Books I Read in 2022
A few years ago, I decided I wanted to read more. I set a goal of reading one book a month. I accomplished that, with thirteen books. The next year was the same goal, and I read twelve. Last year, I changed my goal to read every day. I read twenty-nine books. This year I read forty. Here they are in the order I read them:
- On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
- My Two Elaines by Martin Schreiber
- Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava
- Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
- Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin
- One and Only by Lauren Sandler
- Imzadi by Peter David
- A Stitch in Time by Andrew J Robinson
- The Lakota Way by Joseph M Marshall III
- In Love by Amy Bloom
- Diet for the Mind by Dr. Martha Clare Morris
- Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming by Christie Golden
- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
- The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
- Vacationland by John Hodgman
- Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
- In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
- Star Trek Voyager: The Farther Shore by Christie Golden
- The World’s Worst Assistant by Sona Movsesian
- Before I Forget by B. Smith and Dan Gasby
- The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
- What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill
- Apple: A Global History by Erika Janik
- Twenty Bits I Learned About Making Websites by Dan Cederholm
- Yoga for Every Body by Luisa Ray
- Medallion Status by John Hodgman
- Design is a Job: The Necessary Second Edition by Mike Monteiro
- Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Contact by Carl Sagan
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
- How to Listen by Oscar Trimboli
- The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
- A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
- Foster by Claire Keegan
- Sofa Stories by Betsy Streeter & Mike Monteiro
- Dwellers in the Crucible by Margaret Wander Bonanno
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The “This Book Literally Changed My Life” Award
Diet for the Mind by Dr. Martha Clare Morris
My mother has Alzheimer’s, like her father did. That does not put me in a good position. It’s a topic for a future post, but I want to do everything in my power to delay or prevent Alzheimer’s for myself. Diet plays a huge role. I had heard about the MIND Diet for a while, being interested and eating a mostly Mediterranean diet for a few years. I finally read this book and it scared me straight. I pretty much never eat cheese or red meat now. Every day I think about what I’m eating and how I can get my “foods to eat daily” and “foods to eat weekly.” I hope that following this diet, along with other lifestyle interventions I’ve been making, will make the difference in my life.
The “Why Can’t I Stop Crying” Award
In Love by Amy Bloom
I heard an interview with Amy Bloom on NPR when the book came out early this year. Before the interview was over I’m pretty sure I had already bought the book. Alzheimer’s has become a central part to my life, and this account of Amy Bloom’s husband being diagnosed and deciding he wanted to end his life with dignity is beautiful and heartbreaking. Not because he chooses to kill himself, but because Alzheimer’s is heartbreaking. This book boldly discusses a topic that you never see the Alzheimer’s Association or other groups talking about: assisted suicide. I don’t feel anger that much, but one of the few things that will rile me up is the backwards views on assisted suicide in this country and around the world. If I ever get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the only sensible option in my mind is to kill myself. I would rather not have to do that in some messy way myself, or spend tens of thousands of dollars flying overseas to do it humanely. This book gives me hope that maybe someday our society will change their minds on this topic.
The “Why Can’t I Stop Crying (Laughter Edition)” Award
Vacationland by John Hodgman
I’ve always been a fan of John Hodgman, but mostly from afar. I used to listen to the Judge John Hodgman podcast, but then stopped when I had too many other podcasts to listen to. And I always enjoyed seeing his appearances, but never really sought him out. I think this book came as a suggested reading on Thiftbooks and it was inexpensive and I had a free book reward, so I bought it. And I loved it. It was the kind of writing I wish I could do. Hilarious and clever and even though they’re unrelated stories they build on each other in ways you wouldn’t expect.
The “It’s Only Good Because It’s Short” Award
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I was supposed to read The Grapes of Wrath my sophomore year of high school as the last book of the year. I tried, but it was so long and so boring, plus summer was coming up. I might pick it up to read it someday. But maybe not after reading Of Mice and Men and just wishing it’d be over. I guess John Steinbeck is not for me. I can’t stand it when characters in a novel talk “liek I dunevn kno wat the werd fer it is.” I get it, it’s representing how they speak. But it takes me out of the story and makes me struggle to figure out what the hell they’re saying. Sometimes maybe that’s intended. I don’t think that’s the case in this book.
The “I Want to Go to There” Award
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
When I was in middle school I started watching anime on Cartoon Network’s Toonami and Adult Swim. I became somewhat of a Japanophile. That subsided as I grew older, but reading Kitchen brought some of those feelings back. But I don’t think it was just that the book was set in Tokyo that made me want to inhabit its world. The honest discussions of life and death and the unlikely friendships and kindness that comes out of them made me just want to live and be friends with the characters. And the occasional description of cups of tea and tea houses helped too.
The “Wait Who is Matthew McConaughey Supposed to Be?” Award
Contact by Carl Sagan
I’ve never seen the movie, and as an admirer of Carl Sagan for the longest time finally got around to reading the book. I had a mass market paperback from after the movie’s release, with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey on the cover. He’s the second-billed actor! And the whole time I’m reading it I’m trying to figure out who he is. There is Ellie (Jodie Foster) and then there’s… Drumlin? der Heer? Vaygay? Joss? Hadden? I seriously considered each of those men at some point. I looked it up after finishing the book and I am very curious to watch the film now.
The “Wrath of Khan of Star Trek Books” Award
A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson
At the beginning of the pandemic I watched my first episode of Star Trek ever, and since then I’ve watch every series and every film (except Star Trek: Beyond, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds, but working on those). This year I decided to start reading some Star Trek novels that sounded interesting. A lot of articles I read said Peter David was the best author of Star Trek books. Imzadi was good but felt so much of the era. I, Q sounded interesting because it was co-written with John de Lancie, but it was not what I was expecting and a bit of a letdown. But then I found A Stitch in Time (I tried to get a paperback but they were selling for ~$120, so I bought an eBook version for $10). I was intrigued by it being one of the few Star Trek books solely written by an actor in a series. And I was blown away. It was so well written and perfectly in character for Garak. And it was a fascinating look into his backstory and motivations.
The “I’m Just Now Realizing Orwell is My Favorite Author” Award
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
Written in 1937 about the plight of coal miners in northern England and his own views on socialism and its failures to attract a wider audience, this is a very engaging and relevant and funny book even by today’s standards. I was unsure at first if I’d enjoy this, I thought it would be too dry. But I was quickly dissuaded of that notion, because it is George Orwell. Who I realize as I was reading this is my favorite author. 1984 is still my favorite book, ever since I first read it in high school. And I’ve read Animal Farm, Homage to Catalonia, and Down and Out in Paris and London as well. Each one has been fascinating and well written and smart. On my list for next year will be the rest of his novels (Burmese Days, A Clergyman’s Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and Coming Up for Air).
What’s Next
I’m almost finished with The Pale King. It will be like two days shy of making this list, but will be first in 2023. My goal for next year is to just keep on reading. I want to finish up books I’ve started in the past but never finished, not because I was bored, but because life got in the way and I was less discipined about reading then. So, I think I’ll start off with Walden, and hope to get to Emma and Keep the Aspidistra Flying soon after.