Holiday Post 2022: Books and Reading

Welcome to the third post in my Holiday Posts series. This time I am looking at book lists from 2022. This is a time when I take a look at some lists I found interesting, and see what the "experts" say I should have read. For most cases, odds are I have not read what the "experts" say I should have read, and I am at peace with that. I pretty much read what I want when I want to read it. I am also a bit of a mood reader. In addition, I will try to comment on some books from these lists that I may have read or more likely that I want to read and add to my TBR list. Further, if this post helps some folks find something new to read, I've done my small good deed in terms of reader's advisory.On a final note, as much as possible, I will not share lists that are behind a paywall. I am also avoiding (or trying to avoid)  lists that are presented on a website as a slideshow. I do not know about the rest of you, but I find slideshows for lists on websites extremely annoying. 

Let me take a moment to remind my four readers that I will be posting my own end of year reading report later on, probably around the start of January 2023. In addition, I will post my lists of best books I read and reviewed in 2022 in fiction, nonfiction, and Tarot and esoterica. So make sure to stay tuned and come back to check those posts out too.

As always, if anything catches your eye, perhaps you read any of the books in the various lists, feel free to leave a comment or two. 

Big Lists

These are some of the usual big lists most people see. I would rather focus less on these, but I know you have to at least acknowledge them. So I made a small selection for my readers. 

• The Big A has a variety of book lists. As a sampler, I chose their "Editors' Picks for Best Books of 2022." I can say I have not read any of the books they chose. In fact, there were quite a few that were unknown to me prior to seeing the list, and I do look around quite a bit over the year. Fact is there are so many books coming out constantly it really is hard to keep up with anything outside my range of interests. 
• Their competitor Barnes and Noble also has various book lists. Again I am picking one as a sampler, and I am going with their "Best Books of the Year 2022." This list is a bit better for me as it has some books I have actually heard about. 
• Goodreads by now is pretty big, and they have their own GoodReads Choice Awards where site users pick winners in various categories. For a sample, I am linking to their Best Nonfiction 2022 list. I tend to read more nonfiction than fiction, so that list works for me better. However, the page does link to their other lists for those of you who may want to explore other topics. Again, I have not read any from this list, but there are some I have heard about. 

 

Lists from newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals

These are in no particular order.

• Foreign Affairs has their best books of the year from their reviewers. I will say that many of the books on this list would fall under my reading moratorium on materials related to politics, social issues, and activism. Still, there are some books from the list I may want to read down the road. From this list: 
• Cuba: an American History by Ada Ferrer. This one has been on my TBR list for a while now. In fact, my college library where I work recently acquired it, and I have checked it out.  I have heard some good things about this book, so I am hoping for a good reading experience. 
• Other titles that I find intriguing from this list: The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World, Spin Doctors: the Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century, and The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler. From these three, the description from Spin Dictators sounds interesting: "...today’s autocrats maintain control over society not through brutality and fear but through the manipulation of information."
•  BookForum got some writers to speak on their favorite books for 2022. 
• The Houston Chronicle has their "best books we read in 2022" list. I was not familiar with the books on this list. However, The Tribe: Portraits of Cuba by Carlos Manuel Álvarez sounds interesting for a possible add to my TBR list. I see the book is translated from Spanish; the Spanish title is La tribu: Retratos de Cuba. I prefer to read in the original when I can, so I will be seeking out the Spanish edition. 
• Esquire has their list of 50 Best Books of 2022. Books of interest to me from this list:
• Fight Like Hell: the Untold History of American Labor by Kim Kelly. I have heard of this book on social media and a couple of other websites, so I am adding it to my TBR list. 
• Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy that Unhinged America by Will Sommer. One, this book would fall under my reading moratorium. Two, I admit I could learn a bit more about the topic, and the article suggests this book can be a good start. In this day and age, you need to know your enemies, so I may take a break in the reading moratorium to read this and do some more learning. 
• Ryan North's How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain sounds like a nice bit of light and humorous reading, so adding to the TBR list. This book is a "practical guide to designing death rays, constructing a secret underground base, and hiring dependable henchmen, among other musts. North takes the outlandish seriously, laying out the science behind even the most farcical maneuvers." Sounds like it is worth a look.
   
• Kirkus has a variety of lists this time of year. As a sample this time I am linking to their best  nonfiction list for 2022. From this list: 
• I have a copy of Asian American Histories of the United States by Catherine Ceniza Choy. I got via a giveaway at an online book conference in 2022, and I am looking forward to reading it soon. 
• I already read and reviewed Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution. (Link to my review.) The book has made it to various lists for 2022, and I would say if the topic interests you that it is well worth reading. 
•  Mother Jones has an interesting list they call "The Books We Needed in 2022." A lot of these would fall under my reading moratorium, but I am sure a few of my readers will find some of the books listed to be of interest. 
• The New York Post has their Top 30 Reads of the Year. From this list:
• I've seen Bill Browder's Freezing Order: a True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Putin's Wrath before. I am considering it for the TBR list. 
• Nazi Billionaires: the Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties is on my TBR list. For some odd reason I often find books about financial crimes to be interesting. 
• The Progressive has their list of favorite books for 2022. From this list: 
• Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire I think may be worth a read, so added to my TBR list. 

Lists by genres

Let's have a look at some very specific lists. Again, in no particular order. 

• Graphic novels and comics. As much as I like this category, I have probably not read much of it this year as I could have. In part the big 2 (DC and Marvel) just do not thrill me as much recently, so I tend to gravitate to other independent publishers. I will get a better sense of this when I do my end of year reader's report. Meanwhile, here are a few lists that may be of interest: 
• Best comic books of 2022 from Entertainment Weekly. This list has at least one title where the author just published via Kickstarter. I do not do Kickstarter, so it would be out of my radar, but if you do, may be worth a look. Saga, from Image Comics, finally came back this year apparently. I started reading the series, which I liked well enough. The last volume I read and reviewed was the third trade paperback volume (link to my review). It then it fell off for me as I moved to read other things hoping to get back to it. I may or not get back to it. 
• Book Riot has their list of 12 graphic novels and comics. It's a bit heavy on the Big 2, but it may have some items of interest for folks. 
• The Mary Sue has their list of 30. 
• Polygon has their list of 10 Best Comics of 2022. From their list, The Good Asian is the one going on my TBR list. 
• The East Bay Times offers their list of best graphic novels of 2022 after asking an expert: the founder of Free Comic Book Day. From this list, I have Home to Stay: the Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories on the TBR list.
  
• Science Fiction and Fantasy. This is another genre I enjoy, especially science fiction, but I do not read as much in it as I wish. I did make a pleasant discovery or two this year, but I will talk about that in my reader's report later. 
• Cassidy Beeve-Morris looks at the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022. This is based on awards and nominations to awards, and then there is a comparison to previous years. The article offers a list and strives to provide an overview of where the genre stands at this point in time. Useful for helping some of us catch up on what has been going on. 
• The Guardian has a list of 5 best science fiction and fantasy. Among the five is Babel: an Arcane History by R.F. Kuang, which I am seeing on other lists as well. It may be one to keep an eye on.
• Paste Magazine has a list of best fantasy for 2022. Babel makes the list here again.
• The Quill to Live has a list of 30 best books in science fiction and fantasy.
  
• Horror.  
• Esquire has their list of best 22 horror books of 2022. The list has a bit of everything from fun horror to seriously shocking. Readers are bound to find something to try out. For me, from the list I have Ellen Datlow's anthology Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous on the TBR list. On the other hand, Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin is one I will pass on, but I get the feeling some folks may find it to be right up their alley.
• RA for All: Horror has their top ten list of horror for the year.  
• Tor Nightfire has a list of 11 favorite horror collections and anthologies.  They also have a short list of creepiest themed anthologies. I often like horror in short fiction form, so I am sure I will find some things to read here.
  

 

Some miscellaneous list for fun

Finally for this post, here are some end of year reading lists on some curious and interesting topics. For me, these are lists on topics you might not see very often, that caught my eye, or perhaps need a bit more attention.

• Best African books via African Arguments.
• Via American Craft Beer their list of best beer books. 
• Arts Hub offers 10 underrated Australian books. 
• The Boot offers their list of 10 Best Country Music Books. From this list, my college library did acquire Queer Country by Shana Goldin-Perschbacher and Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed To Be by Marissa R. Moss. As I am writing this post, the Moss book is checked out; not, I am not the one who checked it out. I will note we do have a couple of professors in our General Studies program that bring in country music studies into their classes, which is part of the reason we acquired the books. By the way, we also have in our collection Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions by Francesca T. Royter (we have it both in print and as an e-book). 
• Electric Lit has a list of 10 New Poetry Collections by Latin X and Caribbean authors. 
• Want more Latin X works? Hip Latina presents a list of 15 Best Books by Latin X authors. 
• Higgypop has a list of paranormal and supernatural books. This list covers both fiction and nonfiction. If topics like supernatural novels, paranormal investigations, ghosts, and more interest you, this may be the list for you. 
• For our vegan friends, here is a list of best vegan cookbooks from Mashed. 
• For romance readers who like reverse harem tales, here is best reverse harems of 2022 via  Naughty Book Box.
• Queerty has a list of 32 of the best LGBTQ books to read yourself or to give others. 
• The Race has a list of 2022 motorsports books. 
• The South China Morning Post has a list of best running books for 2022. I may need to read one or two from this list to stay inspired in my own running. I am able to run 5K now, so I am hoping to upgrade to running a 10K down the road. 
• The Root has a list of best Black nonfiction.
  

 

I hope everyone reading this finds something good to read. If you have a favorite book or a favorite list of books feel free to share it in the comments. 

Coming up is the last post in my holiday posts series, and that is the "What the heck happened in 2022?" post where I look at the mayhem (to put it mildly) that was 2022. I will be posting that one shortly after we make it past 2022, so in early January. Please come back and check it out. In the meantime, thanks for reading and enjoy the holiday season.