The Best Books of 2022
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friends! I sit here in Minnesota absolutely freezing if you even think about walking outside, so there is no better time than to reflect on the past year and the best books I’ve been reading in 2022. This past year I read a few books that were longer than my usual novels—A Prayer for Owen Meany, Cloud Cuckoo Land, and The Rose Code all topped 600 pages, which obviously take longer to read but I’m learning if the story is good I enjoy spending more time getting to know the characters I love. I flew through some delightful Rom-Coms that didn’t make this list of best books ever but were absolutely wonderful reads—The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, Book Lovers by Emily Henry and The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez were some that stand out as most enjoyable reads of the year. And below I have a list of my favorite novels from 2022 that I’d hand to anyone to enjoy. I’m still off traveling through New Years, so I’ll probably read another book or two, and if they deserve a spot on this list I’ll share on social media later :) Happy Reading my friends!
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doer. This was a very late addition to this list, in fact it’s the book I’ve been reading this past week here in Minnesota. But I am so glad I finished it in time to add it. I’ll be honest, I was very skeptical about this one. I am one of the minority of people who did not care for his book All the Light We Cannot See—the rest of the country seemed to love it, but I didn’t. And then this 600 page novel was released this year and I just kept thinking “what a dumb title! What is this book even about??” After 3 different people told me it was one of their favorite books of this year I downloaded it for vacation. Oh goodness this was a lovely book! In the author’s note he says this book is a love letter to books, to the power words and the written language holds. Following 5 different characters in 5 very different settings, all of whom come into contact with an ancient Greek myth “Cloud Cuckoo Land” (it’s fictional, Doer made it up, but the author he ascribes it to, Antonius Diogenes was a real first century writer), this story weaves this Greek myth in and out of the plot as we move from the 15th century Constantinople, to present day Idaho to a spacecraft set way in the future. This novel was stunning and I would highly recommend it.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. If you are a fan at all of novels where unlikely families are formed within communities of otherwise lonely people, this book is for you. This story follows several individuals who are brought together in some unusual circumstances and one remarkably bright Pacific Octopus who helps facilitate their connection. Set in the pacific northwest, this book was an absolute delight of a novel that I would recommend to anyone who loves quirky characters, unlikely connections and a bit of a mystery to solve.
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. I have shared this book with a number of friends and each of them have said to me “oh that was just delightful!” It is. It’s an absolutely lovely story that isn’t complicated, it’s just sweet. Divorcee Nora is an author whose book has been turned into a Hollywood movie starring the hottest guy in LA. They film the movie at her property when he decides he needs a break from the limelight and moves into her inlaw cottage out back. Obviously love and some chaos ensues, but this one is a book I read all in one day smiling the whole time. If you’re stuck in a reading rut, this is the one off this list I’d press into your hands and tell you to just enjoy it.
A Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li. This was a new release this past spring and was the perfect summer read. It felt a bit like Oceans 11, where you’re actually rooting for this crew of unlikely friends to be successful stealing art from famous museums around the world. Over the centuries as various western countries went into an out of Asia on conquests, priceless historical artifacts and works of art disappeared from Asia and are now on display in England, France and America. A group of insanely bright and talented Chinese-American college students are assembled by an anonymous benefactor who wants these priceless works of art returned to the Asian museums. So they train for the greatest heists these museums have ever seen. It was fast paced, the characters and what motivated each of their participation in this process were so interesting, this was absolutely a fun read!
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. This one was recommended to me so many times by such a diverse set of friends that I knew it would be a book I enjoyed. I read this with two other friends as part of our little breakfast bookclub we have and all of us really enjoyed this one. Set during WWII, The Rose Code follows the stories of 3 real life women who were all essentially drafted into the British army to work at Bletchley Park, the main center of British intelligence where all the code breaking was happening. This was an absolutely fascinating look at a real part of WWII I had never heard of, but these incredible women cracked the Nazi’s code and were instrumental in the allied victories. I love historical fiction and this one had me doing all kinds of side research as I read to learn more about these women, what their code breaking machines looked like, and what life at Bletchley Park was really like. This is one my friends have loved as so have my folks, so I know it’s a great read for all types of readers if you need a great historical novel!
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Another book we chose as part of our breakfast book club this year was the newest novel by Liane Moriarty—who I think is one of the masters of women’s fiction. This was an absolute page turner as you dove into a family of 4 adult siblings whose mother has gone missing. A mysterious stranger has appeared in their lives and their father is the primary suspect of his wife’s disappearance. Each of the four kids have very different ideas of what their position should be and who they should be supporting. This reads like a fast paced mystery with some fabulous dysfunctional family dynamics thrown in and will leave you guessing until the end as to what happened and who is to blame.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. This book has been everywhere this year, and I was in the camp of people who loved it. I think because it was unlike anything I’d read before. The voice of the narrator, the main character, had such a unique style that I was intrigued from the beginning. In an era when women weren’t supposed to be serious scientists, Elizabeth Zott is a chemistry prodigy. She is treated terribly by coworkers, (trigger warning for sexual assault) and disrespected at every turn, but refuses to quit. She ends up becoming the unlikely star of a 1960s cooking show for women and finds her voice talking to them as if “they were intelligent creatures,” helping them learn basic chemistry through cooking. This is a story of love, parenting, gender discrimination and resilience, and I think it absolutely earned all the attention and acclaim it received this year.
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown. This was a great novel that asked the question “what makes a family?” Three sets of strangers are brought together when they adopt 4 biological siblings all in one town and determine to keep the children in close contact with one another through weekly dinners, family holidays and vacations together. At the heart of this story are 3 adoptive mothers doing their best, dealing with insecurities as moms, trying to live up to unspoken expectations, and wrestling with this idea of a family formed between strangers. I love family dynamic stories and this was such a unique situation to set a novel in the midst of that I was invested in the lives of each of these women from the beginning.
I’d love to hear, what were your favorite reads of 2022??
