I’m really glad I decided to write this 2022 Bookish Year in Review, because I’d kind of forgotten all the books I read this year. It feels like a new perspective to synthesize my year through the books I read, and going through the reviews I wrote reminded me of my adoration I had directly after reading. Which is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place: it’s a very public reading journal.
After creating this list of books, I felt a bit disappointed that I didn’t read as many as I did last year. But honestly, I read a lot of easy-breezy series last year that I could consume in one or two days. It’s not about the quantity; it’s about the quality… though the majority of books I read this year fall into the middle ground in regards to rating: I only had a few favorites, but I had even less disappointments.
All the Books I Read This Year:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
REREAD: Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter:
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover
Only The Good Spy Young
Out of Sight, Out of Time
United We Spy
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
The Girl With No Shadow (Chocolat #2) by Joanne Harris
Chocolate: the Consuming Passion by Sandra Boynton
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
REREAD: Entwined by Heather Dixon
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Currently reading: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Favorites:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Awe-inspiring
- A learning experience
- Epitome of character development
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Full of cynical witticisms
- Funny
- Thought-provoking (sooo many annotations)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- Masterful writing style: descriptive and yet subtle
- Palpable atmosphere
- Such a relatable protagonist
- Unpredictable twist
Entwined by Heather Dixon
- Unobtrusive writing style
- Compelling twist on a fairytale
- Colorful cast of characters
Disappointments:
The Girl With No Shadow (Chocolat #2) by Joanne Harris
- Skimmed it
- One of my least favorite tropes: manipulation of children against their lovely parents
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- Somehow creepier than I thought it would be
- Not an enjoyable reading experience
