Top 10 Books of 2022!

Happy New Year! I read so many amazing books this past year, however I didn’t read as many (Only 36 books in total) so this time it was easier to pick my top 10. These are mostly books that came out in 2022 (except The Husbands), that I rated 4.5 or 5 stars and that I constantly think about. Without further ado, here are my Top 10 Books of 2022!

10. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Genre – Non-Fiction

Short Synopsis – A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

My Thoughts – I didn’t know anything about Jennette McCurdy before picking this up and I am so glad I did. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author and I recommend that format. It is a very vulnerable autobiography and her writing is amazing. There are lots of trigger warnings so please look those up before deciding to pick it up if you need to.

9. Flight by Lynn Steger Strong

Genre – Literary Fiction

Short Synopsis – It’s December twenty-second and siblings Henry, Kate, and Martin have converged with their spouses on Henry’s house in upstate New York. This is the first Christmas the siblings are without their mother, the first not at their mother’s Florida house. Over the course of the next three days, old resentments and instabilities arise as the siblings, with a gaggle of children afoot, attempt to perform familiar rituals, while also trying to decide what to do with their mother’s house, their sole inheritance. As tensions rise, the whole group is forced to come together unexpectedly when a local mother and daughter need help.

My Thoughts – I just finished this book a couple of days ago and it snuck into my top 10! This is a wonderful work of literary fiction and the kind of literary fiction that I like because it is accessible and has a plot. The best way to describe why this book is 5 stars for me is that I felt like I was with these people during those days leading up to Christmas. These characters are all flawed and complex and I enjoyed spending time with them. 

8. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Genre – Romantic Comedy

Short Synopsis – Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same.

The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it’s the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.

My Thoughts – This is my kind of romance book! I felt like the characters actually fell in love and I loved the small town vibes. It is a feel good novel with depth and with some great character development. It was all I needed at the time I read it. 

7. Now its Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Short Synopsis – An exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever.

My Thoughts –  I don’t even know how to describe why I liked this book so much. It’s about about friendship but so much more. The writing is phenomenal and it’s just a weird little book that packs a punch. I am looking forward to reading more of Kevin Wilson’s work. 

6. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Short Synopsis – In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime

My Thoughts – Yes I had to include TJR in this list. This book made me feel like I was at a tennis match multiple times and I loved all the tennis world drama. I loved Carrie so much as a main character. She is unapologetically herself and doesn’t care what others think of her. She is one of those celebrities that people love to hate and because they are so ambitious they are not likeable. I will say I am one of those people that sometimes judge those celebrities. Understanding why Carrie is how she is and her character development throughout this book made me love her and even think about how society treats these women without even knowing them. Check out my full review here. 

5. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Short Synopsis – On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

My Thoughts – This book tools us back to the 90s! I read this with my book club and it was a great book club pick! I really enjoy Emma Strab’s writing. You can tell this book was very personal to her (it was inspired by her dad) and that made it very special. I don’t read a lot of time travel books but I really liked how this one was written. 

4. The Husbands by Chandler Baker

Genre – Thriller/Mystery

Short Synopsis – This is a novel that asks: to what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband? Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too… but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?

When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women–a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author–with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread.

But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared–and what it may take to get there.

My Thoughts – Another great book club pick! So much to discuss about this one. It is a weird book (it gets wild!) about very real women’s issues. It is fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. Loved it!

3. The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Genre – Science Fiction

Short Synopsis – Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise? As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

My Thoughts – I loved the premise of this book. I kept talking about it to everyone when I was reading it and had some great conversations with people about it. This would make a great book club pick. I think this is a book in a very specific genre. It has some elements of science fiction but it was much more than that.

2. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Short Synopsis – Two friends–often in love, but never lovers–come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

My Thoughts – Another book that I can’t explain why I loved it so much. It’s a book about video games but also not. It is a book about friendship and our need to connect. The story spans over 30 years and I love when books take me through long periods of time. It helps us connect more with the characters and they usually have a solid plot. These characters will stay with me for a while. I’m considering rereading it again next year.

1. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 

Genre – Historical Fiction (kind of)

Short Synopsis – Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

My Thoughts – This book has some of my favorite book characters ever, Elizabeth Zott and her dog six-thirty. It is one of those books that has great character development but also has a plot. I really enjoyed the writing and I didn’t think I could love a dog in a book as much as I loved six-thirty.

I didn’t read a lot of books in 2022 (it was a big year for other things) but I read some really good books. This is an example of quality vs quantity. Are you surprised by the number 1 pick? Let me know in the comments what your favorite book you read this year!