One of my greatest hobbies is reading, something you already know about if you’ve spent any time here on the blog. If you’re looking for tips about what to read or how to choose your next book, I’ve got some great ideas below. These reading recommendations from 2022 will give you some fresh ideas for your next trip to the library. Check it out!
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Did Not Finish
Do you DNF books? Some readers feel incredibly guilty and force themselves to finish books, even if they aren’t enjoying them. That used to be me, so I understand where you’re coming from if you’re in that boat. However, I decided that there is too little time in my day to waste it on books that I’m not loving, so I DNF way more books than I used to these days.
On my Goodreads, I categorize them two different ways. I’ll mark the book as finished and give it two stars if I think I’d like to come back and try again sometime. These can be books I’m just not in the mood for or books that are moving too slow but are well written. Then I add it to a shelf called “DNF” and the current year to remind myself that I didn’t actually finish it. For books I hate and I’ll never come back to, I’ll just give it one star and shelve it the same way.
Two Stars (May try again)
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Recommended by my brother. Couldn’t love the main character, but I do love when authors like Grisham jump outside their normal genre. Worth coming back to at some point, I think. Very short
That Which I Am by Nathaniel Fitzgerald
Collection of poems by a local author, just wasn’t in the mood for poetry at the time. Will revisit
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This was a re-read for me, out loud with the kids and they lost interest. I imagine we will come back to it
One Star (won’t revisit)
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Mass
Third in the series, didn’t capture me like the first two
American Queen by Sierra Simone
Hoping for something like American Royals by Katharine McGee but didn’t come close
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Laruen Willig
Recommended by a friend, didn’t capture me. Not a fan of flashing in and out of different time periods, too disruptive
The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu
Tried it for my online book club, we were in a minority authors kick this year, and I didn’t enjoy it enough to continue
Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
Too snarky
Brambleheart by Henry Cole
The kids’ school chose this as their “one book, one school” pick. Not a fan, but they loved it and finished it with their dad
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Another minority author pick for my online book club. Didn’t hook me
Misadventures of an Oxymoron by Heather Compton
Love this lady and her business, her humor isn’t my thing. Definitely visit Kindhearted Badass, though, and check out her other stuff!
Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
Another minority author pick for my online book club. Didn’t appreciate the main character or the story at all. Way too slow moving. I’m not generally a big cozy mystery reader
Accomplished by Amanda Quain
Modern take on Pride and Prejudice from Georgiana Darcy’s POV. Not great
Congo by Michael Crighton
Too creepy
Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay
List of Reading Recommendations from 2022
These are the books I actually finished this year, and I’m including brief comments where I feel inspired.
Airframe by Michael Crichton
Crichton is always good. Recommend almost everything I’ve read by him
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
My favorite Pants book, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read this one
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
This is actually two authors, Christina and Lauren, who write together. I’ve liked some of their other books, and wasn’t expecting the crazy turns this one took but ended up loving it
The Princess by Lori Wick
A nostalgic re-read. This author is crap, but I read this a million times as a teen and was in the mood
Disclosure by Michael Crichton
The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn
Zoomed through the Bridgerton series last year and was pleased to find all three of these at Goodwill (can’t beat a $0.79 book), part of the Bridgerton world
A Night Like This by Julia Quinn
Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Listened to this on audio, and as a person with social anxiety, I was so gratified to read about someone who experiences like like I do. Highly recommend
Changes for Samantha by Valerie Tripp
Always reading something with my kids. This year we did a lot of American Girl books
Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls by Lauren Graham
Loved the TV series and Graham’s first novel. I listened to this one on audio, read by the author, highly recommend. Also small point of nostalgia for me, she discusses her time at the Barn Theatre, a place I pass on my way to visit my great aunt in Battle Creek
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Recommend! Kids loved this, and there is a whole series
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Haven’t read all of Towles, but this is excellent. Listened to it on audio. Bonus points because the real Lincoln Highway goes through South Bend, my neck of the woods, and they pass through in the book
Matt’s Million by Andrew Norriss
Read this when I was 9. British author, recommend. This was a re-read with the kids
Strands of Truth by Colleen Coble
Recommended by a friend, did not enjoy the writing. Did manage to finish though
Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary
A nice alternative if you’re sick of Ramona
Changes for Molly by Valerie Tripp
Molly Saves the Day by Valerie Tripp
Happy Birthday, Molly by Valerie Tripp
Molly’s Surprise by Valerie Tripp
Molly Learns A Lesson by Valerie Tripp
Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp
Act Like It by Lucy Parker
An Aussie-published book selected by an online book club I started participating in this year. Nothing special
The Love Hypothesis by Aly Hazelwood
Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
This is my favorite author, but I wasn’t as thrilled with this much-anticipated latest novel. Recommend Things You Save In a Fire and How to Walk Away over this one
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
Listened on audio, recommend. YA novel. Not necessarily going to have the same effect in print, however
Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest
Liked this better than I expected. Quirky and unique, plus there are more in the series
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Everything, Everything remains my favorite by this author
Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra
The sequel to Meg and Jo, which was better (listened to that one on audio), but both are great modern interpretations of Little Women
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Loved Attachments by this author, which was an adult novel. This one was YA, didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to
Samantha Learns a Lesson by Susan S. Adler
Meet Samantha by Susan S. Adler
Book Club Picks from 2022
Here are the books we read for book club last year. While not all of them are ones I even picked up, let alone finished, I will list them here with brief comments in case you’re looking for ideas for your book club this year. They are not in the order that we read them.
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (February)
Read at the same time as the movie’s release. Not a fan of Kenneth Branaugh’s portrayal of Hercule Poirot, don’t feel he does the character justice, but the aesthetic is beautiful. Movie does deviate from the book a bit.
Looking for Alaska by John Green (March)
This was a re-read for book club. John Green is absolutely a YA author, but this book wrecked me the first time I read it and I was excited to revisit it with my friends. They didn’t love it, but I did, just as much. Recommend getting the 10th anniversary edition for author extras. The theme was “banned books”
Hell’s Princess by Harold Schechter (November)
Again, points for local flavor. This is an in-depth and anecdotal style look at the famous female LaPorte serial killer. Recommend (although it doesn’t resolve anything, so be prepared to be dissatisfied).
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab (October)
I’m not a fantasy girl most of the time. It always feels like someone trying to imitate Tolkein and never succeeding
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (September)
Didn’t grip me, didn’t generate much discussion
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (April)
Not a fan of Green’s NF, did not finish. Most members of book club didn’t enjoy it either, but we did have some decent discussion. Book is broken into short essays; we chose it because the theme was “collection of short stories or essays”
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (January)
DNF, but worth a revisit. The writing is amazing
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (August)
DNF, but great writing. Love Palahniuk
A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman (December)
Half of us had already read it and love the author and the book and were willing to re-read before the movie comes out, the other half hadn’t read it and wanted to before the movie comes out. No theme, just chose a book (unusual for us)
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (July)
The theme was “takes place in a city.” Love the author and the writing, just ran out of time to finish and didn’t care enough to go back yet. May still revisit
The One by John Mars (May)
This will make you think. A lot. Recommend, but you have to be in the right mood. Read the synopsis first. We chose it because we had a bunch of duds in a row and wanted to choose something a few specific people in the group would like
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis (June)
Okay, didn’t grip me enough to finish. An interesting concept
So Many Books, So Little Time
If you needed some ideas about what to read this year, I hope you’ve been able to fill your Goodreads want to read list from our reading recommendations from 2022. Remember if you need a good bookmark to check out our Etsy shop. Leave us a comment and let us know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought!
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