What I read in 2022

My goal for 2022, as usual, was to read at least 52 books (one per week). Instead, I read over twice as many, for a grand total of 116. Not my highest total ever, but my fourth year in a row of reading more than 100 books in a year. What's more, I'm thoroughly enjoying all this reading, in part because some of it is directed/themed, such as the books I choose to read for the Classics Challenge. I'm always going to love reading randomly, but it's great fun to follow a syllabus, too.

In 2023 I'm going to set the same goal, 52 books, with the expectation that I will read many more. But if something happens and I can only read 52, that's good too. I don't know if there will be another Classics Challenge, but if there is, I'll participate in that again. In addition, I'm going to challenge myself to read books on my shelves that I've never read. I'll pick 5 books each month and either read them or (if I don't like them) send them on their way (to Goodwill, the Bookworm, or a Little Free Library). Finally, I will also try to read biographies of four more Presidents.

Here is a review of what I read in 2022, by category.

Children's Books. Except as noted, everything on this list I read aloud to the kids. I think my favorites were the two Japanese-related books we read: Temple Alley Summer, which is Japanese, and Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, which is about two Japanese dolls that end up being cared for by a little English girl who grew up in India. I couldn't believe the boys let me read it to them, but they ended up liking it, despite the fact that it's mostly about how to build a Japanese dollhouse. 

The Whispers was notable for having an 11-year-old gay narrator, but was otherwise so sad. I hated The Westing Game, although I know that many people love that book, and the kids couldn't keep the characters straight. Woods Runner was a very disturbing Gary Paulson book, and The Witches was a very disturbing Roald Dahl book.

• 
  Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
• There's an Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George (read w/Teen B for school)
• The Whispers by Greg Howard
• Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary
  
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa
  
• I Survived True Stories: Five Epic Disasters by Lauren Tarshis
• Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
• Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
• On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
• Woods Runner by Gary Paulson
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• Journey Home by Yoshiko Uchida (read to myself)

 

Young Adult (YA)/Teen Books. The kids and I are starting to read these, though we still read a lot of "middle grade" books too. I read three or four of these by myself, in theory to do research about what to read to them (but I didn't end up reading any of those to them). I must admit that I don't so far have a very favorable opinion of the genre. The books all seem to be about falling in love while the world ends. My favorite was probably Things Not Seen, about a teenage boy who accidentally becomes invisible. The twins liked that one too, and we also read the first sequel (Things Hoped For) and have just started the second (Things That Are).

• How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (read to myself)
  
• The Road to Winter by Mark Smith (read to myself)
• Jean and Johnny by Beverly Cleary
• Dark Life by Kat Falls
• A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti (read to myself)
• Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (read to myself)
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding (read w/Teen B for school)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
• Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements

 

Books for the Book Group. My beloved book group continues, even though we are down to four members and one joins via Zoom. As usual we read a completely random assortment of books, some of which I liked and some of which I hated. My favorite might have been the first one we read, The Soul of an Octopus, but I also liked My Tender Matador and Jar City. Those last two we read because members of the group took trips to Chile and Iceland. I hated A Summer Reunion, The Lost Apothecary and The Rabbit Hutch. All the others I had mixed feelings about, for various reasons.

• January: The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery (nonfiction)
  
• February: My Tender Matador by Pedro Lemebel (fiction, translated from the Spanish)
  
• March: Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason (mystery, translated from the Icelandic)
  
• April: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (fiction)
  
• May/June: A Summer Reunion by Fanny Blake (fiction)
  
• July/August: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (fiction)
  
• September: Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (fiction/mystery)
  
• October: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (ghost story)
  
• November: The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (fiction, won the National Book Award)
  
• December: Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World by Rob Sheffield (nonfiction)
  

 

Books for the Classics Challenge. I liked several of these -- it's hard to choose a favorite. But I'll go with The Makioka Sisters, the book that inspired my theme this year. It's a great book and I wished it would never end. My wrap-up post, where I discuss them all, is here.

• (#8) Pre-1800 Classic: The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, ca. 1008, tr. by Arthur Waley.
• (#4) Classic in Translation: The Tale of the Heike, ca 1300?, tr. by Royall Tyler.
• (#11) Classic Set in a Place You'd Like to Visit: Narrow Road to the Interior by Matsuo Basho, 1702, tr. by Sam Hamill.
• (#1) 19th-century Classic: "Child's Play," by Higuchi Ichiyo, 1895-96, in In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life of Higuchi Ichiyo with Nine of Her Best Short Stories by Robert Lyons Danly.
• (#12) Wild Card Classic: I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume, 1905-06, tr. by Aiko Ito and Graeme Wilson.
• (#6) Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic: The Honjin Murders by Yokomizo Seishi, 1946, tr. by Louise Heal Kawai.
• (#10) Classic on My TBR List the Longest: The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Junichiro, 1948, tr. Edward G. Seidensticker.
• (#7) Classic Short Story Collection: Yokohama, California by Toshio Mori, 1949.
• (#5) Classic by a BIPOC Author: Citizen 13660 by Miné Okubo, 1946.
• (#9) Nonfiction Classic: Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone, 1953.
• (#2) 20th-century Classic: No-No Boy by John Okada, 1957.
• (#3) Classic by a Woman Author: Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida, 1971.
  

Mystery/Thriller. Usually a long list, but maybe not so long this year. My favorite was, hmm, maybe What Beckoning Ghost, which I read because I thought it was a ghost story! I thought I might like to read something else by Douglas G. Browne, but after doing a little research I see that I will only be able to dig up a few of his books through Prospector (CU has a few in deep storage). I'll see.

• Whispers in the Dark by Eleanor Taylor Bland
• Devils in Daylight by Junichiro Tanizaki, tr. by J. Keith Vincent
• Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo (Taro Hirai), tr. by James B. Harris
• The 29 Steps by John Buchan
• As a Favor by Susan Dunlap
• The Widows of Broome by Arthur W. Upfield
• A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (read to the kids)
• The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
• What Beckoning Ghost by Douglas G. Browne
• The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman

Supernatural Mystery/Ghost Story. I have almost finished the Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman (unless he writes more, which I hope he does). He has some standalones too, I read one this year (December), but the Merrily Watkins series is the best. My favorite was, mm, maybe Friends of the Dusk? That one had some very spooky bits. The scariest book I read this year wasn't a Rickman, though, it was I Remember You, by an Icelandic author that I may neglect to read more of. There's scary, and then there's TOO scary.

• To Dream of the Dead by Phil Rickman
• The Secrets of Pain by Phil Rickman
• The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman
• The House of Susan Lulham by Phil Rickman
• Friends of the Dusk by Phil Rickman
• I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
• Ghosts by Edith Wharton (short stories)
• December by Phil Rickman

Science Fiction/Fantasy. I decided to combine these two categories because (1) I don't read much of either, and (2) N. K. Jemisin's work is considered kind of a cross between the two. I enjoyed them both, of the two my favorite was The Fifth Season, but I have heard that the third book in the trilogy (The Stone Sky, which I plan to read in January) is the best. I'm looking forward to it.

• The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
• The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin
  
  

Poetry. I always think I should read more poetry, but for some reason I don't. Maybe I'll make a resolution to read more. My favorite of these was probably The Narrow Road to the Interior, even though I was irritated that Prospector sent it to me instead of the Basho version, and even though it annoyed me while I was reading it. When I think back on these three books, it's the Hahn volume that has gotten itself stuck in my mind.

• The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday
• The Narrow Road to the Interior by Kimiko Hahn
• After Nature by W. G. Sebald

 

General Fiction. I didn't read a lot of fiction for its own sake this year, mostly just accompaniments to other reading projects, like the Classics Challenge and my month of reading scary stuff. The exception, and my best discovery, was W. G. Sebald. I read two of his novels, enjoyed them both, but I think I would pick The Emigrants as my favorite. And I definitely plan to read more of him.

• Her Daughter's Mother by Daniela Petrova
• A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym
• Civil to Strangers by Barbara Pym
• Monsieur Monde Vanishes by Georges Simenon
• The Dark Dark (short stories) by Samantha Hunt
• The Emigrants by W. G. Sebald
• Vertigo by W. G. Sebald
• Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
• The American Diary of a Japanese Girl by Yone Noguchi
• The Chauvinist & Other Stories (short stories) by Toshio Mori
• The Diving Pool: 3 Novellas by Yoko Ogawa
• Unseen City by Amy Shearn (yes, there's a ghost, but it's more fiction than ghost story)
  
• Picture Bride by Yoshiko Uchida

Christmas Books. This was not really a Christmas reading year. I just wasn't in the mood. The first book on the list is something I requested from the library last Christmas, but it didn't show up until January, so I read it then. I didn't love it -- I liked Volume II (which I read in 2020) better. The second book on the list I did actually read in December, and it was better. I didn't like all the stories in it, but there were some very good ones.

• A Treasury of African-American Christmas Stories ed. by Bettye Collier-Thomas
• A Literary Christmas: Great Contemporary Christmas Stories ed. by Lilly Golden
  

Graphic Novels/Memoirs/Whatever. Only two in this category this year -- it's because I don't go to the Main Library that often anymore, so I don't browse in that section. (And of course now it's closed, due to meth contamination, due to homeless people smoking meth in the bathrooms, grrr, grrr.) Of these two, although I love Alison Bechdel, I loved Himawari House more than her latest offering. About a group house in Japan, with a mix of Japanese and non-Japanese residents.

• The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
• Himawari House by Harmony Becker
  
  

Memoir/Biography. Not as many this year as in recent years. No special reason for that. I kept thinking, "I should read some more biographies," but somehow they didn't pop up on my radar screen. 

I liked several of these, but I think my favorite was The Hare with Amber Eyes. It's the one I thought of the most after I read it. Also, I learned a new word from it: vitrine, a glassed-in cabinet. Now, when I think, "where is that vase?" I answer myself, "in the vitrine."

• I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro
• Limbo by A. Manette Ansay
• Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl
• Winter Stars: An Elderly Mother, an Aging Son, and Life's Final Journey by Dave Iverson
  
• The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm
• The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial by Maggie Nelson
• The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss by Edmund de Waal
  
• Bee Reaved by Dodie Bellamy
• Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family by Yoshiko Uchida
• Yone Noguchi: The Stream of Fate, Vol. 1. The Western Sea by Edward Marx
  

Presidential Biography. I crossed four more presidents off my list this year. My favorite was, hands down, Destiny of the Republic, which is an excellent book. The book about Chester Arthur was fairly interesting, but the other two were so boring it makes me feel ill to remember them.

• Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (James Garfield)
• Gentleman Boss: The Life and Times of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves
• Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky
• The Presidency of Benjamin Harrison by Homer E. Socolofsky and Allan B. Spetter
  

 

General Nonfiction. As in recent years, I read a lot of nonfiction. I liked several of these, but one in particular was The Believer, which I got from the library but might buy for my collection eventually. Another I liked was Howards End is on the Landing. Susan Hill and I don't have exactly the same taste in books, but close enough that I really enjoyed her thoughts on reading.

• Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
• A Cure for Darkness: The Story of Depression and How We Treat It by Alex Riley
• Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid
• The Pleasures of Japanese Literature by Donald Keene
• The Weather Detective: Rediscovering Nature's Secret Signs by Peter Wohlleben (translated from the German)
• Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Town by Mirta Ojito (read w/Teen A for school)
• The Tale of Genji: A Visual Companion by Melissa McCormick
• No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison
• The Believer: Encounters with the Beginning, the End, and Our Place in the Middle by Sarah Krasnostein
• The Mind and the Moon: My Brother's Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches by Daniel Bergner
• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson
• Index, a History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age by Dennis Duncan
• Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill
• Sherlock Homes was Wrong: Re-opening the Case of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Pierre Bayard