What I read: The 2022 End of the Year Book Roundup

I read about 144 books last year, here are my favourites in a roundup from 2022. Here they are for the years when I started doing summaries:

• Year 2021 (249 books)
• Year 2020 (217 books)
• Year 2019

I have them all under this category: What I read (The Best of Yearly Roundups).

I like to read food, history, mystery, style/fashion, and lifestyle. I no longer really read many money books as they all say the same thing these days.

BOOK COUNT FOR THE YEAR: 144

• January: 14
• February: 5
• March: 12
• April: 8
• May: 7
• June: 12
• July: 15
• August: 16
• September: 8
• October: 14
• November: 14
• December: 19

I seem to have moved away from certain categories (Chick-lit) and really went hard on Mysteries this year, and surprisingly, a category called “The Gilded Age” popped up to cover a wide range of what it was like in colonialist countries in the past. Think: The Gilded Age, as in the TV series which is excellent.

Fantasy

• Shades of Magic Trilogy
• Tearling Trilogy
• Crowbones
• From Blood to Ash Series
• Flesh and Fire Book Series
• Marina

Murder Mystery

• Girl Forgotten
• The Good Daughter
• The Thursday Murder Club Trilogy
• Rock Paper Scissors
• The Golden Couple
• Verity

Spy Mystery

• Two Nights in Lisbon
• The Expats

War Fiction

• The Hunger Between Us
• Our Woman in Moscow
• The Diplomat’s Daughter
• The Piano Teacher

Self-Reflection Fiction

• After I do
• One True Loves
• They Both Die at the End
• Reminders of Him
• A Million Junes

Fiction

• Counterfeit
• Guilty Pleasures
• Carrie Soto is Back
• Secret Keeper of Jaipur
• Love that Split the World
• Little Earthquakes

Chicklit

• My favourite half night stand
• Beach Read

Non-Fiction

• CULTURE: Why the chicken crossed the road – What China can teach us about wealth, success and happiness
• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
• Inconspicuous Consumption
• FOOD: Heat – Chef book
• PARENTING: How to talk so kids will listen
• Anna – Memoir

Gilded Age

• The Last Dance of the Debutante
• The Gilded Years
• The Plaza
• Lady in Waiting
• Carnegie’s Maid

FAQ

How do I read so quickly?

I don’t know either. I’ve been reading books for as long as I can remember. I feel like my sibling is the one who patiently taught me how to read one book, and from there, it exploded.

So, lots of practice? I have been reading for so long that words come easily to my brain, it’s like I see a picture of the word rather than reading the word individually. So “disastrous” would be a word that you read “dis-sas-trous”, but in my head it’s disastrous“, just one word, meaning imprinted. Makes sentences go a lot quicker.

Save for my parents, my entire immediate family is a family of voracious readers.

We read while eating, we read while walking, we read in bed… I guess I just followed what my older siblings did as they always had their nose in their books, and a few going at the same time (you know, the disrespectful way we read through half a book than leave it half open facing the table, spines cracked, no bookmark?).

I used to read 30+ books from the library a week – all young adult, easy stuff. I can read 2-3 books of young adult fiction in a current work day to give you an example, and as a child I had way more time than I do now, so I burned through books like a firestorm.

Our partners remark that they’ve never seen a family read so much, and I guess it’s true.

Where do I get my books?

A lot of you have asked and I generally don’t buy books unless they’re secondhand and in ebook format, for many reasons – price, environmental, space, and even then, I don’t buy books. I borrow them.

I read them on my Kobo ereader (also secondhand), and check out books from the library from Overdrive. If the book isn’t there, I generally don’t read it, UNLESS.. it is a book I REALLY REALLY want to read, then I MAY consider buying it if I cannot wait for it or find it. So far, I have only done this for Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. Libraries are a gift, and we pay for them in our taxes yearly even if you don’t personally use them, so thanks.

How do I know what to read?

I don’t. I see recommendations and make notes, or put it on my Wishlist / On hold. I sometimes go into bookstores and browse, then decide if it is worth getting from the library. Or in secondhand stores, I pick up or buy books only if they’re photography / style-related where pictures and colour are a MUST (the one drawback to an e-reader).

I purchased only two physical books in 2020 that I couldn’t / didn’t want to buy in e-book format: Distinction (it was cheaper secondhand than the e-book), & Scoff (not available in ebook format at all).

Don’t you prefer physical books?

Who doesn’t!?

Aside from the cost, the space they take up, how heavy they are (we have a small bookshelf, most of it is Little Bun), I find them heavy to hold and hard to read in rooms unless there is bright daylight or very strong lamp light (I suffer from aura migraines and I’ve noticed dim light or lack of light triggers it when I am reading). I really like that the ebook illuminates the book.

I’d rather carry my entire library around with me in an ebook reader, plus be able to read with a backlight on.

I am currently considering a library option however only because we plan on buying a larger home in the future and I could allow a small library in my closet, perhaps.

Likely, it will only be filled with photography and style books however. Those are the only books I really want in physical copy and ebooks won’t suffice.

Where do I find the time to read?

I just make time for it. I have no other answer…

I’ve noticed if I am not watching TV shows, or aimlessly browsing on Instagram, I seem to have plenty of time to read if I am able to foist Little Bun off on my partner and/or keep him occupied otherwise.

I can go through a lot of books in a short amount of time if I am both interested, reasonably well-rested (or in a good mental state, not in limbo or stressed out) and the book itself is engrossing.

I read while brushing my teeth as you need to brush a full minute to two minutes (I have the reader on a stand), and I read while eating or drinking tea, I read while Little Bun plays or reads…. I read every time there is a spare moment.