I hope to make more room for reading this year as last year I didn’t manage to read for pleasure as much as I had intended. This year I have so many wonderful sounding reads that are on my list for the year. Behold: my 2022 reading list!
My 2022 Reading List:
Book Lovers.
I have absolutely loved Emily Henry’s other books – People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read so I was so excited to see she has a new book coming out this Spring. Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
Everything I Know About Love.
I just read – and absolutely loved – this author’s first novel Ghosts so i can’t wait to read her memoir. When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming an adult, journalist and former Sunday Times columnist Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, realizing that Ivan from the corner shop might just be the only reliable man in her life, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else— realizing that you are enough.
Smile and Look Pretty.
A few friends got advance copies of this book and raved about it so I can’t wait for it to come out.
Best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max are overworked and underpaid assistants to some of the most powerful people in the entertainment industries. Like the assistants who came before them, the women know they have to pay their dues and abide the demeaning tasks and verbal abuse from their bosses in order to climb the ladders to their dream jobs. But as they are passed over for promotions and the toxic office environments reach a breaking point, the women secretly start an anonymous blog detailing their experiences, which snowballs into hundreds of others coming forward with stories of their own. Confronted with newfound viral fame and the possibility of their identities being revealed, the assistants have to contend with the life-changing consequences of speaking out against those who refuse to share the power.
Atlas of the Heart.
I am proudly in the Brene Brown fan club so I can’t wait to read her latest release. In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances—a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.
Seven Days in June.
Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award?winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can’t deny their chemistry—or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.
I Remember Nothing.
A friend recommended I read Nora Ephron’s books given how much I love her movies so I have this one and her other two earmarked to read this year. Here is Nora Ephron at her funniest, wisest, and best, taking a hilarious look at the past and bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life. In these pages she takes us from her first job in the mailroom at Newsweek to the six stages of email, from memories of her parents’ whirlwind dinner parties to her own life now full of Senior Moments (or, as she calls them, Google moments), from her greatest career flops to her most treasured joys.
The Wedding Party.
My friend Hitha told me I will love this author and to start my foray into her delightful books with this read! Maddie and Theo have two things in common: Alexa is their best friend and they hate each other. But, after an “oops, we made a mistake” night together, neither one can stop thinking about the other.
Paris: The Novel.
From Edward Rutherfurd, the grand master of the historical novel, comes a dazzling epic about the magnificent city of Paris. Moving back and forth in time, the story unfolds through intimate and thrilling tales of self-discovery, divided loyalty, and long-kept secrets.
All the Flowers in Paris.
When Caroline wakes up in a Paris hospital with no memory of her past, she’s confused to learn that for years she’s lived a sad, reclusive life in a sprawling apartment on the rue Cler. Slowly regaining vague memories of a man and a young child, she vows to piece her life back together—though she can’t help but feel she may be in danger. A budding friendship with the chef of a charming nearby restaurant takes her mind off her foggy past, as does a startling mystery from decades prior.
Homegoing.
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
Everything I Never Told You.
“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
The Ex Talk.
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.
Year of Yes.
I’m slowly working my way through this audiobook currently. This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda Rhimes’ life before her Year of Yes—from her nerdy, book-loving childhood to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her. The book chronicles her life after her Year of Yes had begun—when Shonda forced herself out of the house and onto the stage; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.
Grace: A Memoir.
Another memoir I have downloaded to listen to. I was inspired after loving The Chiffon Trenches by Grace’s colleague Andre Leon Tally. Grace Coddington’s extraordinary talent and fierce dedication to her work as creative director of Vogue have made her an international icon. Known through much of her career only to those behind the scenes, she might have remained fashion’s best-kept secret were it not for The September Issue, the acclaimed 2009 documentary that turned publicity-averse Grace into a sudden, reluctant celebrity.
Over the Top.
Another memoir I have downloaded to listen to! Before he stole our hearts as the grooming and self-care expert on Netflix’s hit show Queer Eye, Jonathan Van Ness was growing up in a small Midwestern town that didn’t understand why he was so…over the top. From choreographed carpet figure skating routines to the unavoidable fact that he was Just. So. Gay., Jonathan was an easy target and endured years of judgement, ridicule and trauma—yet none of it crushed his uniquely effervescent spirit.
Boyfriend Material.
Luc O’Donnell is tangentially and reluctantly famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
. . .
I use Libro.FM to listen to audiobooks which supports my favorite local bookstore – Books are Magic. And my Book of the Month remains the best mail I get every month – it definitely encourages me to read more!
What book are you looking forward to reading this year? Did you have a favorite book of 2020? I’d love to hear them so I can add to my list!
You May Also Enjoy:
- The Best Books I Read in 2021.
- The Best Books I Read in 2020.
- More Books I’ve Enjoyed.
1) “Homegoing” is one of the best books I’ve read in the last few years. It has stayed with me. 2) Jasmine Guillory’s books (including “The Wedding Party”) are all delightful! Enjoy!
Another writer you should check out is Julia Reed, she was a contributor to Garden & Gun and Vogue magazine for years and her books, Queen of the Turtle Derby and But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria are her adventures in life down south. She was also a great friend, of Andre Leon Talley. She was a fabulous writer and a cocktail connoisseur.
I’m not familiar with her so thank you so much for this rec!
Absolutely loved “All the Flowers in Paris” and hope you do too- great list! Taking note and adding to my own list 🙂
Oh yay! Glad to hear this
My favorite book of 2021 was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Phenomenal (and partially set in NYC)!
I also love Fiona Davis – she writes books about historic NYC buildings and weaves a story around the building. Her book The Masterpiece is set in Grand Central Terminal and the art school that was in the building during the 1920’s.
I don’t normally read Fantasy, but really enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses last year as well.
And my favorite book of 2020 was A Woman is No Man, by Etaf Rum, about three Palestinian women, two of whom emigrate to Brooklyn, and the way their lives are affected by American culture.
I LOVED Dolly Alderton’s first book! Stayed up all night reading it and was literally laughing from crying for the first chapter. HIGHLY recommend!
I love Jasmine Guillory’s books! I started with #1, The Wedding Date, but they are all such a treat. Great on audio as well! I have lots of your other books on my wishlist and added a few to my TBR pile too!
You will enjoy “Homegoing” – excellent.
I highly recommend reading Helene Wecker’s “The Golem & the Jinni” & “The Hidden Palace” – another book about the golem & the jinni. These are winter storm books where you curl up & read for hours.
From Amazon: “Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay by a disgraced rabbi knowledgeable in the ways of dark Kabbalistic magic. She serves as the wife to a Polish merchant who dies at sea on the voyage to America. As the ship arrives in New York in 1899, Chava is unmoored and adrift until a rabbi on the Lower East Side recognizes her for the creature she is and takes her in.
Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped centuries ago in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard. Released by a Syrian tinsmith in a Manhattan shop, Ahmad appears in human form but is still not free. An iron band around his wrist binds him to the wizard and to the physical world.
Chava and Ahmad meet accidentally and become friends and soul mates despite their opposing natures. But when the golem’s violent nature overtakes her one evening, their bond is challenged. An even more powerful threat will emerge, however, and bring Chava and Ahmad together again, challenging their very existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.
Compulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, in a wondrously inventive tale that is mesmerizing and unforgettable.”
Currently reading and loving the new Franzen called Crossroads. So good!