2022 Reading List

In 2021, I managed to squeak out 23 books. Not my best year by a long shot, but not my worst either! I would love to average a book every two weeks, so maybe 2022 will bring with it a few more titles. Among the books I did read this year, there are some real winners and some real losers; the result of being a part of a book club AND a book subscription where you aren’t personally choosing every single title yourself. But I love the variety being a part of such groups and memberships lends to my reading repertoire, even if I don’t always love every single book. 

If you’re interested in a book subscription to get some unique reads in 2022, I subscribe to Book of the Month. There have been some amazing books to come from BOTM (all hard cover copies, too, which I love lining my shelves with) and also some doozies. Again, it’s to be expected when you’re playing the game of only choosing books from a curated and very limited selection. 

How about we get right into it? My 2021 list of books and my brief but honest review of each. 

1. That sounds fun, Annie F. Downs (LOVED). This book changed how I viewed being a beginner. I listened on audio which reminded me a lot of listening to her likable podcast (also titled That Sounds Fun) and I enjoyed it so much I would (and probably will) absolutely give it a re-listen. 
2. City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert (pretty good). As a former theater performer, I did love all of the behind the scenes storylines that follow the City of Girls cast of characters. It was certainly entertaining, but in general I think a lot of the hype of this book comes from its famed author. 
3. Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund (beautiful). This was my first christian non-fiction book of 2021 and it was a beautiful book about the nature of Christ. Would recommend this one as a part of a daily practice to add to your bible reading or journaling quiet time. 
4. Before she was found, Heather Gudenkauf (loathed). This book was so disturbing, following the lives of a few teens through the damaging effects of cyber bullying. Read it for book club and as I recall, we all had the heebie-jeebies afterwards. 
5. Anxious People, Fredrik Bachman (meh). This was a Book of the Month pick and from an author I have liked before, known for his dry writing style and slightly neurotic-but-lovable characters, but this one was just kind of boring in my opinion. You don’t fully realize what’s going on until the very end of the book, and once you do, it’s easier to look back and see how it was kind of a sweet story, but until then, it’s just confusing with annoyingly quirky characters.
6. The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah (loved). This book was a beautiful and heartbreaking story of one family’s painful experience of living through the Dust Bowl in the mid 1900’s. The heroine is a lovable and admirable mother who always puts her family first, and by the final pages, tears were running down my cheeks. 
7. In Five Years, Rebecca Serle (so dumb). I hated this book and was so surprised by the HYPE of it! So many people said they loved this one and I just didn’t get it. It was unbelievable and I’ve learned about myself that I’m not interested in books that are based on impossible scenarios (like a dream/imagination in this case). 
8. American Marriage, Tayari Jones (unfortunate, but good). This book was another book club book and it opened up the floor to so much good discussion (as a good book should!). The story was tragic and even though the characters weren’t all lovable, that’s what made it feel real and believable. 
9. To Hell with the Hustle, Jefferson Bethke (loved). Another Christian non-fiction, this book came to me at the exact perfect time when I was deciding to close my short-lived shop down. It was a confusing time for me as I sought purpose and meaning in my life, and it truly was so helpful. I would re-read in a heartbeat this and highly recommend it for anyone who needs to slow down and reclaim the life God wants them to have. 
10. Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey (very good). Another audiobook, beach how can you NOT listen to Matthew read his own book?? He is a cowboy theologian and a bumper sticker poet, and it was entertaining from start to finish. Equal parts love story, tragedy, spiritual and carnal. 
11. Send for me, Lauren Fox (so-so). A historical fiction that bounces between the past and the present. I honestly couldn’t remember much about this book when writing my review, so that leads me to think it was a rather unremarkable read.
12. The Light over London (so-so). I normally love a wartime historical fiction, but this one didn’t stand out to me too much. Two in a row that fell flat.
13. The Attachment Effect, Peter Lovenheim (very interesting). This book was recommended by my therapist (yay for learning about ourselves!). It was incredibly enlightening to me. She claims that almost all of our relationship issues come back to our attachment styles which can be VERY boiled down to secure, avoidant or anxious. Reading this book gave me a much clearer idea of what these styles really mean and real life examples of how our attachment styles influence how we interact with those around us. Really recommend this one for self improvement and awareness. 
14. Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid (very good). First of all, I love this author and have read several of her pieces. I liked this book because I kept imagining my mom while reading it (the heroine of the book would have been about my mom’s age when the book was set in the mid-80’s). A quick and captivating read about a party gone awry and a dysfunctional Hollywood family and the real lives that are left in the wake of a broken marriage. Easy read, recommend. 
15. The People We Keep, Allison Larkin (good but sad). This book was a really heavy one. A fictional story based on the transient life of a runaway musician doing her best to keep enough money in her pocket by playing at bars across the country. Trauma, abuse, and a host of other life-on-the-road predicaments fill the narrative of this book and I recall closing the cover on the final page feeling weary and sad, but moved by the book nonetheless. 
16. The Good Sister, Sally Hepworth (good). This one was recommended by MY sister (one of our favorite things to do is share what we’re reading with each other). I liked this book a lot, and kept thinking as I read “it’s not what I thought it was going to be.” This book follows the very complicated relationship of two sisters and the company they keep. 
17. Paper Palace (HATED). I absolutely loathed this book. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and if you’ve got it on your reading list, consider this my official recommendation to SKIP IT. 
18. The giver of stars, Jojo Moyes (good). This book took me a while to get through just due to busy life stuff, and I often find that if a book sits on your nightstand for too long, it loses some of its allure, BUT this story really was beautiful and heartwarming. A historical fiction, which I love, and I loved all the characters. 
19. Comfort and Joy, Kristin Hannah (disappointing). Considering how much I love Kristin Hannah’s writing, I was very disappointed by this one. A holiday story, it was our December book club selection in an effort to choose something festive, and none of us enjoyed it! 
20. Good Company, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (GOOD). This one kept my attention well as it journeyed through the intricacies of relationship after betrayal and all of the lives that are affected. Friendships, family, and friends that are like family fill these pages. Again, this book had a theater element which I found entertaining based on my past in performance, so I enjoyed it and would recommend.
21. The People we Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry (GOOD). I like this author. Anybody who can artfully and comedically use run on sentences in a way that makes you laugh out loud and brings the characters to life is a good author in my book. The story itself walks through a decade long friendship between Alex and Poppy and their many travels together. Fun twist is that Poppy is a blogger, too, which made this read especially entertaining and relatable! Recommend for a fun, light vacation read. 
22. The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp (beautiful). This is a daily devotional for the season of advent that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to experience Jesus’ coming in a new way at Christmas. Ann’s writing is full of beautiful imagery and reads almost poetically. I love adding it to my quiet time during the month of December and make it an annual tradition to do so. 
23. The Holy Bible (highly recommend). OK so as of this post’s publishing, I technically have 7 days left, but this is (I think) the second time I have committed to reading the Bible cover to cover in year, and while I don’t know that I will repeat this plan in 2022, I do highly recommend it. As you read the entire bible, you see how God’s fingerprint is over all of humanity and why the significance of Jesus’ birth, life and death is so powerful. Taking in the scripture in little sound bites can be confusing, so really reading it cover to cover provides so much more depth and clarity to help you in your walk with Christ.
    

I hope I’ve inspired you to add a few more books to your TBR pile in 2022! Let me know what you will (or won’t!) be reading from my list above.

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