It is finally time to talk about my favorite books of the year. 2022 was kind of a chaotic year, and my reading didn’t exactly go as planned. I went through some reading slumps. And I ended up not reading as much as I usually do. I also read kind of a lot of books I didn’t like. (Check out my most disappointing reads of 2022 and the worst books I read this year, if you missed them.) That said, I still read some really, really amazing books.

Despite this being a big nonfiction year for me, this list ended up being mostly fiction. Maybe because I feel like I’ve already talked a lot about my favorite nonfiction books of the year. So today, I get to talk about some of the books I haven’t shared in my favorites yet this year. I’m very excited about the books on the list. They’re the books I read in 2022 that I look back on and still really love.

These books are not all new releases – I already posted my favorite 2022 releases – but the books I read in 2022. I honestly didn’t do as good as I hoped at reading new releases. So the vast majority of this list are backlist books. But I truly loved them all. So enough intro, let’s talk about the books!

Counting down to my favorite book of 2022, here are the top ten books I read this year:

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

A follower on instagram recommended this book, and didn’t even know I was planning a reading experiment post about Japanese literature. And I am so glad they did, because (obviously) I loved this book. It’s really impactful and heartwarming, and such a great story. At the beginning of 2022, I set an unofficial goal to read more books with disabled characters or about disability. While I didn’t set a quantitative goal (i. e. to read six books or something), I feel like I did a good job. I wasn’t aware this book featured a disabled character when I picked it up, but I ended up loving her and her story so, so much.

I still think back on this book and feel all warm and cozy inside. I’ve delved into a lot of Japanese literature in the past couple years, but this book definitely stands out. This book looks back on a period of Japanese history where disabled or sick people were treated badly, and the lasting impacts of that. It’s not only just a wonderful story, it felt like an important one. If you haven’t read (or even heard of) this book, definitely check it out. It’s absolutely worth reading.

Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc

Speaking of books on disability, this is the only nonfiction book to have made my overall favorites list. And I read a lot of really amazing nonfiction this year. But this one has stuck with me more than the rest. When I thought about why, I realized that it was a mix of the other nonfiction genres I’ve read. Most of them fit either into memoir or book that taught me something. This book is both. And, as a big reader (and someone who grew up on fairy tales and Disney movies), it really put things into perspective for me about how disability is portrayed AND how that impacts our society.

I didn’t go into this book thinking it would shock me or change my mind. I know disabled people are really not portrayed well in any sort of media. But Amanda Leduc makes some points in this book that really made me think differently about just how horribly disability has been portrayed, both historically (the Brothers Grimm were not nice about it) and now. I mean, this book is only a couple years old, but when it was published, Disney still didn’t have a lead who wore glasses (shout out to Encanto).

Until I read this book, it had never occurred to me that Scar is only known by his facial disfigurement – the equivalent of only referring to a kid in a wheelchair as Wheels. I mean, no wonder he hates his family! But he’s portrayed as the villain. This book made me think about the portrayal of disabilities in books and movies in a new way. Disfigured made it very clear that we learn prejudices (and not just about disability) at a young age from movies and fairy tales, and I think we should work to undo that.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

No surprise that the Taylor Jenkins Reid book ended up on my favorites list. Just like pretty much every other book of hers that I’ve read. I was a little bit apprehensive going into this book because it’s about tennis. And I am very much not a sports person. I’m sure you’re all shocked that the little girl who refused to put down her book did not grow up watching sports on TV every weekend. I mean, I don’t dislike them – I’ll watch the Olympics and I watched the World Cup – but it’s definitely not a regular thing for me.

But Taylor Jenkins Reid really manages to take topics I don’t like and turn them into books I love. This book is no exception. I still think The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is my favorite. But I still really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read. And I like that, while there was some tragedy in this book, it felt so much happier overall than her other books. I wasn’t sobbing at my desk while listening to the audiobook this time, so that’s a win!

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

And we have yet another author who regularly makes my favorites list every year. I’m a little obsessed with the Wayward Children series, and since Seanan McGuire comes out with a new installment every year, it’s almost a given that you’ll find them on this list. I liked that this book in particular branched out a bit from the previous six books. And I liked that we were introduced to a lot of new characters that I loved. It was such a fun book. I don’t have much else to say about this one. I don’t think it was my favorite in the series so far, but it’s definitely up there!

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

I’m pretty sure I bought a copy of this book when it came out. In 2019. And then I forgot and bout another one when I read it earlier this year, because I am a chaotic bookworm. I think what kept me from picking this up was that I didn’t love Beartown. I know everyone loves that book, but it just didn’t do it for me. Probably because my brain shuts off at any mention of hockey and I just couldn’t get past it. (This has nothing to do with my disinterest in sports, and more to do with the fact that I know someone who would not shut up about hockey and my brain now immediately dissociates because it was just too much.)

Anyway, I did want to give this book a shot because I loved A Man Called Ove (a lot) and really wanted more of that magic. While this book is completely different, it’s still brilliant. I loved it so much. It was actually the first book I finished in 2022, and it felt like a great start to the year. And before you ask, I tried to watch the Netflix show, but couldn’t get through it. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but they changed a lot of things I loved about the book and I was disappointed. Maybe if I watch it now that it’s been a year since I read the book I’ll enjoy it more. If you read the book and watched the show, what did you think?

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

If you’ve been following this blog for a while (first of all, thank you!), you already know that I am a Shakespeare fiend. A while ago, I spent a couple years reading all of Shakespeare’s plays (and ranked them). If you scroll down on my homepage, there’s even a little section of all my Shakespeare-related posts. This book, however, is not about Shakespeare. It’s about his family. And I loved the idea that this book makes one of the most famous figures of all time into a peripheral character.

This was not my first Maggie O’Farrell book, but it was the first time I’d read one of her novels. (The first book Ir read by her was I Am, I Am, I Am, which I didn’t love. Unpopular opinion, I know.) After reading Hamnet, I definitely want to read more of her work. I didn’t get to it this year, but she released a new book, The Marriage Portrait, that I’m very interested in. It’s becoming a habit to read books the year after they’re released because I can’t catch up, and I really need to do something about that.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

There are a few new releases to make my overall favorites for the year, though, and this is one of them. It’s also one of two new debuts to make my top five. And wow, was this book incredible! I loved it so, so much. It’s about a plague, which isn’t the happiest of books to read during a pandemic. But it’s very much speculative sci-fi, so it at least felt a lot different than reality. This book really stuck with me, though. It felt new and unique, which is saying something since I also read Sea of Tranquility this year, which has a very similar premise.

But the thing I remember most about this book is that it is one of only books to make me cry this year. And it was over a pig (yes, a literal pig). How High We Go in the Dark has a premise that is similar to a lot of books: Station Eleven, Cloud Atlas… but Sequoia Nagamatsu does something with this book that just felt so different. And it was amazing. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. It’s gotten some mixed reviews, so part of me was prepared to not like it. But once I’d read the premise, I knew I had to read it. It’s basically about a woman who was injured by a superhero while he is fighting a villain. It results in her being disabled… and angry. Which is basically her villain origin story. As someone with a disability, I can absolutely identify with being angry. And if it was the result of some asshat being negligent, you better believe I’d be out for revenge. Maybe not as efficiently as the main character in this book. But I can’t imagine just getting over it and moving on with my life.

I loved this book. It was so fun! And I loved that it’s a sci-fi novel that centers heavily around disability, but is also about supervillains. The second I turned the last page, I wanted to read it again. There isn’t a sequel (yet), but it’s set up for one so well that I really hope we get one someday. I feel like so many of the books I give five stars to are serious or deep or sad, and to read one that was so good and also so very fun was really refreshing.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Yet another book that was released last year and I didn’t get around to reading. I’m pretty sure I preordered a copy, which then sat on my shelves for a year. I love Andy Weir, but I was a little bit nervous going into this one. The Martian is on of my favorite books of all time, but I didn’t love Artemis quite as much. I didn’t know which way Project Hail Mary would go, but it definitely reminded me more of The Martian and I loved it. So much.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, because it’s so fun to discover them along the way, but this book made me emotional. I might have even teared up a little, which I did not expect with this book. Not as much as with the pig in How High We Go in the Dark, but this book definitely got me. The Martian feels pretty nostalgic for me, but this one is right up there. That nostalgia is trying to convince me not to say this, but I think I might have even loved this one more. Obviously, both are incredible, and Andy Weir has absolutely cemented his status as one of my favorite authors.

But the top spot this year goes to…

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I will fully admit, this book was one-hundred percent a cover buy. I just can’t resist octopuses. And while I do agree that we should judge books by their covers, sometimes letting the cover sell you on a book isn’t a bad thing. And I am so, so glad this one succeeded. Not only does this book feature an octopus, it is a sarcastic and cranky old octopus named Marcellus. And I love him. If I did a post about my favorite characters of the year, Marcellus would win.

This book reminded me a lot of A Man Called Ove, except the old man who is annoyed by everyone else is an octopus. We also have some other really great, human characters. This story has a lot of depth and it’s just really heartwarming and wonderful. I think it might have ended up on this list anyway, but Marcellus is the reason this is in the top spot. I can’t say enough good things about this one. I’m happy that my favorite book of the year was one I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I did. This is Shelby Van Pelt’s debut, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what she does next!

And that’s it for my favorite books of 2022! I hope you enjoyed this post! What were your favorite books of the year? Have you read any of the books on my list?

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