So I'm here, including more details about why these are my favorite and sharing the reviews I wrote on Insta earlier this year. So without further ado, here's my top 12 books of 2022 (shared in the order I read them)!
1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
I wouldn't be surprised if every Rainbow Rowell book made my favorite list the year I read it. I'm really late to this one, reading it 10 years after it was first published, and I know so many have already read it. What's really stayed with me are the characters, their relationships and what they went through. Also, how well the feeling of being a teenager is captured. I had actually forgotten it takes place in the 80s till I sat down to write this, but my review mentions appreciating that as well.
2. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
I love how this book blended romance, science, and grad school. (Also how I was able to include my mug from my college year-end chemistry banquet in the photo for it! Although they're biologists in the book, but still close.) So much of it resonated with me and my past experiences.
3. One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Another one that's here because of my past experiences. The author of this book lives in Long Beach where I grew up and sets all her books there. So much of her books remind me of high school and my childhood. A lot of this does take place on a European cruise, but even aspects of that reminded me of when I went to Italy in high school. Yes, I loved the love stories and the characters, but so much of why this is here is because of the setting.
4. The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
Another one that had all the nostalgia for me (clearly that's a theme here!). My best friend bought me this as a present knowing my obsession with Nick Carter, and it 100% gave me all those feels. I do think even not being a boy band fan, the love story is easy to fall for. But for me, this felt like fan fiction at its best.
5. Last Dance on the Starlight Pier by Sarah Bird
Finally one that breaks the trend and is on here not because of how familar it felt, but because of how different it felt. This one takes place during the Great Depression and tells about dance marathons. It also has pieces about vaudeville, burlesque, and mobsters. Also LGBTQ+ themes too. This is one that I've seen so little about, but keep sharing it in hopes someone else will discover it. Honestly, I never would have known about it if I hadn't won a copy in a Goodreads Giveaway, so I'm very thankful for that!
6. A More Perfect Union by Tammye Huf
Another one I likely wouldn't have discovered on my own, but grateful it showed up in my Book Drop subscribtion. This story feels so unbelievable that it should be fake, except that it's the story of the author's great-great grandparents, who were an Irish immigrant and enslaved women that fell in love. It's a bit like star-crossed lovers, with a happy ending. Again not one I've seen a lot reading, but hopeful that more do.
7. True Bizby Sara Nović
One that's been on so many others' Best-of lists, but I likely wouldn't have read it myself if I hadn't won it in a Goodreads giveaway. I learned so much about deaf culture reading this. Honestly a book where I can enjoy myself and learn about another's experience is so much of what I love reading for.
8.Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter
The last of the Goodreads wins on the list! This one was just so much fun! It was a cute little romace... if a romace with this amount of steam can be considered cute. But I thought the bingo angle was a lot of fun. But also appriciated the depth of it too, dicusing race and anxiety. There's just a lot packed into a book that seems so simple from a surface level.
9.The Moment I Met You by Debbie Johnson
This was another book from my Book Drop subscribtion, which will be much of the theme for books to come. Again, a book that seems simple on a surface level, but is so much more. In it the main character is on vacation with her boyfriend when a devestating earthquake hits and this is the aftermath. It's hard to describe without giving to much away, but its another one that had a lot of depth to it.
10. Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
Another Book Drop selection, and another I know I won't be able to summarize in a couple of sentances. It takes place in China going back and forth between the 1960s and the 1980s. There's a lot focused on the Cultural Revolution, but there are a lot of intersecting timelines and interesting characters. It's just really unique overall.
11. Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer
You've probably noticed a theme by now.... these are all books so different from my experience where I learn so much, or instead ones that hit so close to home that feel tailored to me. Given that this is focused on the Jewish High Holidays, it's one that hits close to home. There aren't many books that talk about a modern Jewish experience, and I love that this one does. Yes, the romance, characters, setting and the rest are enjoyable, but how it feels reading about Judaism lik this gives me all the feels.
12. A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen
Ending things with one final Book Drop selection. This was historical fiction about Lady Duff Gordon. Going into it I would have expected the parts on the Titatic would be my favorite. And while yes, I enjoyed them, it was more of her earlier life, that shows how she became a fashion designer that I apprecitated so much more.
So that it is! My top 12 books of 2022. I'd love to say I'd be back here soon with more updates, but who knows. There's still so much I love about blogging and still read blogs of those of you that still write, even if I don't always comment. So it's always possible I come back more regularily here! (Also, how is there no spell check on blogger? I'm so used to it automatically on my phone. I know there must be so many typos in this posts, and even more over the past years.... so sorry for always having to put up with that!)
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