With no further ado, here is my reading list from 2022 (marked F for fiction; NF for nonfiction):
1. Salvation on Sand Mountain by Dennis Covington (NF)
2. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan (F)
3. Serena by Ron Rash (F)
4. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (NF)
5. Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes De Mez. (NF)
6. Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall (F)
7. Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey (NF)
8. Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (F) (Cork O'Connor Series)
9. Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger (F) (Cork O'Connor Series)
10. The Maid by Nita Prose (F)
11. The Godfather by Mario Puzo (F)
12. Furious Hours by Casey Cep (NF)
13. Since She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (F)
14. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (F)
15. Unveiling Grace by Lynn Wilder (NF)
16. Eyes to See by Tim Muelhoff (NF)
17. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (F) (Inspector Gamache Series)
18. The Judge's List by John Grisham (F)
19. Sparring Partners by John Grisham (F)
20. Beautiful People Don't Just Happen by Scott Sauls (NF)
21. I Guess I Didn't Learn That Yet by Shauna Niequist (NF)
22. Open Season by C. J. Box (F) (Joe Pickett Series)
23. Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (NF)
24. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (F) (Inspector Gamache Series)
25. Savage Run by C. J. Box (F) (Joe Pickett Series)
26. This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff (NF)
27. The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond (F)
28. Persuasion by Jane Austen (F)
29. Winter Kill by C. J. Box (F) (Joe Pickett Series)
30. The Coddling of the American Mind (NF)
31. We are the Brennans (F) by Stacy Lange
32. These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (NF)
33. Vacuuming in the Nude: and Other Ways to Get Attention by Peggy Rowe (NF) (Audiobook)
34. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (F) (Inspector Gamache Series)
It was a good reading year. I know this is shorter than some of your lists and longer than those of others. My TBR is as lengthy as ever and I am often adding to it. With a day job and other things going on, I am doing OK keeping up with one of my favorite hobbies. I have no doubt I will die while still having a long TBR list.
I am not going to review or even summarize any of the titles but will tell you my favorite non-fiction were Jesus and John Wayne; The Coddling of the American Mind; and Where the Light Fell. Also, I finally read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which I believe is categorized as a "non-fiction novel" because Capote chronicled a true event while taking some liberties with conversations among the characters.
I also loved Vacuuming in the Nude; and Other Ways to Get Attention by Peggy Rowe, mother of Mike Rowe, host of the podcast "The Way I Heard It" (and a book of the same name) and the television shows "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It." This is the first book I have listened to in many years and did so because Mike posted the chapters two at a time on his podcast. It was read by the 84-year-old author, and it was delightful.
On the spiritual side, in addition to Where the Light Fell (Philip Yancey's autobiography), I also thoroughly enjoyed Eyes to See, I Guess I Didn't Learn That Yet and Beautiful People Don't Just Happen.
I have now referenced more than half of the non-fiction books I read this year. The fact is there is not one I did not like, and I would recommend all of them.
As for fiction, I started two new series: William Kent Krueger's (author of Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, standalone books I have greatly enjoyed) Cork O'Connor series; and C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series. I also continued Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series. She continues to write them, so who knows if I'll ever catch up?
Believe it or not, I had never read The Godfather until this year. I am still yet to see the movie, but I plan to do so as soon as I can. I very much enjoyed the book.
I have been advised that anything older than 50 years is a classic. If that is true, then The Godfather fits in that category (as does In Cold Blood). I won't debate it, but to be certain I had a true classic on this year's list, I read Jane Austen's Persuasion, one of Wife's book club picks, and I liked it more than she did.
Top picks from this year's fiction, in addition to The Godfather, would be The Last Green Valley, Serena and The Wonder Test.
If you see something of interest and you would like more information, send an email and I'll be happy to elaborate on any of the titles. The only one on the list I did not care for was Savage Run, the second in the Joe Pickett series. For some reason I got bogged down in the details and struggled to finish it.
However, I decided to give number three, Winter Kill, a try, and I was pleased to find it just as captivating as the first one, so I will eventually continue with this series.
As always, let me know if you like or dislike anything on the list. I would also enjoy knowing your favorites from this year.
In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'll be back here in 2023!
6 comments:
Thank you so much for the NF notation. It really is a time saver for me to not have to click through a bunch of links and try to cypher from book descriptions which is and isn't. For some reason, many online book buying sights makes this hard to determine unless you do an initial sort for one or the other.
I wasn't but should have been aware that the movie Godfather was based upon a book. Since it is one of my favorite movies to watch whenever it happens to be on, I probably should break my NF only reading rule and read it if copies are available around here.
You definitely should, Ed. I would think your local library would have a copy. Keeping with that genre, have you watched the TV series The Sopranos? My son and his wife just completed watching all of them from the beginning and highly recommend. So, after I finally watch The Godfather, I plan to start The Sopranos.
I've read four of these (Salvation on Sand Mount, Jesus and John Wayne, jn Cold Blood, and "Where the Light Fell). Like Ed, I have never read "The Godfather"
I have read ten of these, Bob, and quite a few others are currently on my TBR pile. I enjoy that we often contribute to each other's book lists. 😊
Of course I have a tab at the top of my blog showing what I've read during the year (with F and NF notations, Ed!), but I'll try to do a little summary at the end of the month.
You have been the source of many of my favorites, Kelly, and I am grateful! Perhaps I can come be a guest at your book club! 🤔
This was a fun read, Bob. I really wanted to be able to say I've read something you listed, but I can't. Adding some books to my TBR list, though - Peggy Rowe's, I'm thinking needs to be near the top. What a title! How nice to be able to say you enjoyed all the books you read. Thank you for sharing the perfect amount of information on the books you did.
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