Books I read in 2022

Happy 2023, friends!

What does one say for a new year without being cliche? Oh well, I'm going to encounter the cliche whether I want to or not, so I might as well get it over with: I can't believe I haven't written a blog post since last year...as we all say on January 1st.

On a more serious note, I just wish you all the best for this year! 

Today I will, as tradition commands, list all of the books I read in 2022. Which is not a lot. Last year I was a little woeful of how few there were...and now I have about half as many. Being a full time college student leaves little time for reading. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I watch more movies or TV shows to relax (which you will see in the post tomorrow!). I don't have any hopes for reading for 2023 but I'm excited to see what happens!

Anyway, time to talk about what you're all here for: 2022 books!

If you want another opinion, you can check out my Goodreads account HERE. I count books I read for classes there, but I don't have any nonfiction on this blog. As you may have noticed.

If you want to compare this list to the previous years, here are the links for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016 (Wow, I've been at this for awhile).

It is a well known fact that I am an intensely emotional person. So, I'm starting a new peek into my mind. If I cried during the book, I will underline it. Now, it's rare that I actually cry during books, but I overcompensate in movies. You'll see that later, but as for now:

New-to-me books:

100 Days of Sunlight - by Abbie Emmons

Everything, Everything - by Nicola Yoon

Six of Crows - by Leigh Bardugo

Spinning Silver - by Naomi Navok

Divergent - by Veronica Roth

Crooked Kingdom - by Leigh Bardugo

The Wednesday Wars - by Gary D. Schmidt

A Thousand Perfect Notes - by C. G. Drews

Insurgent - by Veronica Roth

Beverly, Right Here - by Kate DiCamillo

Beowulf - translated by Seamus Heaney

Great or Nothing - by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, & Jessica Spotswood

Rebel of the Sands - by Alwyn Hamilton

Stargirl - by Jerry Spinelli

Total: 14

Rereads:

Anne of the Island - by L. M. Montgomery

Holes - by Louis Sachar

A Christmas Carol - by Charles Dickens

Total: 3

Grand total: 17

I warned you that it was unimpressive, guys. I don't even have a good excuse (besides college) like last year, when I read the 1200+ pages of The Count of Monte Cristo. I mean, some of these YA are pretty thick? It is also quality over quantity, because I only seriously disliked one of those books!

That doesn't tell you a lot about my opinions on all of this, so the moment you have all been waiting for:

My 10 Favorite New-To-Me Reads of 2022:

I have to say that the top two gave me a run for my money. I have been back and forth on which deserves the top spot. I finally decided on #1 because of the message it carries.

I'm going to have a sentence or two about why I love each but I hope to review these all one day!

1. 100 Days of Sunlight - by Abbie Emmons: I had been wanting to read this since 2019 and it paid off big time. I reread small parts of it in the summer and loved it just as much. I got my sister to read it, and she got her friend to read it, so it's a chain of loving it.

2. Six of Crows - by Leigh Bardugo: THE EPICNESS. I cannot even tell you all. If you've read it, you know. I love all of the characters so much and couldn't read it fast enough. I was not a fan of the Shadow and Bone series so I thought this would be much the same, but it's infinitely more complex and incredible.

3. A Thousand Perfect Notes - by C. G. Drews: My sister realized that as a side effect of being a math major, my favorite books of the year all have numbers in them. How epic is that? This was my treat for completing spring semester and it broke me into a thousand pieces.

4. Beverly, Right Here - by Kate DiCamillo: The Queen herself. I'm so sad to be done with this series because speaks to friendship and pain and healing.

5. The Wednesday Wars - by Gary D. Schmidt: Shout out to Sam, The Nutmeg, and Sarah for making me read this. It brought my Shakespeare love to another level.

6. Great or Nothing - by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, & Jessica Spotswood: Fall semester treat and so peaceful yet broken and painful and full of growth. Sister books, man.

7. Stargirl - by Jerry Spinelli: Cannot wait to now watch the movie because all of Grace VanderWaal's music speaks these themes.

8. Rebel of the Sands - by Alwyn Hamilton: The most brilliant world building ever. I am now so discouraged that my "people who live in the desert with powers" WIP will never be to this level.

9. Spinning Silver - by Naomi Navok: This goes so low on the list only because there were one or two things that bugged me, but other than that this was AMAZING. It got me through spring semester, guys.

10. Crooked Kingdom - by Leigh Bardugo: Such a tight sequel. I was actually STRESSED because of the danger these kids were putting themselves in.

I also read most of The Awakening of Miss Prim, but it's not technically enough for me to count.

Usually I talk about blogging plans in my movies post but because I have the extra space here, why wait? I imagine for the next few years that I still will not be up to my old routine because college is a lot of work. But, I still hope to make a bit of a return with some reviews or more frequent posts! I love all the comments on each post and one of my first items on my agenda for this year is to reply to all of you. In the meanwhile, tell me how you're doing! What was your favorite part of 2022, fictional or otherwise?

There you have it folks. 2022! Have you read any of these books? Were would they rank for you? Which of these would you like me to review in more depth?

What was your favorite book you read in 2022? Any plans for 2023 reading? Speaking of reading, thanks for reading this post! See you all tomorrow for movies! You may have known most of this from Goodreads, but you have no sneak peeks there...

Chloe the MovieCritic