Yikes! Obviously, an annual book list must be published no later than the end of the first month of the following year. So today’s my deadline, and I’m just squeaking under it. It’s taken me a bit to compile, and I’m going to send it out as is, no embellishments. I had thought I might try to organize by categories and/or to highlight favourites. But there are so many books I really loved this year that even that list of favourites would make this post even longer that its already ridiculous length.
So here, for your perusal, is my 2022 Reading List — just enough tags in each entry to give you a sense of genre, subject, setting, other pertinent elements. If you’d like to know more about a title, just click on the Month link (at the top of each section) to see my brief review. (Many of you will have read this already, but you may want to check back to see if you’ve missed some of the wonderful reader comments.)
Also, True Confession: this is an inflated reading list. If you skim through it, you’ll see that I somehow missed a certain number on the way to December 31st! Whoops!
I’m curious to know which of these titles you’ve read — and I feel confident in suggesting that there are at least ten here that you could happily (and profitably!) spend time with. (First, I know, you need to find that time 😉
Happy Reading!
From January ’22 Reading Post:
1. My Name Is Lucy Barton. Elizabeth Strout. Literary fiction. American contemporary. Women’s lives. Fictional writer’s memoir.
2. Dark Roads. Chevy Stevens. Thriller. BC Wilderness/small town setting; Missing Women/Highway of Tears.
3. Diary of a Young Naturalist. Dara McAnulty. Creative non-fiction. Eco-criticism. Nature writing. Autism. Coming-of-Age. Ireland.
4. Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead. Olga Tokarczuk. Trans. Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Literary fiction; Mystery; Strong female protagonist. Eco-criticism; Nature Writing. Polish writer. Literature in translation.
5. The Godmothers. Camille Aubray. Historical fiction (framed by a contemporary narrative). Italian-American family. Italian immigrants, US. New York city. Women’s lives. Female friendships. Romance.
6. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Maggie O’Farrell. Literary fiction. Historical narrative revealed through parallel contemporary narrative. Women’s lives; “Difficult” Women consigned to asylums; Set in Edinburgh.
7. The Night Hawks. Elly Griffiths. Mystery. Police procedural. Forensic archaeology. Coastal England (North Norfolk). Female protagonist. Ruth Galloway series.
8. Anything Is Possible. Elizabeth Strout. Literary fiction. Linked short stories. Lucy Barton series. American contemporary. Regional American.
9. La Briscola in cinque. Marco Malvaldi. Murder Mystery/Crime Novel. Read in Italian. “un giallo.”
10. Still Life. Sarah Winman. Bestseller. Literary fiction. Historical fiction. Armchair travel. post-war Florence. ex-pat life. Love, friendship, alternative families. Art, music, food. LGBTQ.
11. Changer l’eau des fleurs, Valérie Perrin. Read in French (but you can read it in English as Fresh Water for Flowers); Literary fiction; Set in France; Loss and mourning; Death of a child; Marriage; Love; Recovery. Highly recommended.
12. I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, Maggie O’Farrell. Memoir; Mortality; Illness/Disability; Parenting; Women’s Lives.
13. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee. Historical fiction; Literary fiction; Generational saga; Korean-American writer; female writer; Korea/Koreans 20th century; Koreans in Japan; Diaspora; Ethnicity; Longing and Belonging; Home/homelessness; Family.
14. This Is What Happened. Mick Herron. Spy Thriller. Set in London.
15. The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak. Literary fiction; historical fiction; Cyprus, 20th-century history; ethnic conflict; love across ethnic divisions; depression/suicide; diaspora; expat-life; British immigrants; adolescent girl; eco-criticism.
16. Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason. Literary fiction; Darkly comic; Comedy of manners; mental illness; marriage; dysfunctional families; sisterhood; parenting; childlessness.
17. Something to Hide, Elizabeth George. Mystery; Police Procedural; Inspector Lynley series;
18. The Glass Room, Ann Cleeves. Mystery; Police Procedural; Vera Stanhope series; Set in Northumberland. Female detective. Meta-mystery.
19. The Hero’s Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna. Tim Parks. Travel memoir; Hiking/Walking Memoir; Creative Non-Fiction; History of Garibaldi; History of Italy; Walking Across Italy.
20. White on White, Ayşegül Savaş. Literary fiction; Women’s lives; Fiction about art.
21. Cloud Cuckoo Land. Anthony Doerr; Literary Fiction; Speculative Fiction; Historical Fiction; Environmental Fiction; Coming-of-Age.
22. Klara and the Sun. Kazuo Ishiguro. Literary Fiction; Speculative Fiction; Artificial Intelligence; Coming-of-Age.
23. The Sicilian Wife. Caterina Edwards. Literary fiction. Mystery/thriller. Police Procedural, Female Detective, Armchair Travel, Set in Sicily.
24. The Maid. Nina Prose. Mystery. Endearing female protagonist, perhaps “on the spectrum.”
25. Pista Nera. Antonio Manzini. Read in Italian (available in English as Black Run). Set in Valle d’Aosta. Armchair Travel, Murder Mystery, Police Procedural, Rocco Schiavone series.
26. The House on the Cerulean Sea, T. J. Klune. Contemporary Fantasy Fiction; LGBTQ; Bestseller.
27. In Five Years. Rebecca Searle. Romance Novel; Time Travel; Domestic Fiction; Fantasy Romance; Best-seller.
28. The Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead. Literary fiction; historical (20th-century) fiction; female protagonists; women’s lives; female aviator; WWII
29. The Invention of Sicily: A Mediterranean History. Jamie Mackay. Non-Fiction. History. Sicily. Italy.
30. The Death Chamber. Lesley Thomson. Mystery novel; Female detective; Detective’s Daughter mystery series; set in England.
31. The Paris Apartment. Lucy Foley. Mystery/Thriller; Armchair Travel (set in Paris); Female protagonist.
32. A Sicilian Odyssey. Francine Prose. Travel Memoir; Sicily; National Geographic Travel Book.
33. Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes. Claire Wilcox. Memoir; Life-Writing; Women’s Lives; Creative/Literary Non-fiction; Fashion / Style; Textiles; History of Clothing and Textiles; Museum Curation. England.
34. La Costola di Adamo. Antonio Mazzini. Mystery. Police Procedural. Rocco Schiavone series. Set in Valle d’Aosta, Italy. Italian. English translation available, titled Adam’s Rib.
35. Real Estate. Deborah Levy. Autobiography. Literary autobiography. Creative non-fiction. Women’s lives. Woman at 60. Feminist writer. British writer. Set in London, Paris, Greece.
36. Give Unto Others. Donna Leon. Mystery/Police Procedural. Commissario Brunetti series. Set in Venice.
37. Mindful of Murder. Susan Juby. Mystery. Comedic. Island Life, Pacific Northwest. New Age Spirituality.
38. Cerco Te. Mauro Mogliani. Mystery/Police Procedural. Italian.
39. The Deeper the Water, the Uglier the Fish. Katya Apekina. Literary fiction. Coming-of-age. Artist-muse. Parent-child. Mental illness. American contemporary fiction.
40. Memories of the Future. Siri Hustvedt. Literary fiction; Autobiographical fiction; Women’s Lives; Female Narrators/Protagonists Over 60; American contemporary; Feminist writer; Feminist fiction; NYC setting.
41. Seven Steeples. Sara Baume. Literary fiction; couple relationship; hermetic relationship; retreat from social world; eco-fiction; Irish coastal setting; Irish writer.
42. A Dance of Cranes. Steve Burrows. Mystery/Police Procedural; Birder Murder series; Birding; eco-fiction; Whooping Cranes; Norfolk, England; Wood Buffalo Park (Canada).
43. George’s Marvellous Medicine. Roald Dahl. Children’s literature; ages 6 to 11, roughly; “chapter book”; humour; magic.
44. What’s the Matter with Mary Jane. Candas Dorsey. Mystery novel; Epitome Apartments mystery series; Amateur detective; Female detective; Bisexual, cis-gendered female detective; LGBTQ; literary mystery; post-modern mystery; Humorous mystery.
45. The Library of Lost and Found. Phaedra Patrick. Genre fiction; domestic fiction; library/bookstore setting.
46. The Whisper Network. Chandler Baker. Suspense; Psychological; Feminist; Corporate Environment; Gender in Workplace; Women’s Lives; NYT Bestseller.
47. Harbour Street. Ann Cleeves. Mystery; police procedural; Vera Stanhope series; female protagonist; set in Newcastle/Northumberland.
48. The Dry. Jane Harper. Mystery; Police procedural; Aaron Falk series; Australian writer; Australian setting; Rural; Small-town. Setting as character.
Not sure what happened here, but there is No #49!
50. Free Love, Tessa Hadley. Literary fiction; feminist; families; sexuality; women mid-life; London, England ’60s setting; women’s lives.
51. Force of Nature, Jane Harper. Mystery/Thriller; Police procedural; Aaron Falk series; Australian wilderness setting.
52. The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move. Sonia Shah. NYC: Bloomsbury, 2020. Journalism; Creative Non-Fiction; Eco-Science; Cultural History of Science; Zoology/Botany Classifcation Systems; Migration; Geography; Climate Change.
53. The Messy Lives of Book People. Phaedra Patrick. Genre fiction; Biblio-fiction; Romance; Mystery.
54. The Promise. Damon Galgut. Literary fiction; Booker prize-winner; South African society/politics during and after apartheid system.
55. The Heights. Louise Candlish. Mystery; Domestic thriller; Set in London; Marriage; Parenting; Family Life; Adolescence.
56. Belle Merveille. James Noël. Literary fiction; en français (not yet translated into English, malheuresement); Haiti; earthquake; disaster; celebration of Haitian culture.
57. Assassinio in libreria. Lello Gurrado. Italian (no English translation available); un giallo / mystery novel; police procedural (with a twist!); biblio-lit; set in Milan; detective novel featuring detective-novel writers.
58. The Postscript Murders. Elly Griffiths. Mystery/Thriller; Police procedural; Biblio-lit; Harbinder Kaur series; Road trip; female detective.
59. The Housekeeper and the Professor, Yoko Ogawa. Translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder. NYC: Picador, 2009. Print (borrowed from VPL). Literary fiction; Memory Loss; Friendship/Love; Mathematics; Baseball.
60. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Coming-of-Age / Bildungsroman; Young Adult; Romance; Friendship, LGBTQ; Parent-Teen Relationships.
61. Bad Actors, Mick Herron. Political spy thriller; Failed secret agents; Comedy; Political satire; Jackson Lamb series; Slough House series; Set in London.
62. Perfect Remains, Helen Fields. Mystery/thriller; Police Procedural; DI Luc Callanach series; Edinburgh setting; Serial killer; Graphic/Gruesome.
63. Thin Paths: Journeys In and Around an Italian Mountain Village. Julia Blackburn. Memoir; Travel; Italy; Nature Writing; WWII / Italian history.
64. The Locked Room, Elly Griffiths. Mystery; Female protagonist; Ruth Galloway series; police procedural + amateur detective; forensic archaeology; set in Norfolk, England (during Covid-19.
65. Il Barone Rampante, Italo Calvino. Read in Italian, but available in English as The Baron in the Trees (1959, translation by Archibald Colquhoun; 2019 translation by Ann Goldstein). Literary fiction; historical fiction; fairytale or magical realism; conte philosophique; Set in fictional village of Ombrosa (on the Ligurian Riviera), late 18th / early 19th century.
66. The Good Turn, Dervla McTiernan. Mystery / Thriller; Police procedural; Cormac Reilly series; Set in Galway, Ireland.
67. Voroshilovgrad, Serhiy Zhadan. Translated from Ukrainian by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Wheeler. Literature in translation; Ukrainian writer; Set in Donbas region, Ukraine; picaresque; post-Soviet Ukraine; road trip.
68. A Change in Circumstance, Susan Hill. Mystery; Police Procedural; Simon Serrailler series; Aga saga; Southern England, cathedral town setting.
69. A Foreboding of Petrels. Steve Burrows. Mystery; Police Procedural; Birder Murder Series; set in Norfolk; birdwatching; eco-fiction.
70. Regardez-nous danser. Leila Slimani. (Read in French, but apparently available in 2023 in translation by Sam Taylor, Watch Us Dance); Volume 2 of Le Pays des Autres; French contemporary literature; Family saga; Moroccan history; French colonialism; Feminist fiction; Women’s lives; Franco-Moroccan writer.
71. A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance. Jane Juska. New York: Villard, 2004. Memoir; Aging; Women’s Lives; Sex Over 60.
72. Take My Hand. Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Literary fiction; Historical (20th century, American civil rights) fiction; Reproductive medicine; Racism in Medicine; Contraception; Black Lives Matter; Women’s Lives; Feminist Black American writer; NYTimes bestseller.
73. The Museum of Desire. Jonathan Kellerman. Mystery/Thriller; Police Procedural; Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis series; forensic psychologist; gay detective; Los Angeles setting.
74. Confidence. Denise Mina. Thriller / Mystery; Road trip; Scottish Noir; Anna & Fin series; Amateur sleuths.
75. In the Dark We Forget. Sandra S.G. Wong. Mystery / Psychological Thriller; Canadian writer; Asian-Canadian writer; Chinese-Canadian writer; Chinese-Canadian protagonist; Canadian history; Race and Racialism; Amnesia.
76. Trois. Valerie Perrin. Read in French, but available now as Three, translated by Hildegarde Serle. Genre fiction / literary fiction; Romance; Coming-of-Age; Friendship; Mystery; LGBTQ; French provincial life; Paris.
77. The It Girl. Ruth Ware. Mystery; Oxford university setting; UK college setting; 20-somethings; friendship; romance; marriage; class system.
78. Non è stagione. Antonio Manzini. Read in Italian (available in English translation as Out of Season). Mystery; Police Procedural; Rocco Schiavone series; set in Valle d’Aosta, Italy.
79. Ariadne Then and Now: The Labyrinth and the End of Times. Carol Matthews. Memoir; labyrinths; self-help; philosophy.
80. The Paper Palace. Miranda Cowley-Heller. Domestic Fiction; Coming-of-Age; Romance; Friendship; Generational Abuse; Cape Cod.
81. The Mermaid of Black Conch. Monique Roffey. Literary fiction; Magic Realism; Fairy Tale; Historical Fiction; Caribbean Writing; Postcolonial Writing; Feminist Writing; Love Story; (Trinidadian-born) British writer.
82. Small Things Like These. Claire Keegan. Literary Fiction; Novella; Irish setting; Christmas; Irish writing.
83. Mercury Pictures Presents. Anthony Marra. Literary fiction; 20th-century historical fiction; American immigration; 2nd World War; mid-century politics in/and Hollywood.
84. Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Emma Fick. Illustrated Travel Memoir; Train Travel; Beijing to Moscow through Mongolia.
85. The Swift and the Harrier. Minette Walters. Historical Fiction (England, Civil War 1642-46); History of Medicine; Feminist history; Romance.
86. Deep House. Thomas King. Mystery; Thumps DreadfulWater series; indigenous / First Nations writer.
87. Les Années, Annie Ernaux. Literary fiction; Autobiographical fiction; French Literature; Women’s Lives; 20th-century; France; Memory (personal and collective); Nobel prize-winning author. I read it in French, but it’s available as The Years, in 2018 translation by Alison Strayer.
88. Permanent Astonishment: Growing Up Cree in the Land of Snow and Sky. Tomson Highway. Memoir; Creative non-fiction; Coming-of-age memoir; LGBTQ/two-spirit writing; indigenous literature; Canadian First Nations writing; residential school; Canadian sub-Arctic.
That’s it, that’s all she read, that’s all she wrote! I mostly just compile these annual book lists to make it easier for me (and you) to retrieve information, and we’ve already had a chance to chat about all the titles listed here. But if you have comments or questions or want to tell us your own Top Three or Five books from your 2022 reading, you know I’m listening. . .
all the best,
f
Thanks, Frances. That’s an impressive list and you are the best reader/reviewer I know. I have read only 12 of the 88 books you mention but, on reading the list, I see several more I intend to read. And many thanks for including mine.
Really, I think publishers should be giving you a grant for the promotion you do of good books! Appreciatively, Carol
Author
High praise from a reviewer as published as you are! Thanks — it’s good to be able to help promote good books, isn’t it?!
Brava, Frances! So many interesting books…. read in three languages! I’ll visit your lists a lot in the future,too,such a wonderful source of inspiration! Although I can’t wait your monthly book posts and utterly enjoy them (as well as the comments),there are always books I wanted to read,then comes something else and I forget……
Last year was a great year for reading. I’ve read twenty books from your list( so far!)
Dottoressa
Author
Thanks, Dottoressa — it’s interesting, this reading across a few languages, isn’t it?
So many books, so many pages for us still to turn! What a luxury, eh?
Impressive list! I’ve read seven of the books on your list. Always interesting to see what you read.
Author
You’ve inspired me to read quite a few titles that I’d have completely missed otherwise — thank you!
I regularly get inspiration from your reading recommendations but have never commented or thanked you — so here is my profound thanks! I have read 33 of the titles on your list, some before you did and some upon your suggestion. I am looking forward to seeing where your reading takes you. Thanks for providing thoughtful reviews to guide our reading journey.
Author
I’m so pleased to read this, Pauline! That’s a big chunk of my list we have in common — any favourites among those?
What an impressive list of books! I am in awe of the number of books that you read last year with everything else that you did. Thank you for your great book reviews and recommendations.
Author
Reading is either my superpower or my not-very-secret vice! 😉 You’re very welcome and I hope you’ve found some good books to read among my suggestions.
Very impressive indeed and I will return for suggestions for my own reading. I have read perhaps a dozen of these books. I see that in mystery novels we are fans of Jane Harper, Anne Cleeves, Donna Leon and Elizabeth George. Have you read any Louise Penny, the series about chief inspector Armand Gamache, most set in and around Montreal and at times Paris? I recently finished A world of Curiosities which I did enjoy. Thanks for compiling this labor of love.
Author
I had vague reasons for not continuing with the Inspector Gamache series after reading the first one when it was first published. But I have decided that I must try again, since so many readers whose opinion I respect love them.
You’re very welcome — it is, indeed, a labour of love! 😉
Thank you! I love having this list as my go-to when I finally get back into proper reading!
Author
You’re very welcome, Genevieve. I’m so pleased to know this.
After reading about them on Sue Burpee’s blog, I just loaded Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy Barton series on my Kindle to read on an upcoming trip. I’m presently reading The Concubine’s Children by Denise Chong. I’ve also decided to add a monthly book review to my blog. The first instalment was published yesterday featuring The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff.
Author
Good to know you’re adding a monthly book post to your blog, Elaine! Your featured choice promises to be a moving one. Oh, and I’m sure you’ll savour the Lucy Barton books.
I remember reading The Concubine’s Children when it was first published (almost 30 years ago!). Ground-breaking, among a few other titles at the time (Wayson Choy’s The Jade Peony; Sky Lee’s Disappearing Moon Café) — and now something of a classic in Canlit.
I don’t come here too often, but am thrilled as Emma Fick is my daughter (Border Crossings). I hope you liked it. I can’t wait to show her your list.
Author
I liked it very much — you must be a proud Momma! And now I’m thrilled as well — Emma Fick’s mother was reading my blog! 😉 (If you want to know more about what I thought of it, you can click on the link above that section of books (December, Part I).
I look forward to this list! Can I suggest you dip into the thoughtful, quiet and thought-provoking Book of Goose by Yiyun Li and the genre bending (is it fiction, is it memoir?) The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken. They are both amazing talents who, IMO, outdid themselves last year! Neither is a particularly “easy” read but both prompt reflection on our own pasts as well as upon the past on the page.
Author
Thank you! I’ve put myself on the library wait list for The Hero of This Book and ordered a copy of Book of Goose from my local bookstore (library waitlist was far too long!).