Book Lists
Folks, I almost didn’t make it to this year’s goal. Since I read 135 books last year, I decided to bump my goal to 140 books for 2022. Well, December 1st rolled around and I was still 25 books short, so I kicked it into high gear and managed to finish book 141 on December 29. Will I learn from this and set a more easily achievable goal for 2023? Probably not. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. For now, I’d like to share with you the books I liked most this year.
Hold on. Before I start, I would like to say that these top four were almost impossible to rank because I thought they were all basically perfect. So it’s pretty much a 4-way tie for my favorite book for the year. Okay, now I’m ready. 1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab I can say with 100% certainty that I will re-read this book at least 10 times throughout my life. I loved every second spent with Addie LaRue and my only complaint is that this book wasn’t 2,000 pages, because I would have gladly let myself be sucked into this world even longer. I understand why V.E. Schwab kept jumping over chunks of Addie’s life, but I would have been perfectly content to read about every single day she lived. 2. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Brit Bennett’s first book was one of my favorites back in 2017, and I liked this one even better. The characters are so deeply complex and my heart broke for them over and over, even when I wanted to shake them and tell them to make better decisions. Also, I need Brit Bennett to write at least 500 more books, because the two she’s written so far are absolutely beautiful and I desperately need more. 3. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher I finally grabbed a copy of this after hearing about it for months on my favorite book podcast. Based on the title and cover, I assumed it was going to be a creepy fantasy novel. I was incorrect. This book is hilarious and heartbreaking and fantastical and I could give you a whole list of adjectives, but instead I’m just going to recommend it to everyone who will listen. 4. Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune TJ Klune grabbed the #2 spot in 2021 with The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I loved this one only slightly less. I didn’t have high hopes for it, because several people had told me it wasn’t nearly as good. I was pleasantly surprised, because this book was a delight. I was immediately pulled into these characters’ lives and I was legitimately sad when the book was over and I had to re-emerge into my own life. 5. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson I’ve loved the world of Green Gables since I was little and wore out our VHS tapes of the Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables miniseries. Then, when Anne with an E hit Netflix, I obsessively watched that. So I was both excited and nervous about this book, because I was sure it couldn’t live up to my high expectations. As usual, though, I was quickly proven wrong. This book covers Anne’s life before she was sent to live with Matthew and Marilla, and Budge Wilson does an amazing job capturing the world of Anne Shirley’s imagination. I’ll warn you, though, this book has some absolutely devastating moments, so read it with some tissues nearby. 6. The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi When I started this book, I felt kind of indifferent toward it. The more time I spent within the world of the book, though, the more it got under my skin in the best possible way. Akwaeke Emezi is one of those writers who somehow manages to pick only the most perfect words for every single sentence and I now want to read everything they’ve ever written and everything they will write in the future. 7. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp This book caught me completely off guard and knocked me on my ass. Marieke Nijkamp is kind of a hit-or-miss author for me, but the way they wrote the friendship in this book hit way too close to home and I’m honestly surprised I didn’t spend most of this book bawling. 8. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller We all know the basic story of Achilles, right? (If not, maybe skip this blurb, because I’m about to spoil something.) We all know Achilles is killed by Paris during the Trojan War. But even knowing that the main characters in this book were going to die, I was still very upset when it happened. Also, Madeline Miller writes some gorgeous sentences. 9. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Much like The Song of Achilles, I went into this book knowing the fate of the main characters. In this case, the title literally tells you what’s going to become of them. But again, even knowing the main characters are going to die, I was devastated when it happened. 10. Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey Look, no one is more surprised than I am to see a romance novel in my top 10. But this story was so cute! Yes, it’s predictable and hits all of the major romance tropes, but I didn’t even care. All I wanted was for the two main characters to get together and I was so excited when they did. As usual, I’ve reached my limit for writing blurbs. So, I’m just going to list the others. 11. Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap 12. The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory 13. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton 14. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby 15. We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry 16. Carol by Patricia Highsmith 17. 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality by Allison Yarrow 18. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero 19. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich 20. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 21. I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal 22. Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anais Mitchell 23. We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union 24. Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen 25. The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey 26. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi 27. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras 28. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 29. Q by Evan Mandery 30. American War by Omar El Akkad 31. Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard 32. Calypso by David Sedaris 33. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore As always, I welcome any and all recommendations. Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
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Jacinta M. CarterProfessional Book Nerd Archives
December 2018
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