For the past few years, close to or on New Year’s Eve, I’ve been doing a roundup on social media of my favorite books I read during the year. This year I decided to elaborate on my fiction favorites here, but keep scrolling to see my entire Best Of 2022 list.
Come Read to Me (But Not Literally, Record It & I’ll Listen)
I read 85 books this year. It’s more than I’ve ever read in one year since I started keeping track in 2011. How did I do it?? I allowed myself to enjoy fiction on audio.
I’ve been into audiobooks for a few years now, but mostly kept it to memoirs and nonfiction. And maybe it’s because I read to my kids on an almost daily basis, with them paying attention maybe about 65% of the time, but this year I was just ready to *hear* a good story, and have someone read to *me.* And I was a darn good listener.
Opening up my audiobook picks and spending way too much money on audiobooks, I’m literally forcing myself to switch to podcasts right now allowed me to expand the number of books I read in general. I’d often have two books going at the same time, one audio and one literal. Preferably one fiction and one nonfiction.
Out of the 85 books I read, 53 were audiobooks. Of those 53, 19 were fiction.
Because I Love a Great Story
I read a lot of decent suspense/thriller novels this year: The Cage, A Slow Fire Burning, Lies Lies Lies, The Stillwater Girls, A Flicker in the Dark, Hidden Pictures, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, The Woman in the Window, The Downstairs Neighbor, The Perfect Neighborhood, Someone Knows, etc.
I largely prefer present-day, realistic, real-world, relatable stories. Not so much fantasy, sci-fi, or even historical fiction.
That being said. The novels that really stood out for me this year were the ones that took me out of this time, or were in some way a little bit fantastical.
Here’s a breakdown of all the top fiction books I read in 2022:
The Memory Police: This is a dystopian book from 1994. I didn’t think I’d like it. Still wasn’t sure as I started. Got drawn in. Loved it loved it loved it. Of all the books I’ve read this year, this one keeps coming back into my head the most.
Nightbitch: Folks, this one is a bit out there. Know that going in. This is about a mom of a two-year-old who is going insane from motherhood and believes she’s turning into a dog. At night, specifically.
The Violence: This is about a second pandemic after COVID where people turn violent. I just loved the cover of this book when I saw it at my favorite Cape Cod bookstore this summer and picked it up. I went in cold. Wouldn’t have picked it up if I’d known it was pandemic-y. So glad I did.
The Humans: I enjoyed Midnight Library by the same author, and even though that got much more fanfare than this book, I largely prefer The Humans. This is one of the older books on my list, it was published in 2013. It’s about an alien posing as a human on Earth, and it’s just very well done.
Constance: I wanted to read this book when I saw it was about a clone, because it made me think of a kids clone book series I read in my youth, Replica, which started with Amy Number Seven. Holla if you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, this futuristic-y book did not disappoint, and I’ve already preordered the sequel coming out in February.
Tracy Flick Can’t Win: The sequel to Election. Election is such a great book, and movie (the movie might even be better??). Despite having high standards to live up to, and in spite of the fact that the book didn’t go in a direction I thought it would have, or that I would have taken it…it was somehow oddly perfect. And very characteristic of this author’s quasi-peculiar style.
The Maid: This is one of the suspense/thriller type books I mentioned before, but it was the best of them. A quirky hotel maid finds a dead body. I just saw when looking this book up to comment on it that there will be a movie starring Florence Pugh. This is delightful news.
Pearl: Like Nightbitch, I feel the need to put a hand on your shoulder and provide a disclaimer. It’s out there. It’s excellent, but possibly not for everyone. It’s Cujo meets Carrie meets Animal Farm, so do with that what you will.
Note, I skipped over The Ink Black Heart, because its the sixth in a series and you’re either in it with me or you’re not. But it’s one of the top ones, you’ll see below.
The Whole Enchilada
Here it is:
Best Fiction:
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
- Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
- The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
- The Humans by Matt Haig (same author as The Midnight Library)
- The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (#6 in Cormoran Strike series)
Honorable Mention Fiction:
- Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons
- Tracy Flick Can’t Win by Tom Perrotta (sequel to Election)
- The Maid by Nita Prose
- Pearl by Josh Malerman (same author as Bird Box)
Best Nonfiction:
- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
- Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
- The Shame Machine by Cathy O’Neil
Honorable Mention Nonfiction:
- Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
- Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
- The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Roberston
Best Memoirs:
- The Polygamist’s Daughter: A Memoir by Anna LeBaron
- Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
- Mean Baby by Selma Blair
- Out of the Corner by Jennifer Grey
- Sad Sacked: A Memoir by Liz Alterman
Honorable Mention Memoirs:
- American Drug Addict by Brett Douglas
- Scarred by Sarah Edmondson
- Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
- Yearbook by Seth Rogen
- A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder
I’m reading The Flight Attendant right now. It’s great, although potentially not a book you’d want to read while actually on a plane. (If you’re wondering if I’ve watched the show I have seen the first episode.)