Apparently I read 68 books in 2022 (that’s a StoryGraph link because the stats are fun, my Goodreads list is here.)
I started the year reading The Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, and am ending it reading Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (I’m only halfway through it as I type, so it’ll be the one I start 2023 with too.)
Here are the ones I loved the most, in no particular order:
- The Trees by Percival Everett
- Horrifying, hilarious, and heart-breaking in equal measure. This book is a masterpiece that now lives rent-free in my mind. I read it in March for the Tournament of Books, and I was devastated that it didn’t win the ToB, or the Booker.
- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
- I spent my teen years in New Ross (where this is set) in the ’80’s (when this is set), and the sense of place and time is pure perfection. Keegan has a way of getting us into the minds and hearts of her characters with such economy, it always amazes me.
- The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
- Another master of emotional shorthand, Ryan creates a family saga in a short volume that punches well outside it’s weight class.
- Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
- This dystopic story about two trans women trying to survive after an apocalyptic virus literally turns men feral is gory and terrifying. But it also contains a multitude, so there are shining moments of pure joy and hope. It’s funny as hell in places, too. (Fuck TERFs)
- Toad by Katherine Dunn
- I really don’t know why this was passed over for publication at the time it was written, but I am so glad we get to read it now. A pure joy to read with a heroine who is both difficult and lovable (was that the problem? because it isn’t a problem!)
- Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
- Yes, I read the ridiculously long takedown of this on Vulture; and no, I don’t agree with it. This is basically an updated folk tale in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm, told by sister Grimmer. It’s scabrous and horrifying and also great.
- Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
- This almost cured me of my superhero burnout. It’s about a brilliant henchperson who suffers through the egomaniacal shenanigans of a group of heroes and villains.
- The Auctioneer by Joan Sampson
- One of the things I’ll miss about Twitter is seeing random book recommendations cross my timeline. I read this thanks to one of these and I’m still grateful to the person who posted it. It’s atmospheric as all get-out and consistently gripping.
- We are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth
- If you want to read a novel set in the video game industry, I much preferred this to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It’s far less rose-tinted, far more accurate, and is very concerned with the fact that Gamergate never truly ended, and what new levels of harassment VR could bring for femme-identifying people. It’s also just a really good thriller with strong LGBTQIA+ representation.
- The Unfolding by A.M. Homes
- I always look forward so much to new work from A.M. Homes that I worry that I’ll have hyped myself into inevitable disappointment. This is part satire, part alternate-history, and 100% anger and heart. There were scenes where I had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard, and scenes where I had to put the book down because it made me so angry (not at it, at U.S. history and politics). Does The Big Guy get his just desserts? Read it and find out.
A few more honorable mentions: The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran, Fight Night by Miriam Toews, Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, and Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke.
You’ll notice that I didn’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I can heartily recommend Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain about the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma.
I can only think of only a couple of books that were a real trudge to get through, and I didn’t abandon anything, so it was a pretty great reading year.
Here’s hoping 2023 is every bit as bookishly bountiful.