This year brought me so many great reads, and I hope it did for you as well. Here are my top ten books of the year — the books that I found most memorable, most compelling, and most delightful. Hope you enjoy!
Note: not all of these books were necessarily published in 2022, they were just the ones I chose to read in 2022
10. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry is a smart, punchy novel about unapologetically owning who you are. Set in the ‘60s, the novel follows a female scientist who finds herself hosting a television cooking show — she uses bunsen burners to make coffee, discusses cake in terms of chemical bonds, and shocks everyone by becoming a cult hit. This book pulses with empowerment and charm, and I absolutely adored it.
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9. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
New York City, time travel, and a beautiful father-daughter relationship combine to make magic in Emma Straub’s newest novel. Alice, just about to turn forty, figures out she can travel in time back to her teenage self, and goes on a wild ride attempting to redo her life for the better. Like a mashup between About Time and Sliding Doors, this novel begs the question — if you could go back in time, what would you do differently? I loved every second.
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8. The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
This charming murder mystery made all of my Jane Austen dreams come true. The characters from Austen’s six famous novels (Elizabeth and Darcy, Emma and Knightley, etc.) happen to be gathered for a house party when, in the middle of the night, the dishonorable Mr. Wickham is murdered. Reading felt like playing a game of Regency Clue, trying to figure out whodunnit in this pitch-perfect recreation of Austen’s literary landscape.
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7. Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
Mary Laura Philpott has the best advice for every situation life has to offer, from Should I wear the sequin skirt to a work convention? (Yes) to Will I ever stop worrying about my loved ones? (No, but accepting the inevitable helps). A memoir-in-essays, Bomb Shelter is filled with insight about motherhood, womanhood, and the tricky business of being a human. Philpott’s writing is warm and relatable, and I bookmarked about a million pages so that I could easily return to my favorite passages later.
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6. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout’s writing is always perfection, and Oh William! is no exception. The novel tells the story of a writer, Lucy Barton, who embarks on a road trip to Maine with her ex-husband, William. He’s searching for answers about his ancestry, she comes along to offer support, and along the way they rediscover parts of each other long forgotten. Strout writes in a quiet yet revelatory voice and I so enjoy losing myself in her stories.
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5. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
This was one of the first books I finished in 2022, and it started off my reading year with a bang. The Lincoln Highway is about Emmett Watson, a young man freshly released from a juvenile work farm who has big plans to start a new life for himself and his little brother in California. The problem is, two friends from the farm stowed away in the trunk of the car that drove Emmett home, and now they need his help with big plans of their own. A nostalgic panorama of 1950s America, this adventure takes the reader from Nebraska to New York City with excellent company for the entire ride.
4. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Historical fiction at its best, Booth takes a look at the family of John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin. Before their name was marred by the son’s actions, the Booth family was a respected family in early 19th century Baltimore — the father was a famous Shakespearean actor, and he and his wife raised six children. Not only is this novel an epic dive into American history, but it poses important questions about how an assassin is made, and how his or her family is expected to act in the aftermath. This book absolutely captivated me.
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3. The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
Another memoir-in-essays, The Crane Wifeintroduced me to the utterly unique voice of CJ Hauser. With a wry, self-deprecating sense of humor and deep vulnerability, Hauser writes on topics that run the gamut from divorce and Rebecca to online dating and robotics competitions. Every single essay made me feel something; some made me laugh out loud, some made me cry, and some filled me with deep hope. Here’s me hoping Hauser comes out with more to read in 2023.
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2. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
It seemed like everyone read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow this year, and for good reason — this book is incredible. The novel follows two childhood friends, Sam and Sadie, who team up in college to create a video game, Ichigo. When the game ends up becoming a massive success, they suddenly have to navigate fame and all the pitfalls that come with it, and over the years, Sam and Sadie’s partnership endures while their friendship suffers. I loved Zevin’s sweeping, expansive writing, her insight into that sacred process of creation, and the compulsive readability of it all.
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1. A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
Set in Regency England, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting is about a young woman named Kitty Talbot who must quickly find a wealthy husband in order to save her family from destitution. She finagles her way into the London Season to meet all the eligible bachelors, and even when the highly observant (and very attractive) Lord Radcliffe finds out her motives and threatens to expose her to high society, nothing can deter Kitty from her task. Though a traditional enemies-to-lovers story, nothing feels cliché, and the characters have depth and complexity that would make even Austen proud. It’s hard to find a romantic comedy that’s both well-written and charming, inventive and classic, and reading A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting felt like chancing upon a perfect gem. Without question, this was my favorite book of the year.
