Thursday, January 19, 2023

Best Books Read in 2022


First, I'll share some stats and fun facts about my reading year, then my Top Picks in different categories, and finally my Top 10 (or whatever) lists in each category. It was an outstanding reading year, so I had some tough choices to make.

You can see a complete list, with links to reviews, of all the books I've read since 2015 at the Book Reviews tab.

Stats and Facts

Total Books Read in 2022 = 75 (a few less than the previous year)

 

Adult Fiction = 45 (60%)

Adult Nonfiction = 13 (17%) – 6 were memoir

Teen/YA = 6 (8%)

Middle-Grade = 13 (17%)

 

Of Those:

Audiobooks = 29

Graphic Novel/nonfiction = 6

Short Story Collections = 1

Classics = 7

Poetry = 0


Fun Facts:

Women Authors = 38 (51%)

Diverse books = 45 (60%)

From my own shelves = 33 (44%)

Re-reads = 0

Authors read more than once in 2022: Matty Dalrymple (2) and Emily St. John Mandel (2)

Shortest book:  History Comics: The National Parks by Falynn Koch

Longest book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Average book length: 347 pages

Pages read: 26,380

 

Top Picks - Best of the Best

Best Adult Fiction 

 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 


 

Best Nonfiction  

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

 


 

Best Memoir   

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

 


 

Best Audio

 The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

 

 

 

 Best Teen/YA

 Kent State by Deborah Wiles

 

 

 

Best Middle-Grade  

Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott

 

 

 

Best Graphic Novel/Nonfiction
Booked by Kwame Alexander

 


 

Best Classic 

 The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

 

 

Top 10 (or Whatever) Lists

Lists are alphabetical, except for the Fiction list (the first 4 are those I liked best). Some books appear on more than one list.

Top 10 Adult Fiction

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Lucky Turtle by Bill Roorbach

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

The Overstory by Richard Powers

 

 

 

Top 7 Nonfiction/Memoir

Black Boy by Richard Wright

History Comics: The National Parks by Falynn Koch

Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

 

 

Top 3 Teen/YA

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

A Lite Too Bright by Sam Miller

 

 

 

Top 7 Middle-Grade

Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Candicat

Booked by Kwame Alexander

Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott

History Comics: The National Parks by Falynn Koch

Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Secret Letters by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock

Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte

 

 

Top 3 Graphic Novel/Memoir

Booked by Kwame Alexander

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web by Drew Weing

History Comics: The National Parks by Falynn Koch

 

 

Top 10 Audiobooks

Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Candicat

Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

A Lite Too Bright by Sam Miller

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

 

What were YOUR favorite books read last year? 

3 comments:

  1. Congratulations on a great year of reading!

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  2. I just love seeing people's top lists/end of year wrap ups. I keep looking for Kent State, but my local indie doesn't have it. I think I need to check the library now.

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    Replies
    1. See if you can download it from your library system on audio - really outstanding on audio!

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