My Favorite Books of 2022

I will miss my Goodreads goal by just a few books, so I’ll keep the same goal of 52 books for next year. With the 47 books that I read this year, I have a few stand out favorites. I read more fiction than non-fiction this year, but there’s a good mix on my favorites list.

My Favorite Books of the Year

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

If you only read one book about finance, I would make this the one. It was super easy to follow and helped us make a better plan for saving for retirement. I love following Ramit on social media as well because he shows that he practices the advice he gives. You’ll get the basics on investing, getting rid of debt, and negotiating for more money. The author just released a journal to go along with the book and I’m tempted to purchase it and use it as an additional tool. For the first time, I feel like we are organized with our finances and now how to pay attention where it matters.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

If I could only recommend one book that I read this year, it’s this one. I think about it often. When I first started it, I was worried that it would be depressing because it covers suicide as a topic, but I was wrong about the direction it went. I will gift this book and probably reread this book again and again. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith

This father/daughter story takes place on a cruise to Alaska. You feel like you get to be a fly on the wall for the journey to the Last Frontier State. The pair deals with their past and works to have fun along the way with family friends and a potential love interest. I flew though it and loved it.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

This was my favorite spooky, mysterious book of the year. I picked it up in the fall and followed the twists and turns. There was a crime 20 years ago where multiple girls went missing and the case comes back to the forefront in the present day when another teenage girl goes missing in a similar way. I could barely put this down.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

This mystery follows a couple working with an unconventional therapist. It’s filled with secrets around every corner while the husband and wife work to repair their marriage for their kids. The duo that wrote this book were able to weave together the different perspectives in a fascinating way.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Elizabeth Zott is a woman before her time. She fights her way through a male-dominated science field while ignoring the nay-sayers as much as possible. Follow her story while she fell in love, suffered loss, and found her group in the world. They are turning this into a TV show and I cannot wait because the characters were just lovely. 

The Winners by Fredrick Backman

This is the third installment of the Beartown trilogy, so if you haven’t read the first two books I would start there. Backman is one of my favorite modern writers. He creates characters that feel similar to people that I grew up around. The Scandanavian town is obsessed with hockey and follows a collection of juniors playing in the middle of the forest in the north. I highly recommend the trilogy, but if you want just a sample of Backman’s writing, check out A Man Called Ove (which is about to be a Tom Hanks movie.) 

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

Most people in the US have seen at least one episode of Friends, but the entire time you’re laughing at Chandler’s jokes, you don’t realize that he was battling the most intense addiction. The book exposes all the crazy things he went through and he’s very open and honest about it. There are also funny stories and behind the scenes things of the show and his movies that we’ve never heard before. I read a few celebrity memoirs this year and this was definitely the most interesting.

The Power of Ritual by Casper ter Kuile

With more and more people moving away from organized religion, there’s a need for structure and rituals. This book covers some beautiful ways to incorporate the rituals into your life without following a religion. I wrote so many notes and took so many ideas away from this book and I’m going to work to add some of it into my 2023 goals.

What was your favorite book of 2022?

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Comment and let me know what you read this year and if you agree with any of my favorites.