The Best Books I’ve Read in 2022
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I’ve read 55 books so far this year. I’ll probably sneak a few more in before December 31, but these are the ones that made my top picks. I’ve also read a bunch of books on Buddhist practice, which I’ve excluded from the list since they’re only relevant if you’re Buddhist. This means I’ve read fewer nonfiction books overall, but I’m okay with that. There are always more books to read!
The below are in no particular order other than generally the order in which I read them.
Nonfiction:
The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults – Cheryl B. Klein. This book is not just for writers of MG and YA, but a great resource for any writer who wants to understand how to put together a novel. It’s especially good in terms of giving you a blueprint for revision. There are specific chapters to help you tighten your story concept, identify the emotional and experiential points of the novel, deepen character, enhance voice, and create a solid plot structure, as well as deal with the “little” things that make a novel readable, like prosody, pace, and rhythm. Worth reading before you start a novel for things to keep in mind and once you’ve finished a draft so you can go back and revise with intention and actually get to work on the things that need to be done instead of just moving words around. Filled with examples and practical exercises, this is a great book for any fiction writer’s shelf.
The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture – Gail Carriger. Fascinating counterpoint to the standard Hero’s Journey narrative design. She makes a compelling case for the popularity of a different kind of story, also based on myths like Demeter/Persephone, Isis, and Inanna, where instead of going bravely alone to conquer, the heroine faces the underworld with her community, and the keys to her success are her friend network, and ability to lead and inspire others. The “heroine” is not always female – Harry Potter, for example, follows a Heroine’s Journey. Once you see this narrative chassis, it’s fun to look at books, tv, and movies with new eyes for the possibilities. It will also make you think of your own stories in new ways, and give you a wider range of possibilities as a writer.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel – Jessica Brody. Based on Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! structure for screenwriters, this book translates the 15 beats specifically for novelists. Brody walks through lots of examples of each genre, using the beats, so you can see how they play out in a particular story. She also emphasizes this is not just about structure, or plot (what happens) but why, and how it helps the protagonist transform through dealing with the story problem. Using the 15 beats gives you a road map to follow while still allowing for plenty of creative expression to tell your story.
Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Fear, and the Artistic Process – ed. By Joe Fassler. A collection of essays by well-known writers (Neil Gaiman, Marilynne Robinson, Roxane Gay, Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, and many others. Each writer chose a favorite passage from literature and then wrote about why it affected them and their work so deeply. The result is a fascinating glimpse into the artistic process – in the words of Fassler’s preface, “how artists learn to think, how they find inspiration, how they get things done.” It’s an ode to the power of reading and its mysterious alchemy in the development of a writer.
Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. David Bayles and Ted Orland. This is a classic for a reason. Full of advice for navigating the creative life and dealing with internal and external challenges – perfectionism, dealing with internal and external critics, feelings of competition with others, putting your work out into the world... it’s a book to come back to over and over since it has so much pithy wisdom in its slender pages.
Fiction
The Lymond Chronicles – Dorothy Dunnett. I finally finished my re-read of this 6-volume series, and I continue to be in awe of her talent as a writer. There is also so much to learn from her as a writer, on every page. Fiendishly complicated plots, deeply conflicted characters, gorgeous prose, laugh-out-loud humor... If I were on a desert island, I’d want these books with me, hands down. I also Read the first book of the House of Niccolo series, and I found I liked it much better than I remembered. Eventually I plan to reread the other books in that series. Maybe in 2023...
The Paris Apartment – Lucy Foley. I’ve really enjoyed her other mysteries, and this was a complex, satisfying whodunit. Classic, broke screwup Jess moves from London to Paris to stay with her half-brother – but when she arrives at his apartment building, he has disappeared. What happened to him, and what is going on with the building’s other denizens, kept me guessing until the end. It’s told in alternate points of view, so you build the story like a puzzle until you figure out what’s really going on.
The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman. I actually read the other two books in this series as well. They are the definition of charming, centering around a group of “pensioners” as they’re called in the U.K., who attempt to solve cold case mysteries. Lots of humor and heart, with a mix of mystery-solving and dealing with typical challenges of aging. They are far from gritty realism so lean more toward the “cozy” end of the genre and make for a fantastic light read. I’m sure a TV series is in the works somewhere.
Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel. Most people don’t really want to read about a plague in the era of COVID-19, but that is only one aspect of this novel, which follows characters in different time periods as they attempt to solve the mystery of a spot in the woods where strange, haunting sounds are heard. It’s a mystery, of a sort, but more like a puzzle-box, where you don’t find out how the characters connect until the end. It’s also a meditation on art, love, and the power of human connection.
Civilizations – Laurent Binet. How would the history of Europe and the Americas been different if colonization went the other way? This novel explores what happens when a refugee prince of the Incas sails to Portugal on one of Columbus’ abandoned ships. Cultures clash in entertaining and thought-provoking ways as the prince and his retinue attempt to build an empire among the warring Christian states of the 16th century.
That’s it for this year. I already have a giant To Be Read pile for next year. Not only the books I already own, but the long, long list of ones I want to read. Sigh. Can someone pay me to just sit home and read, please? I mean, I do that as a book coach, so I’m lucky there. I just need more time to read all the other books.
