Read List of 2022
To all the Cryptids and Humanoids of the World--
I come to you with my tail between my legs.
With the dawn on January, I told myself that I would use this blog throughout the year to better catalogue my thoughts on what I read. My Goodreads account was only a month old and I’ve never been comfortable or crazy about the layout of that website. But as all New Years Resolutions do, my reading blog fell to the way side.
So, I come to you in December, mere days before the New Year, with a list of gorgeous, heart-breaking, clever, and truly life-changing novels.
Last time around, I read 19 books. This year, I read 22. As a younger person I was always hell-bent on expanding that number each year but 2022 was an entirely unique beast. For me, this was the first trip around the sun since the pandemic began that felt like a real year, complete with the same amount of work, heartbreak, pain, and joy. I had to reconcile that I wasn’t going to hit my goal of 50 books (because I read 48 in 2020. What else were we doing in quarantine).
However small this list may seem, I was enchanted. From this collection of Read Books I’ve latched onto some of my all-time favorites. I laughed, fought goosebumps, wept, and was forever changed by many of the heavy hitters on this list. All in all, I’d consider that a success.
Just like last time, I have included the genre of each novel as well as a 1 out of 5 star rating. They are listed in no particular order.
Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
1. What Just Happened: Notes on a Long Year, by Charles Finch : Memoir : 4 out of 5 stars
Starting my year with a memoir that is, at is root, journals kept by the author during the pandemic, was not a wise choice. Battling seasonal depression all while living through act three of the very same pandemic that is examined in this book was difficult, to say the least. Nevertheless, I was still incredibly moved by the perspectives immortalized here. Finch made me laugh more times than I can count and cry until I was hollow, but he didn’t leave me that way. Mostly, I walked away from this book with hope. It’s gorgeous and forty years down the line, children will be reading it in schools, remembering those who were lost.
2. Tin Man, by Sarah Winman : Romance, Slice of Life : 5 out of 5 stars
This book absolutely destroyed me. Sad LGBTQIA+ romance is my favorite genre, and Tin Man has to top the list of books I’ve read no only in that category, but overall. My dear friend Lisa sent me a copy in late January, and I devoured the entire thing in a matter of hours. It’s gorgeous. The story between the two main lovers and their journey from childhood friends, through their torrid love affair in the summer of 1960, to their vicious breakup and the subsequent marriage of the main character to a girl they both knew from school and, finally, the deep, unconditional friendship between the three of them that surpasses grief, loss, death, and heartbreak--this novel is everything, EVERYTHING, to me. Read it.
3. What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, by Lesley Nineka Arimah : Short Story Anthology, Slice of Life : 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous prose and breathtaking African Mythology wrapped in a cloak of familial expectations that the author ultimately sheds to take flight into her own becoming. So great, so powerful, amazing.
4. Diary of an Oxygen Thief, by Anonymous : Slice of Life : 1.5 out of 5 stars
This was one of my least favorite books this year. Imagine Holden Caufield with a college degree and more money than he knows what to do with. In my opinion, there’s room for one Holden Caufield in literature. It was incredibly repetitive and I lost interest pretty early on.
5. At Swim, Two Boys, by Jamie O’Neill : Romance, Historical Fiction : 3 out of 5 stars
HEARTBREAKING. Two childhood friends in Ireland at the height of the first World War fall in love and decide to swim the English Channel before the draft tears them apart. The vernacular explored in this novel made it hard for me to get into at first but once I did, it ruined me. Go read it!
6. The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, by Rett and Link : Horror : 2.5 out of 5 stars
This one was a blast, exploring the whimsy of childhood and what happens when corrupt adults expect children to grow up too fast. Children deserve to have their angst and their pain. I wasn’t expecting such a good read for the GMM boys but here we are!
7. Filth, by Irvine Welsh : Slice of Life : 2 out of 5 stars
Horrifying. A disgusting cop abuses his power, his wife, and himself. This was another one that took me a while to orient to, but it was fun. More than a couple of scenes still make me sick to my stomach.
8. Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut : Fiction : 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ah, the adventures of Kilgore Trout. Breakfast of Champions was first book my friend Jarin had me read for our book club and is often described as a must on the debate of Free Will. I loved this one so much. Vonnegut was one that we read in school, specifically Slaughterhouse Five, and he’s a classic American Existentialist writer who asks his audience to examine the world through the lens of people who are already insane or who are on their way. It was very enjoyable, and incredibly moving.
9. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card : 4.5 out of 5 stars
Another book Jarin had me read. I’m much more of a Science Fiction person, and this classic dystopian novel combined all the things I love; corrupt institutions, hyper-intelligent children saving the world, and a morally gray antagonist. A true American Classic that paved the way for series like The Hunger Games.
10. Stay and Fight, by Madeline Finch : Slice of Life, LGBTQ+ : 5 out of 5 stars
At its root, this book is about community, compassion, and survival. Two lesbians and a recently single woman decide to build a house together and live off the land. When the women decide to raise a child together, they must determine if it’s more important to live off the land, or keep their family afloat. SO good, I read this by flashlight during my two-week excursion in Yellowstone and it was the perfect read. I cried, I laughed, I was permanently changed.
11. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, by Fannie Flagg : Romance, Slice of Life, LGBTQ+ : 3.5 out of 5 stars
A CLASSIC. Anyone who was a child of the 1990s knows the film and I had never read the book so this year, Jarin and I read it together for book club. It says so much about womanhood, right and wrong, and what it means to be young. I love this book so much.
12. Gone to See the River Man, by Kristopher Triana : Horror, Splatter Punk : 4.5 out of 5 stars
This book is perhaps the most disturbing thing I read all year. A woman ventures into the woods with her sister in search of the River Man, who is known to grant wishes. If you’re looking for a fast paced, fucked up, nightmare-inducing adventure, Gone to See the River Man, might be the one for you!
13. Counting by 7′s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan : Slice of Life : 2.5 out of 5 stars
A young, autistic girl loses her parents and must find a new home. know this book is beloved by many people, but it was hard to get through for me. Maybe it’s because the protagonists story is too close to my own. But it was lovely writing.
14. A Certain Hunger, by Chelsea Summers : Horror : 1.5 out of 5 stars
Book club read! A world renowned food critic starts killing and eating men. I hated this book (oops!). Jarin and I read it for book club and something about the writing was so bland and one note. The main character, Dorothy, was evil for the sake of being evil and there was nothing interesting about her that compelled me to continue reading. Disappointing because this novel was incredibly popular this year.
15. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson : Horror : 4.5 out of 5 stars
A woman is invited to the infamous Hill House to aid in an experiment that aims to prove the existence of ghosts and slowly loses her mind in the process. ANOTHER CLASSIC! I absolutely love Jackson’s writing. The way she was able to craft such a truly chilling tale that provides no real answers or conclusion, that absolutely leaves the reader feeling like they’ve just walked off the edge of a cliff, is so masterful. Her other classic, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, is one I read a few years ago and I still think about it.
16. Any Man, by Amber Tamblyn : Horror : 4.5 out of 5 stars
Six men from six distinct walks of life all encounter the same rapist and have the course of their lives altered forever. GORGEOUS. It’s told in various mediums from texts, to instant messages, poetry, stream of consciousness, and journal entries. I’m not usually one to love that method of storytelling, but it just WORKS here. Any Man is another one that I read in a matter of hours. So, so good.
17. Theme Music, by T. Marie Vandelly : Horror : 3.5 out of 5 stars
A woman returns to the home where, twenty years earlies, her father murdered her entire family on Thanksgiving morning. This was so camp. Hilarious, dark, and witty, fans of Scream will enjoy this. Such a fun time.
18. Bettyville, by George Hodgman : Memoir : 2.5 out of 5 stars
A gay man returns home to take care of his mother, who is in the final stages of her battle with dementia. Heartbreaking, a true testament to the relationships people have with one another and all the promises they can’t keep.
19. Loveless, by Alice Oseman : Romance, LGBTQ+, YA fiction : 4.5 out of 5 stars
The journey of self-acceptance that one asexual girl must take in order to be happy. In addition to serving as a poignant reminder that not every LGBTQ+ person is surrounded by allies or people like them, this novel was so sweet, it felt like licking the frosting from a cupcake. A must read.
20. Honey Girl, by Morgan Rogers : Romance, LGBTQ+ : 2.5 out of 5 stars
Recently graduated with a PHd in Astronomy, Grace and her two friends travel to Las Vegas and Grace marries a woman she just met. The relationships between the protagonist and her friends was beautiful, and the writing had many strengths and high points. These victories only made the plot’s shortcomings more obvious.
22. The Town of Babylon, by Alejandro Verela : Slice of Life, LGBTQ+ : 3 out of 5 stars
Andres is a public health worker married to a surgeon, Marco, when he returns home to his unnamed suburban hamlet to care for his ailing father in the midst of his own relationship challenges with Marco. It explores themes of change, queerness, and what it’s like to be the only brown face in a sea of white people. It was heartfelt and lovely.
21. The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay : Horror, LGBTQ+ : 5 out of 5 stars
Wen and her parents Eric and Andrew travel to a remote cabin in New Hampshire for Spring Break, only to be held prisoner by four reluctant captives who claim that the end of the world is coming, and only Wen’s parents and the sacrifice they make can stop it. I cried. The relationships in this novel, the use of violence and horror as a vehicle for INCREDIBLE, GROUNDBREAKING storytelling--go read it. Just do it!
What I’m reading now: The Stranger, by Albert Camus
For next Year: A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, Sometimes I lie, by Alice Feeny, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, and others...
UNTIL NEXT YEAR <3