2022 was another great year of reading. I’ve read and listened to 77 books (plus an infinite number of children’s books)! Thanks to the months in a newborn haze and not having as many moments to sit down with a book, I turned more and more to audiobooks, which truly can enhance or detract from a story. Fortunately, most narrators enhanced the story.

I read a lot more “fluffy” books this year than usual, in part because that was the entertaining, easy-to-digest content I wanted during the later part of my pregnancy and haze of post-partum fatigue.

You can always follow my real-time reading journey, including my book ratings, reviews and what I want to read, on Goodreads. I suspect two of my in-progress books might make it on my 2023 Top Reads list! Reading: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Listening: Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously.

Here are some of my favorite reads/listens from the past year:

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

If you read no other non-fiction, read this. It is magnificent, honest, inspiring, heartbreaking and uplifting. It is so well written and researched. The author lived through some true horrors and hardship before a diagnosis of complex-PTSD. She did a good job of explaining what it is, how it differs from PTSD and explored many different therapy and treatment options, explaining what each one involved and if it did/didn’t work for her and why, and all without being derogatory toward the methods she didn’t find as effective. She came across as realistic, down-to-earth and very human. Her healing journey is just that–a journey. There is no finish line, which is so important to recognize in these situations. I have a lot of respect for her realizing that, and knowing dark days will be ahead, but so will the light ones, and that she has the drive to continually work to fight for herself.

This is a worthwhile read for anyone, whether you’ve had trauma in the past or not.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

This was a worthy sequel to The Henna Artist, though I liked the Henna Artist a bit better. I liked the 12-year leap into the future and seeing Malik grown up and develop into his own man with his own values. Lakshmi was a terrific character, of course, and the author did a nice job bringing some beloved (and not so beloved) characters back. It’s also fascinating to learn more about Indian culture and customs. I look forward to the third book in this trilogy.

The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah

I really enjoyed both characters in this, their journeys, their fortitude and the beautiful nature descriptions and clear love and respect for the outdoors. This book had me crying very early on, and several times throughout. A powerful story about the journey of a mother and daughter.

Me by Elton John

The Rocketman movie soundtrack plays on the regular in our house, especially during the summer months when we’re working and playing outside. This is Elton John’s autobiography and really well done and honest. It was interesting to hear about his life and career thus far from his perspective. This was one of my audiobooks this year and his narration enhanced an already compelling story.

Side note: I got to see Elton John perform in Las Vegas years ago and he is such a talent and entertainer.

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

This is the second of Frankel’s books I’ve read (in addition to This Is How It Always Is). Although this wasn’t as good, it was still very well done. I listened to the audio version, which I think really enhanced the story since it alternates perspectives among three very different triplet teenage girls. The storyline about the chemical plant coming back into town after poisoning the water years prior, resulting in a generation of people born with birth defects, was interesting, but I really enjoyed the character development of the girls. They each had very strong voices, opinions and values, and the two that society stereotypically wouldn’t think as much of because of their developmental disabilities shattered any stereotypes. Frankel did a really good job of writing that different isn’t bad or less; it’s just different and different is still incredibly valuable. I look forward to reading more of her work.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner

This isn’t Weiner’s best work, but she’s one of those authors that even her not-as-great work is still terrific. Weiner writes compelling characters with real strengths, real flaws and complex, real, wonderful, awful relationships. I especially liked her focus on adult female friendship. It’s so hard to make new friends as adults and she captured the insecurities around creating new relationships and the beauty of doing so.

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin

Giffin, like Weiner, is one of my favorite authors. I just can’t help but gravitate toward and enjoy her books. The story is loosely based off of JFK and Carolyn Bessette’s relationship, which made me love it a little bit more. The story tackles love and trust among a couple from two very different backgrounds. I didn’t write a review of this right after reading it, so the details of why I loved it escape me, but it was a very engaging, lovely, entertaining story that I didn’t want to end.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is a long-time favorite author. His writing is hilarious and informative. I started reading his travel non-fiction (“In a Sunburned Country” and “A Walk in the Woods” are among my favorites.) Last year, Bryson’s “The Body” made my top reads list, and this year “At Home” is on the list. He goes through each room of the house and dives into related history. For example, he talks about the history of bathing, plumbing and more in the “bathroom” chapter and talks about the history of oil production, energy, etc., in the HVAC closet chapter. It’s a very dense book and one I could definitely listen to again, learn from and by entertained by.

The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn

I watched the first season of Bridgerton on Netflix after one of my osteotomies and enjoyed the second season over maternity leave. Listening to the books the series is based on has been a delight; Rosalyn Landor does a phenomenal narrating job. I’ve so far made it through the first four books and plan to listen to the remainder in 2023. Romantic fiction is generally not my style, but this may be an exception. The characters are witty, funny, engaging and the stories are a good balance of sappy and fun with enough conflict thrown in to not make me want to gag over the sweetness of a romance.

Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution. by Brene Brown

Brown’s research focuses on vulnerability, which she encourages people to embrace no matter how hard it is. In this book, she discusses how everyone fails–sometimes spectacularly–and we need to get back up. She provides ways to shift our mindsets and thinking, challenge ourselves and change the stories we tell ourselves. We can’t skip over the ugly parts of life or pretend like they don’t exist; if we do, they will always come back to haunt us. Rather, it’s critical to confront that discomfort and work through it.

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Honorable Mentions:

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
• The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
• Finding Me by Viola Davis
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• The Lobotomist’s Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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