Favourite books of 2022
I meant to complete this post earlier, but never got around to it. Too busy drinking wine and watching shite tv. Anyway, here I am - my favourite books that I read in 2022. Not all of them were released in 22, but these are the books that resonated with me during the year.
Non-Fiction
It was a great year for non fiction for me as I entered the 2022 non-fiction reader challenge. The goal was to read titles from a variety of topics, and it was up to me to choose them. Some were more challenging than others but I found them all interesting, and they forced me out of my comfort zone, which was the entire point.
This is Vegan Propaganda (and other lies the meat industry tells you) by Ed Powers wasn’t an easy read for me but I found it informed, well researched and impassioned. Essential reading for anyone worried about the damage being done by the intensive farming industry to the planet.
‘Diary of a young naturalist’ by Dara McAnulty was a powerful, lyrical and inspiring read about a young autistic boy’s love of nature. This book had a major impact on me, and I started to listen to and appreciate nature when I went on my walks, rather than keeping the AirPods in. Like the book mentioned above, it made me angry to think of the damage we’re doing to the natural world.
If you’ve been reading my blog you'‘ll know how much of a fan I am of Patrick Radden Keefe. ‘Rogues’ was a collection of articles previously published in the ‘New Yorker’. Compelling and incredibly well researched pieces that covered everything from a Mexican drug lord to the world of international wine forgery, a death penalty attorney and the tv executive who ‘created’ Donald Trump.
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And the non-fiction winner is…..
Johann Hari’s ‘Lost connections’ was an investigation into depression and its causes that challenged everything I’d thought about the subject. It looked at loneliness and our lack of connection as major causes and offered hope in its solutions. I’ve thought long and hard about this book all year.
Irish books of 2022
Another fine year for Irish releases. Some of these were actually released in 2022 so I’m unusually up to date. I’ve already mentioned Dara McAnulty but consider him mentioned again.
My first book of 2022 was an absolute clinker, Jan Carson’s ‘The raptures’ about religious beliefs, family trauma and community. I think Carson is one of the most interesting writers around and this was a book I was continually recommending throughout the year.
If I had a short story category, Wendy Erskine would have won it with ‘Dance Move’, another perfect collection to follow ‘sweet home’. Darkly hilarious, warm with pitch perfect dialogue, this was a delight.
‘Queen of dirt island’ by Donal Ryan was a story about four generations of Tipperary women, both moving and powerful as we’ve come to expect from one of Irelands finest writers.
‘Factory girls’ by Michelle Gallen really resonated with me, set as it was in a similar place and time to where I spent my teenage years. Savagely funny and deadly accurate about the troubles, definitely helped get over the end of ‘Derry girls.’
Best of the rest of the books I read in 22
A strange and utterly beguiling work of fantasy, I couldn't put Piranesi down. It lodged itself in my brain for weeks afterwards and I’m still not sure I fully understood all of it. I love it when a book casts a spell like that.
Bad relations was a superb work of historical fiction, moving from the battlefields of Crimea to a wonderfully evocative English summer in the seventies. A multi generational story about grief, mental illness and secrets rippling through the ages. Wonderful.
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I know, Rebecca was released way before 2022 but it wasn’t until it was picked in our bookclub that I got around to it. Another of my covid books, Mrs Danver and Mannderley infected my fever dreams. A superb psychological thriller, I can see why it’s a classic.
I had to include both of these. I didn’t think I was ready for Station eleven as it was about a pandemic but I needn’t have worried. It’s about how we need each other, the importance of art and hope. Survival isn’t enough. The TV show was great too.
The glass hotel sneaked onto my reading list towards the end of the year. I looked at my to-be-read shelf and asked myself, of those titles which do I want to read the most? Haunting and elegiac, it didn't disappoint.
Emily St John Mandel has been my find of the year. I find her prose mesmerising, stories and characters compelling, enjoy her world building and the way her books are interconnected.
Book of the year…….
The book I raved about more than any other was ‘trespasses’ by Louise Kennedy, which also takes the best Irish book award. Devastating and intense, heartbreaking and atmospheric, no book moved me as much as this one. Deserving of all the praise and awards it gets.
That’s it from me, rounding off 2022. I’ve enjoyed my blogging year and thanks to all of you who got in touch and commented on my posts. I also appreciate the kind comments I receive via email and it’s lovely to know I have readers out there.
I’m taking a short break from the blog, but will be back in 2023 with more reviews. Happy new year to wherever you are in the world and happy reading.