Anonymous wrote:Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This book just captured my heart in every way. The characters are so flawed and heartbreaking, which made me love everything about them. One of my top 10 favorite books of all time, not just this year.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Beautiful, beautiful book, the kind that leaves you with a reading hangover. Incorporates a very creative use of magical realism. About the ethnic conflicts in Cyprus (which I was completely ignorant about prior to reading this), the immigrant experience, and the issues of identity one can grapple with when torn between a homeland and a new life.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Just a delight in every way. I read it twice. Original and witty. The character of Six-Thirty is one of my favorite literary characters ever.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
The story of an unlikely, yet rewarding friendship between two terminally ill women on opposite ends of life. Lenni is so endearing. Manages to be an uplifting story about human connection and kindness despite the tragic premise.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
Another creative, original story. The kind of book you smile through.

And honorable mention to The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, not because it didn't deserve to be in the top 5 but because I finished it on 12/31/2021.
A difficult story with a difficult subject matter that will make you feel everything deeply. Expansive and captivating.

I LOVED The Heart's Invisible Furies.

And while I did not love Lessons in Chemistry, I agree with you about Six-Thirty.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This book just captured my heart in every way. The characters are so flawed and heartbreaking, which made me love everything about them. One of my top 10 favorite books of all time, not just this year.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Beautiful, beautiful book, the kind that leaves you with a reading hangover. Incorporates a very creative use of magical realism. About the ethnic conflicts in Cyprus (which I was completely ignorant about prior to reading this), the immigrant experience, and the issues of identity one can grapple with when torn between a homeland and a new life.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Just a delight in every way. I read it twice. Original and witty. The character of Six-Thirty is one of my favorite literary characters ever.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
The story of an unlikely, yet rewarding friendship between two terminally ill women on opposite ends of life. Lenni is so endearing. Manages to be an uplifting story about human connection and kindness despite the tragic premise.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
Another creative, original story. The kind of book you smile through.

And honorable mention to The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, not because it didn't deserve to be in the top 5 but because I finished it on 12/31/2021.
A difficult story with a difficult subject matter that will make you feel everything deeply. Expansive and captivating.

I think it’s technically from 2021 (September I think?), but I read “Cloud Cuckoo Land” in 2022 and it’s by far my favorite book this year. Had high hopes for “Sea of Tranquility” because I loved Station Eleven but it was very disappointing.

It's hard to pick only five! I've read 78 books so far this year.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Mosfegh - oh so bleak and funny about modern life

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radde Keefe - nonfiction about the family whose business basically started the opioid crisis, reads like long form journalism

Companion Piece by Ali Smith - a bit experimental but still packs an emotional punch

The Colony by Audrey Magee - set on a remote island during The Troubles in Ireland - looks at what happens when outsiders begin to infiltrate the island

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope - one of this Victorian author's best stand alone novels

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If that's the case, I just read The Winds of War and found it to be great.

I was thinking of this thread when I woke up this morning. I don't know how I would rank the top 5, but here's an attempt.

1. Zora Heal Hurston. This book introduced me to autobiographies again and was just filled with her zest and humor. In other autobiographies, I read about how she had a way with people and could fit in with locals and academics alike and I really got that feeling from this book. She started my journey along the path of autobiographies so I have to include her. Next year, my plan is to read some of her fiction works, including Their Eyes Were Watching God

2. Miles Davis. I can't give too high a praise for this book. Raw isn't the word, but I just think of the story of his life, the people he worked with (Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, etc its just an amazing list of people that I want to read more about and continue to immerse myself in this world. Aside from that, the stories he told. He was asked by somebody at a freaking Presidential dinner who asked "so, what have you done with your life", and he responded "well, I have re-invented Jazz at least 4 or 5 times. Now what have you done with your life other than be White". That's just unfiltered.

3. Cicely Tyson. I mainly read this book as a tangent off the Miles Davis reading. She was involved with Miles later in his life (although they met earlier) and I knew of her career but not in depth. So I decided to read it and was very pleased. In particular, I found it nice that she seemed humble in her writing about her successes and opportunities, speaking about the opportunities that God provided her and His vision. It was interesting to read about her marriage to Miles and how different her talk of it was from his. I wasn't there though so I'm not here to say who was telling the truth. But I did enjoy this reading.

4. John Thompson. This is a guy from DC, who grew up in my neighborhoods and won on every level of basketball and became one of the greatest coaches in the history of College Basketball. It was really a pleasure to read about just what made him. Its nice to know the development he did for his players and what high regards he held them in, but it is also nice to know the stories behind things like the white cloth and banning the media from practices and some of the things like the UMD / Georgetown basketball beef.

Picking a fifth was a hard one but I'm going to go with Joe Frazier.
5. Joe Frazier. We often hear about The Greatest from the perspective of Ali. Even in the Will Smith movie about Ali, we saw how Ali did Frazier and called him names like Uncle Tom. Frazier's autobiography talks about how that hurt him. More than that, he talks about how he turned to boxing and really built his career with a single goal - beating Ali. And he did that. He lost to Foreman later (twice) but he beat Ali and had two rematches, which have gone down as some of the greatest boxing matches in history. I watched those fights on YouTube this year while preparing on a treadmill for a marathon and those are some good fights. This was a really insightful book though.

I read many more books in 2022 that I didn't include here though and I'm so happy that I have found some books and a genre that I can turn to that I really enjoy reading again.

Hey PP, none of your reads are low brown. Sea of Tranquility is epic. Deanna Raybourn is wonderful (and lives in Williamsburg). Great picks!

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!

Neither are Circe or A Little Life... not sure about the other two.

Anonymous wrote:Black cake
Honor
Stolen Focus
Atlas of the Heart
Finding Me
Homegoing

Also Thursday murder club.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I really enjoyed The Sentence, too.

I guess I am more lowbrow than all the rest of you - also terrible at remembering everything I've read. But here are a few that stuck with me:

The Lies I Tell - Julie Clark. Found this one recommended here - a well written thriller with interesting women at the heart of it.

Killers of a Certain Age - Deanna Raybourn. A bunch of aging female assassins have to band together to try to figure out who's trying to kill them.

The Change: A Novel - Kirsten Miller. I think I got this one off DCUM, too? It's about a group of middle aged women with some spooky powers who solve a bunch of murders in their wealthy suburban community.

Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel. The new book by the author of Station 11. It's long and I expected it'd take me a while to get through it - I loved the tv show Station 11 but found the book a slog. I TORE through this one. I loved it so much.

Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt. I listened to the audiobook and loved it. The human characters were fine but the treat was Marcellus the octopus.

I liked Lessons in Chemistry because I am a human person - but I found the main character just a little too perfect. I guess I'm more of a Harper than a Daphne, but I would have liked to know what this story would be like if she weren't SOOO gorgeous. I know; whatever. It'll be a great movie some day.

I hated project Hail Mary. So freaking unbelievable.

Sadly, couldn’t come up with 5. It’s been a year of reading sub-par books (and I read over 30 of them). Will be following this board closely for 2023.

-Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
-Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But that’s very different from the title. OP should edit it.

So, I'm OP. You could look at my initial post and see that only the first 3 books were published in 2022. Feel free to post whatever books you enjoyed in 2022- no need to put rules on it.

Black cake
Honor
Stolen Focus
Atlas of the Heart
Finding Me
Homegoing

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But that’s very different from the title. OP should edit it.