2022 End of the Year Book Survey

This year was interesting because we spent a lot of it doing major house projects, house hunting, and then moving! After 13 years in our house, it felt like a big undertaking. I found myself drawn to rereading some of my favorites in the midst of the chaos.

Number of Books You Read: 148

Number of Rereads:  LOTS! I reread almost all of Neil Gaiman's books before seeing him speak in May. I also reread a few of my favorites like Lord of the Rings and The Count of Monte Cristo.  

1. Best Books You Read In 2022

Classics — The Count of Monte Cristo (reread)
Historical Fiction — The Rose Code, Lessons in Chemistry, and Love & Saffron

Mystery — The Maid, The Club, The Murder of Mr. Wickham

Literary Fiction — The Shell Seekers and Oh William!

Nonfiction — Essentialism, These Precious Days, The Johnstown Flood, The Good Nurse

Fantasy — Lord of the Rings (reread)

Play — I and You, Poor Clare
Detective Story — The Maisie Dobbs series, Ink Black Heart and A World of Curiosities

Science Fiction — Sea of Tranquility, Annihilation

YA — A Place to Hang the Moon

Romance — Book Lovers

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Upgrade, I loved his previous two books, but this one was just meh. 

3. Most surprising (in a good way) book you read?

A Christmas ornament of my fav 2022 books from my bestie.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, one of the main POV characters is an octopus, and it was wonderful. 

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

The Snow Child (one of my favorites last year)

5. Best series you started in 2022?

The Maisie Dobbs series, I read the first seven books this year and they are excellent! 

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2022?
Rosamund Pilcher, I read both The Shell Seekers and Coming Home and loved them both.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Laundry Love, it's literally about doing your laundry, and I enjoyed every second of it! 

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

A World of Curiosities, it had me on the edge of my seat. 

9. Book You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Essentialism, so many great tips for prioritizing and learning how to say no. 

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2022?

The Cartographers and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 

11. Most memorable character of 2022?

Maisie Dobbs, Six Thirty the dog from Lessons in Chemistry, and Lucy from Oh William! and Lucy by the Sea

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2022? 
The Sea of Tranquility, I loved it so much I read it twice. 

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2022? 
24/6 made me infinitely more aware of our dependence on being available at any moment and our obsession with our phones.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2022 to finally read?

The Shell Seekers 

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2022?

“I believe that calling myself a Christian means living up to Christ’s example of brave, sometimes shocking love.” - Shauna Niequist

“This had often broken my heart, to realize that you never know the last time you pick up a child.” - Lucy by the Sea

"One must always have adventure in life, or the promise of it, at least." - Last Christmas in Paris

“The work is the pleasure but then always the judgment that can strip the pleasure like turpentine.” - Madly, Deeply

"This is a strange lesson of living in a pandemic: life can be tranquil in the face of death." - Sea of Tranquility 

“It’s really something to return home after a month away. It would seem that the world should have changed in someway, as it to say, out of courtesy, we understand your journey was illuminating insignificant, and because it affected you so, the universe, two, is making a slight but noticeable shift.” - Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2022?

A Short Guide to a Happy Life - 64 pages

The Count of Monte Cristo - 1,276 pages 

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?
A World of Curiosities and Sea of Tranquility 

18. Favorite Couple?

Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache and Fern and "Wally" from The Good Sister

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year?

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott (do they count as romantic or non-romantic?) and Alice and her father from This Time Tomorrow

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2022 From an Author You’ve Read Previously?

Troy by Stephen Fry and These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

21. Best Book You Read In 2022 That You Read Based SOLELY On A

Recommendation From Somebody Else?

The Swimmers, it was lovely. Fair Play was packed with tips for balancing the workload in a marriage. 

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2022?

Charlie from Book Lovers

23. Best debut you read?

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, was just lovely and Lessons in Chemistry was excellent. 

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Annihilation

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Shit, Actually (pardon the title), this was a hilarious review of classic movies. 

26. Book That Made You Cry in 2022?

Joan and Imogen's friendship in Love and Saffron 

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Dear Fahrenheit 451, a librarian wrote letters to her favorite and least favorite books and the result was too funny. 

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The Rose Code

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2022?

Comfort Me with Apples, this story is inspired by a well-known story, but you don't know that until the end. It was so strange, but I'm still thinking about it. 

30. Book That Made You the Maddest?

99 Days, every character made such stupid selfish choices. Ugh. 

31. Best Audiobook?
Happy-Go-Lucky, no one can make me laugh out loud like Sedaris reading his own work. 

32. Best Book to Film Adaptation?

Where the Crawdads Sing, the set of that film was just incredible!

Thanks to Perpetual Page Turner for originating this survey! It’s always so much fun to look at everything I read throughout the year and think about what I loved/hated. 

Photos by me.