Last year, I posted about the 52 books I read in 2021 and the year before that, the 45 books I read in 2020. Below, I’ve listed the 35 books I read in 2022, and have featured a snippet from my full reviews. If you want to read more, click on the hyperlinked titles.
It was a slow year for reading, which I can’t really account for other than that I changed jobs twice and spent ages finishing a few of them (I’m still obnoxious about refusing to leave a book unfinished. I’m hoping to grow out of it but it seems like something I might just have to accept).
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1. The Silver Cage (Fiction – Romance)
By Anonymous
Memorable quote: “Love is a cage two people build around themselves.”
Synopsis: The Silver Cage tells the story of a full-time game-streamer and part-time freelance journalist and blogger called Michael, who is tasked with writing a profile for the New York Times on the enigmatic author Caleb Bright. The two have a terrible first encounter, which is followed by an almost-frightening tension in their interactions thereafter. But is that all that’s causing the tension?
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2. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Fiction – Classic Romance/Domestic)
By Anne Brontë
Memorable quote: “His heart was like a sensitive plant, that opens for a moment in the sunshine, but curls up and shrinks into itself at the slightest touch of the finger, or the lightest breath of wind.”
Synopsis: What struck me most about this novel is that despite being published in 1848, it was so fiercely feminist and socially scathing in a way that resonates today. The story of a single painter called Helen Graham, who mysteriously arrives with her young son to the Elizabethan mansion called Wildfell Hall, is told through letters. Some between a somewhat overly-friendly neighbour called Gilbert and his friend, and others between Gilbert and Helen, in which we learn the circumstances under which Helen fled to Wildfell Hall.
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3. The Importance of Being Earnest (Fiction – Play)
By Oscar Wilde
Memorable quote: “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
Synopsis: Oscar Wilde is a genius – and so funny! Bylined “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People”, this play is absurd and cheeky in delightfully excessive measures. A charming tale about deceit, double lives and the farcical lengths a man called Ernest will go to keep the juggling balls suspended.
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4. Jog On (Non-Fiction – Self-help/Memoir)
By Bella Mackie
Memorable quote: “It’s hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time.”
Synopsis: Part memoir, part life guide, Mackie takes us through how starting to run helped her come to grips with her anxiety disorder as well as improve her physical health.
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5. The Corona Crash (Non-Fiction – Politics)
By Grace Blakeley
Memorable quote: “Free market, competitive capitalism is dead. The separation between politics and economics can no longer be sustained.”
Synopsis: This book provides a detailed course of action from an economic perspective out of the pandemic. By dissecting the historical causes and aftermath of the 2008 crash, economic commentator Grace Blakeley doesn’t shy away from the facts.
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6. Heart of Darkness (Fiction – Classic/Historical novella)
By Joseph Conrad
Memorable quote: “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”
Synopsis: Another “classic”, which although dated, is historically prolific. Unsurprising, given that this novella is about a sailor called Marlo and his journey with the Belgian trading company up the Congo River to a man called Kurtz.
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7. The Scarlet Letter (Fiction – Historical Classic)
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Memorable quote: “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.”
Synopsis: When the unmarried Hester Prynne falls pregnant in New England, the legal course of action decided as appropriate punishment is not execution, but to wear a red A (for Adulterer) sewn to her breast – forever. Considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic study of morality, I felt The Scarlet Letter was a bucket-list read. It’s dated in terms of its writing style and at times a bit repetitive, which can be expected given it was published in 1850, but it’s a fascinating insight into the era and has many themes which remain at the heart of society today.
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8. Meaty (Non-Fiction – Essay Collection)
Memorable quote: “I really wish I was the type of person who owned a Prius and didn’t work fifty hours a week and could spend time in the grocery store reading labels to make sure that there isn’t a drop of gelatin or honey in every single thing I put in my cart at Whole Foods.”
Synopsis: As is often the case when reviewing essay collections, it is hard to give too much plot-driven commentary. But given that these are non-fiction lifestyle essays, I can say that they cover the universally relatable topics of dealing with societal expectations, love lessons, embarrassing moments, awkward/traumatic childhoods… as well as more personal but equally engaging topics such as how she goes about living with Crohn’s disease.
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9. Call Me Nathan (Fiction – Graphic Novel)
By Catherine Castro, Quentin Zuttion (Illustrations)
Memorable quote: “All I want is a proper body…”
Synopsis: Another of my Buzz Magazine books for review, I took this as an opportunity to read a graphic novel for the first time. Assigned female at birth, Nathan is not only dealing with the nuances of his own identity and sexuality, but also the unfair responsibility that trans folk are often placed under to make everyone else in his life understand it too.
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10. Hamnet (Fiction – Historical)
By Maggie O’Farrell
Memorable quote: “I am constantly wondering where he is. Where he has gone. It is like a wheel ceaselessly turning at the back of my mind. Whatever I am doing, wherever I am, I am thinking: Where is he, where is he? He can’t have just vanished. He must be somewhere. All I have to do is find him. I look for him everywhere, in every street, in every crowd, in every audience.”
Synopsis: Devastating and beautiful, Maggie O’Farrell’s historical fiction which imagines the life of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, who died aged 11 in 1596 and after whom one of his most renowned plays Hamlet was written, has earned its place on my list of all time favourite reads.
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11. Klara and the Sun (Fiction – Science Fiction)
Memorable quote: “Hope,’ he said. ‘Damn thing never leaves you alone.”
Synopsis: The premise is a futuristic world in which children (whose parents can afford it) have artificially intelligent companions who double up as tutors, guides and friends, which is the case for young, sick Josie and her AF (artificial friend) called Klara. Klara, whose hardware is dependent on sunshine absorption, is somewhat obsessed with the sun and its nutrients, so concocts a plan to help Josie get better. Meanwhile, Josie’s parents are also trying to find a way to improve their daughter’s health.
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12. Hot Milk (Fiction – Literary Fiction/Literary Poetry)
By Deborah Levy
Memorable quote: “What is worse? To be chained all day with a bowl of water, or to be free and die of thirst?”
Synopsis: Sofia and her mother, Rose, have rented a beach house in Spain so that Rose can be treated at a clinic by an enigmatic doctor named Gómez, who may or may not be a quack. This story may seem simple and I think in many ways it is, but what is most noteworthy is the style. From the fierce, repeated jelly fish stings to the blistering heat, this novel is eerie, sensual, confronting and detached all at once, mirroring the protagonist’s internal existence.
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13. Small Pleasures (Fiction – Historical Romance)
By Clare Chambers
Memorable quote: “Never before had she considered that all these experiences that had nearly demolished her had built her into something better.”
Synopsis: The story follows Jean, a journalist for the Kent Echo in 1957 who is surprised one day to receive a letter from someone claiming to have experienced a virgin birth. Intrigued, Jean agrees to meet Gretchen, her “miracle” daughter Margaret and faithful husband Howard, unaware that all their lives are about to change forever.
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14. On Beauty (Fiction – Literary/Domestic Fiction)
By Zadie Smith
Memorable quote: “The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.”
Synopsis: Reflective, funny, poignant and beautifully written, On Beauty is a triumphant example of how the everyday can be used to show the innermost human experiences.
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15. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Fiction – Psychological)
By Elif Shafak
Memorable quote: “Never be ashamed of your tears. Cry and everyone knows you’re alive.”
Synopsis: According to science, the brain has shown activity for up to 10 minutes and 38 seconds after death. Shafak has used this as a springboard to tell the story of Tequila Leila, a prostitute in a brothel in Istanbul whose narrative starts when she is killed and left in a dustbin on the outskirts of the city. With each passing minute and second, Leila’s brain unlocks a memory which in turn tell us the story of her life, from her early childhood trauma to how she met her five friends who become her family.
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16. Takeaway: Stories from a childhood behind the counter (Non-Fiction – Food Memoir)
By Angela Hui
Memorable quote: “A fortune cookie of joy and an education to what goes on behind closed doors in the nation’s favourite takeaway.”
Synopsis: Growing up in Beddau, a village in rural Wales, Hui and her family were not treated like a part of the neighbourhood – and it wasn’t just because of the counter separating them. From local kids attacking their shopfront to racist abuse, the vital element of the community that comes in the form of the “local Chinese” was not enough to fully integrate the Hui family into it.
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17. Manifesto: On Never Giving Up (Non-Fiction – Memoir)
Memorable quote: “Why are we so trapped by the hours, the minutes of every day? Why can’t we live the life that’s always out of reach?”
Synopsis: Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir is a wonderful insight into her life and work, especially for those who write themselves. Taking us through each of her novels, the process involved (which was sometimes throwing whole manuscripts away and starting again) and also the emotional stamina required for a career dedicated to the arts, Evaristo is so inspirational.
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18. The Muse (Fiction – Historical)
By Jessie Burton
Memorable quote: “Why are we so trapped by the hours, the minutes of every day? Why can’t we live the life that’s always out of reach?”
Synopsis: There are two timelines in The Muse: 1967 in London and 1936 in rural Spain. Through the course of the novel, the lives of the characters in each begin to blend into each other, pivoting around a mysterious painting that is brought into the Skelton Gallery in London which is believed to have been painted by a famed Spanish artist who was working on the cusp of the Spanish Civil War, pre-WWII. There’s so much more to it, like the experiences of a young woman from Trinidad grappling with 60’s Britain’s racism, or even the misunderstanding of depression in the 30s and the rising fear of the “reds”, but that only skims the surface and the rich detail is a reward for the reader, so I’ll stop there.
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19. The Phoenix of Florence (Fiction – Historical)
By Philip Kazan
Memorable quote: “Like all things, concealment becomes a habit.”
Synopsis: Set in 16th century Florence and detailing the life and secrets of a child who is unwillingly flung into a career as a mercenary after a family feud turns incredibly violent, this isn’t a genre I typically pick – I’m just a bit squeamish when it comes to fighting. But it is very tastefully done, with limited blood and gore (or rather, limited graphic details) and I really enjoyed the insight into the life of a soldier. Not to mention, the attention to historical detail makes the reading experience very immersive!
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20. Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body (Non-Fiction – Memoir)
By Sara Pascoe
Memorable quote: “So you’re unique and unusual, well done, now pop off and eat your banana.”
Synopsis: A fierce and feminist account of both her societal experience as a woman, as well as her physical experience as a female, she talks us through how animalistic sexuality relates to the modern woman and how both history and physiology has influenced what it means to be a woman today.
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21. Breasts and Eggs (Fiction – Literary)
By Mieko Kawakami
Memorable quote: “If you want to know how poor somebody was growing up, ask them how many windows they had. Don’t ask what was in their fridge or in their closet. The number of windows says it all. It says everything. If they had none, or maybe one or two, that’s all you need to know.”
Synopsis: The novel reads like a transcription of a distracted mind, flitting between the present, retrospective analyses of the events of the past, hopes for the future and observations about the world in which we are all trying to survive. All the while maintaining dry humour, fair but often cutting social commentary, and an interesting perspective of fertility and modern Japanese life for women.
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22. How To Kill Your Family (Fiction – Contemporary)
By Bella Mackie
Memorable quote: “Life is so short and we spend so much of it talking to terrible people about the minutiae of their nothing lives. I cannot do it with any enthusiasm.”
Synopsis: Fast-paced and the right kind of far-fetched, Bella Mackie’s fiction debut was everything you could want from a funny thriller. Did Grace commit the crime she’s imprisoned for? No, not according to her. Did she murder her entire family? Yes, according to her. Was it cold-blooded? She’d say it’s more like justice.
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23. Magpie (Fiction – Psychological Thriller)
Memorable quote: “Although she should have questioned the underlying implication that home and babies were her sphere while earning the money to keep both afloat was his, she secretly liked it.”
Synopsis: When the soon-to-be parents Marisa and Jake take on a lodger, Kate, a tussle for power and affection begins. But what’s going on? Why does Jake seem so close to Kate when she’s just moved in? It all feels a bit off to Marisa, as it should…
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24. One of Them (Memoir)
By Musa Okwonga
Memorable quote: “No one here ever tells us out loud that we Etonians are natural leaders: that is what the architecture is for.”
Synopsis: This is Musa Okwonga’s of autobiographical account of his time at one of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious schools. Naturally, I was intrigued to learn about the experience from of a Black man who grew up in a predominantly working-class town to parents who had fled Uganda under Idi Amin’s dictatorship and settled in the UK.
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25. Liberation Day (Fiction – Short Story)
By George Saunders
Memorable quote: “Seen in retrospect, yes: I have regrets. There was a certain critical period. I see that now.”
Synopsis: Pivoting around the relationship between freedom and oppression, each of the nine dystopian stories takes a turn to paint a world with different concentrations of these notions – often to the extreme.
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26. Quite (Non-Fiction – Memoir)
By Claudia Winkleman
Memorable quote: “Things I am allergic to: People who believe in star signs and think nothing of starting a conversation with: ‘Hi, my name’s Lucy. I’m a Sagittarius’; rodents (apart from miniature hamsters, which are not in fact rodents but small, breathing, brown balls of cotton wool); and people who go to the gym.”
Synopsis: I know broadcaster and journalist Claudia Winkleman vaguely from Strictly Come Dancing, but you don’t need to have heard of her to enjoy her musings on life, boots, friendship, spray tans… and all the other things she considers to be the pillars of a well-lived life. Charming, funny, self-aware and a great audiobook, too.
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27. The Fortune Men (Non-Fiction – Novel)
By Nadifa Mohamed
Memorable quote: “Christians funny people, if your Lord die for all our sins why you have prisons?”
Synopsis: We learn of the true story of a Somali seaman, Mattan, who was executed for murder in Cardiff in 1952. His conviction was quashed 45 years later on 24 February 1998, his case being the first to be referred to the Court of Appeal by the newly formed Criminal Cases Review Commission. Nadifa Mohamed has brought his trial and bits of his life and past to life in this novel.
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28. Bad Form: Sex Issue (Mixed – Literary Periodical)
Synopsis: A magazine filled with reviews, essays, short stories, poems and interviews which focus around either sex positivity or the lack thereof in the weird time in which we live.
BUY THE MAG HERE
29. Malibu Rising (Fiction – Historical)
Memorable quote: “Family is found…whether it be blood or circumstance or choice, what binds us does not matter. All that matters is that we are bound.”
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30. An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life (Fiction – Short Stories)
Memorable quote: “Then, after four, there would be calm, and by five, when the night manager left to do the night’s cash drop, the floor staff would sit on milk crates behind the restaurant, next to the skip, and smoke weed, and though no one offered Sam weed, Sam would sit with them or stand in their vicinity.”
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31. We Move (Fiction – Short Stories)
Memorable quote: “You only had to wait so long when reading a western story about India to come across a mango, a railway or a spiritual awakening”
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32. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Fiction – Short Stories)
Memorable quote: “But maybe you should question the people who taught you this version of God. Because it’s not doing you any favors.”
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33. Queen K (Fiction – Contemporary)
Memorable quote: “The emotional dramas . . . filling the wide open plains of lives devoid of material concerns.”
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34. Chill: The Cold Water Swimming Cure (Non-Fiction – Science/Self Help)
Memorable quote: “Then, after four, there would be calm, and by five, when the night manager left to do the night’s cash drop, the floor staff would sit on milk crates behind the restaurant, next to the skip, and smoke weed, and though no one offered Sam weed, Sam would sit with them or stand in their vicinity.”
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35. And Away (Memoir)
Memorable quote: “Laughter is the only currency I’ve really ever known. Ever since I was a boy.”
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One response to “35 in 2022: My Year in Books”
[…] year, I set my reading goal to 52 books… AKA a book per week. In 2023, I got to 49, I read 35 in 2022, 52 in 2021, 45 in 2020, and probably plenty before that but 2020 (#COVID) was when the obsessive […]
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