Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Circe -- Madeline Miller
The Devil in the White City -- Eric Larson
Destiny of the Republic -- Candice Millard
A Little Life -- Yanagihara
The Lincoln Highway -- Amor Towles

That's not from 2022!

I think it’s just read in 2022! Let’s not put rules on reading.

Anonymous wrote:Circe -- Madeline Miller
The Devil in the White City -- Eric Larson
Destiny of the Republic -- Candice Millard
A Little Life -- Yanagihara
The Lincoln Highway -- Amor Towles

That's not from 2022!

- All This Could Be Yours (Jami Attenberg)
- A Place For Us (Fatima Farheen Mirza)
- The Guest List (Lucy Foley)
- The Splendid and the Vile (Erik Larson)
- Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland (Patrick Radden Keefe)

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone read Demon Copperhead? Thinking of getting myself a Christmas present.

Curious too

The Marriage Portrait - my top pick. Just beautifully written with a surprise ending. I’m racing to start the author’s previous novel.

The Paper Palace
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Notes on an Execution
The Christie Affair

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone read Demon Copperhead? Thinking of getting myself a Christmas present.

Yes, and it was definitely in my top 5 for the year.

My list, in no particular order (some new, some not):

Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver
An often grim but also darkly funny retelling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia.

The Saddest Words, Michael Gorra
A stunning examination of William Faulkner's life and work in the context of his writing about the Civil War.

The Investigator, John Sandford
John Sandford doing what he does best: hard-nosed investigators on the trail of criminals. I love Letty Davenport as a lead character (which is a good thing because Lucas Davenport is getting too old for this sort of thing).

The Transcendentalists and their World, Robert Gross
A deep dive into the historical context that helped create the Transcendentalists. This is a big, slow book, but so good.

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich
A damaged and complex woman deals with the pandemic, the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, family upheaval, and a haunting. Like all of Erdrich's work, it's hilarious and heartbreaking.

So for me, a top book is one that embraces what it sets out to be. So, a romance can be five starts just as a literary fiction book can be, in my book. So, that being said, these are just a few of my five-star reads. (Yes, I use goodreads, so I rate my reads.)

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove - Rati Mehrotra
An epic fantasy with a fierce female lead who thinks she's a bodyguard when she's actually an heir to something big. Set in an alternative, ancient India.

Firekeeper's Daughter - Angeline Boulley
A young women with ties to a Michigan reservation near the Canadian border works with government agents to figure out who is supplying a dangerous, new drug to her community. Entertaining as all get out and I learned a lot.

Love Among the Living - Simone St. James
All of Simone St. James' ghost stories are amazing, but this one was a favorite. A woman widowed during WW2 works for her husband's aunt as a companion and visiting his family home brings up some new info about him.

The Diamond Eye - Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn's historical fiction books are epic and I couldn't read just one. The Diamond Eye is about a female sharp shooter in WW2 Ukraine. She winds up coming to the US on a diplomatic mission in the second half and befriending Eleanor Roosevelt.

Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
It's just so different and fresh. For historical fiction to make me laugh, cry, and get mad? I loved it.

Honorable Mentions
A Sunlit Weapon - Jacqueline Winspear
The 17th book in the Maisie Dobbs series. I would never suggest someone jump in this late, but the series is so good that it's totally work starting at the beginning.

The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy - Megan Bennan
It's a sweet and sad fantasy with charming characters. Not literature, but it gave me the warm and fuzzies.

Can we get a sentence or couple of words as to why you liked it

Has anyone read Demon Copperhead? Thinking of getting myself a Christmas present.

Circe -- Madeline Miller
The Devil in the White City -- Eric Larson
Destiny of the Republic -- Candice Millard
A Little Life -- Yanagihara
The Lincoln Highway -- Amor Towles

I'm the PP- looked at my list and have to add Solito. Amazing memoir. If you liked American Dirt- this is the real thing. Highly recommend.

Sorry- I can't list only 5- too hard! Did 10 instead:

The Change
The Measure
Black Cake
Mary Jane
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Lessons in Chemistry
The Paper Palace
The Maid
The Kitchen House
The People We Keep

Lessons in Chemistry
Glass Hotel
Project Hail Mary
Hamnet
The Push

What were the top 5 books you read in 2022?

I'll go first:

Essential Labor by Angela Garbes (new)
Candy House by Jennifer Egan (new)
Trust by Hernan Diaz (new)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Master of the Senate by Robert Caro