honorary member of Margot's art group and the two form a close bond as they support each other through the joys, love, losses, and grief of their lives. The novel is filled with quirky and complex characters, including Father Arthur, who is often the foil for Lenni's comic relief. The book is beautifully written and emotionally resonated with me.
“Somewhere, out in the world, are the people who touched us, loved us, or ran from us. In that way, we will live on. If you go to the places we have been, you might meet someone who passed us once in a corridor but forgot us before we were even gone. We are in the back of hundreds of people's photographs - moving, talking, blurring into the background of a picture two strangers have framed on their living room mantelpiece. And in that way, we will live on too. But it isn't enough. It isn't enough to have been a particle in the great extent of existence. I want, we want, more. We want people to know us, to know our story, to know who we are and who we will be. And after we've gone, to know who we were.”
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
I recommend "Tell the Wolves I'm Home" to anyone who enjoys beautifully written and emotionally resonant novels about family, loss, and the enduring power of love.
“I thought of all the different kinds of love in the world. I could think of ten without even trying. The way parents love their kids, the way you love a puppy or chocolate ice cream or home or your favorite book or your sister. Or your uncle. There are those kinds of love and then there's the other kind. The falling kind.”
In chronological order here are the books I read in 2022.
1. The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee
2. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley
3. Taking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights by Martin Dugard
4. American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson
5. John Adams by David McCullough
6. Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein
7. The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
8. My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Patricio Pron
9. Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa
10. Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool by Taylor Clark
11. The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
12. The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time by Jim McKelvey
13. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
14. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
15. Magnificent Sex: Lessons from Extraordinary Lovers by Peggy J. Kleinplatz; A. Dana Menard
16. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
17. White Hot Hate: A True Story of Domestic Terrorism in America's Heartland by Dick Lehr
18. The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
19. The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel H. Pink
20. Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking by Dr. Caroline Leaf
21. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
22. Life and Death in the Andes: On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries by Kim MacQuarrie
23. Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Dr. Anna Lembke
24. The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy by Stephanie Kelton
25. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
26. The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie
27. The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon by Andrés Ruzo
28. History of Argentina: A Captivating Guide to Argentine History, Starting from the Pre-Columbian Period Through the Inca Empire and Spanish Colonization to the Present by Captivating History
29. Brazil by Michael Palin
30. Che: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson
31. Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters - And How to Get It by Laurie Mintz
32. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: A Novel by Marianne Cronin
33. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
34. The Book of Longings: A Novel by Sue Monk Kidd
35. Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive by Phillipp Dettmer
36. Burnout: The Secret to Unblocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski
37. A Death In Brazil by Peter Robb
38. Brazil: A Biography by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz
39. A Comprehensive Guide to Iguazu Falls by Ron Sassen
40. Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture by Caroline Dooner
41. These Precious Days: Essays by Anne Patchett
42. You Have Arrived At Your Destination by Amor Towles
43. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
44. Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins
45. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III by Peter Baker, Susan Glasser
46. On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
47. She Comes First: Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner
48. River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Miller
49. Will by Will Smith
50. Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
51. Migrations: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy
52. The History of Iceland: A Fascinating Guide to this Beautiful Country by Christopher Hughes
53. The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland: Tips, tricks, and what the Icelanders really think of you by Alda Sigmundsdottir
54. Erik the Red: A Captivating Guide to the Viking who Founded the First Norse Settlement in Greenland by Captivating History
55. How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island by Egill Bjarnason
56. The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future by Jon Gertner
57. The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley
58. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
59. Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark
60. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
61. Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams
62. Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri
63. When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
64. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
65. Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu
66. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson
67. Silverview by John le Carré
68. Run: A Novel by Ann Patchett
69. Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks by Chris Herring
70. Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
71. Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis
72. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching your Destiny by Robin S. Sharma
73. How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates
74. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
75. Razorblade Tears by S.A. Crosby
76. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb
77. The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
78. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker, PhD
79. Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
80. The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be by Armin A. Brott, Jennifer Ash
81. The Winners by Fredrik Backman
82. Fatherhood: A Comprehensive Guide to Birth, Budgeting, Finding Flow, and Becoming a Happy Parent by Fatherly
83. The Family Chao: A Novel by Lan Samantha Chang
84. The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healtheir, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You by Patrick McKeown
85. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
86. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
87. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler; Cass R. Sunstein
88. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats: A Novel by Jan-Philip Sendker
89. Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
90. Sea of Tranquility: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
91. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
92. Black Cake: a novel by Charmaine Wilkerson
93. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
94. The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
95. The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood
96. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
97. Beyond the Pill: A 30-Day Program to Balance Your Hormones, Reclaim Your Body, and Reverse the Dangerous Side Effects of the Birth Control Pill by Jolene Brighten
98. Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein
99. From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
100. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
101. Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman
102. It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
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