Top Books of 2022!

Hi reader friends! Let’s talk books!

This year I read 27 books. Wow! That might sound like a lot to you or it might sound like not very much. All I know is that the other year I made a goal to read 50 books and so I did. I read 50 books and so 27 feels like not very much to me when I think about how I read 50. But I’m not too hard on myself because I know I’ve been working on writing my own book this year and that’s taken up some reading time as I work on the writing process. And, I didn’t make a goal to read 50 for 2022 so it’s not fair to compare.

Each month I write down the books I’ve read in my monthly calendar planner I keep. In the margin where it’s says ‘notes’ I cross it off and write ‘books’ and log them that way. If the book was good I just put a star by it. I learned that from the podcast Sorta Awesome. Rebecca, one of the cohosts said she does it that way and I like that. No 1, 2, or 3 star rating. Just a simple star if you liked it. Easy. I like easy. How do you keep track of your books? Do you rate them?

I do love reading so much. It’s not just reading, but books! Have you discovered Thrift Books too? Oh, my gosh. It’s the best place to buy books for a good price and you can earn credits for free books. I’ve been delving into a guilty pleasure of buying books more than usual lately. Eek! Not a super great idea due to limited space and I haven’t read all the books we own yet either. And I could always spend my mulah on necessities, right? Oh well…

If you don’t already know my reading palette I’ll clue you in. I love a classic Whodunit fiction. Those are my go-to books when I’m in a reading funk or want to get back into readi

I also keep my ear to the ground for hot new releases. Though, I’ll let you in on a little secret, I often start so many new release books and ditch them if I just can’t get into it, even if it’s supposed to be a hot new release that everyone is raving about. Maybe this is my spicy take for the year. Anyway, for example, Celeste Ng’s book, Our Missing Hearts, I could not get into. It just was too slow or maybe her writing style I had a hard time getting into. Also, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin I read half way and felt like I could not keep reading. For me, at half way, I felt like I got closure with the story and was ready to be done. I could not read another act of the same characters. I didn’t care enough to keep reading. Did you read either of those books? What did you think of those books?

My philosophy on reading and books is life’s too short to waste time reading books you just can’t get into. There’s no reading police ready to bust down your door because you didn’t finish a book or get into one that everybody else loved. You are you and you’re allowed to read whatever you fancy. You are. Isn’t it great you get to be you? You won’t go to jail for ditching a book. I promise.

And then, true to my passion searching for depth in spiritually, I love well written, reformed theology Christian nonfiction. There is so much about living the christian life that I just havn’t figured out yet and I’m always searching for more. More understanding, more depth, more knowing what each of the Trinity means to me and how that changes me. There is so much I don’t get yet about spirituality and am always hungry for more. Always hungry.

Having said all that, let’s move on to the books!

FICTION

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

This book is a fantastic work of fiction. It follows a case of a maid in the Magnolia Palace working for the prominent Frick family and a model fifty years later who finds herself trapped in the same house. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and got caught up in the drama of these two ladies and the plot twists along the way. You won’t regret picking up this one.

“In The Magnolia Palace, two very different women from two eras enter the Gilded Age realm of famous industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick and his imperious daughter Helen and become part of a thrilling mystery centered on the Frick mansion that stretches through the decades.“

The Maid by Nita Prose

Soon after I heard about and watched the show Inventing Anna on Netflix, this book was put in my hands. Con artist Anna (Delvey) Sorokin posed as a wealthy heiress and stayed in elite hotels living large and entitled. She was so fascinating. So right off the heels of watching that show, reading this book pared nicely. It’s about a maid working in an upper class hotel, serving celebrities and the upper crust folk when someone is found dead in one of the Maid’s rooms (unfortunately, no con artist in this read). This book is really rather enduring but some of the characters might make you a little mad.

“Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by… A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.“

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

This murder mystery is such a delightful and funny read. In this novel, follow three older little ladies as they attempt to solve the murder of their neighbor. I literally laughed out loud at their unthinkable ways of getting information. So well written and keeps you guessing and curious just like the little old ladies. I read this book in like two days.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book impacted me deeply. I blogged about it here. Carrie Soto is a stubbornly driven tennis player who won’t stop at anything to make it to the top. Given the nickname Battle Axe in the news, she seeks to make a come back in tennis after recovering from an injury. Reid does such an excellent job of writing from the view point of celebrities and getting inside their heads. She’s an incredible writer. I also enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six by Reid.

NONFICTION

Gentle and Lowly by Dan Ortlund

I read this book over the summer. It’s a slow thoughtful book; one not to be read quickly. My biggest takeaway from reading this was holding the reality of Jesus becoming human, lowly as I and all because of his unending, relentless love for me. What kind of a god sends his son to earth, a hell bound, fallen and broken world with broken people? Answer, one who will do anything for a sinner. For you. For me. Read this book to discover the heart of God. You will thank me two pages in.

“How does Jesus feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book takes readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart—a heart of tender love drawn to sinners and sufferers.“

A Curious Faith by Lore Ferguson Wilbert

Wilbert holds nothing back and asks the questions you probably are wondering about but didn’t know it or have the words. In this book you’ll find your voice and solace

“Reflecting her own theological trajectory toward a more contemplative, expansive faith, Wilbert invites readers to foster curiosity as a spiritual habit. This book explores questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and questions we ask each other. Christianity is not about knowing good answers, says Wilbert, but about asking good questions–ones that foster deeper intimacy with God and others.“

I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet by Shauna Niequist

Naturally this book made my list for 2022. It was in my giveaway I hosted last week of my favorite things. And I wrote a review on it and pinned it too the top of my Facebook profile here. If you’ve gone through anything hard in your life with church or friends or fill in the blank (loss of my mother for me), feel like you’re not yourself or know who you are anymore OR like you don’t recognize your own body, then this book is for you. Shauna’s honesty will feel like a warm hug.

So that’s my annual list of favorite books of the past year. And I think if I had to pick a favorite I’d be I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet. It was a good blend of Christian Living and Memoir, short chapters and a moving story that was thought provoking and I highly connected with it. If you had to pick one book, what would you pick? I know it’s hard to do! 🙂

I hope to inspire your reading life for 2023! Have you read any of these? If so which ones? Leave a comment letting me know.
Also, what book(s) do you recommend? I love a good rec!

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On this blog I aspire to inspire hope, to discover a new way, another way to do this Christian’s life. 
Because, maybe the old way isn’t working anymore.
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