Books I Read in 2022

Welcome to my annual favorite books blog!  I look forward to this one all year - it's fun to remember favorite books from the last year, and it's fun to hear from you about what you also enjoyed.  Here's pics of the books I read in 2022 (thanks Goodreads!), and here's a link if you want to learn more about any of them. Scroll down to see the list in writing!

First, I want to give a shout out to libraries.  Libraries, we love you!  I counted, and 47 of my books were library books this year.  And this doesn't count the many dozens of picture books we've checked out to supplement all the homeschool subjects, or cookbooks I previewed before buying, or (new this year!) sheet music that I attempted to play before realizing it was way beyond my abilities.  It also doesn't quantify all the story times we attended when the kids were toddlers, the craft projects and art displays and therapy dog visits we've happened upon when stopping by, and the warmth of the friendly librarians who make all of this happen.  Thank you, librarian workers, for all you do for our communities, and thank you libraries for the plentiful supply of books.

Now, we turn to my favorite books of the year!  I want to add - every book that appears above I would give a thumbs up in one way or another.  I quit early on if a book's not hitting for me, so if it makes it on the "read" list, then there was something compelling about it.  And I would be thrilled to discuss any of them, above or below.  Having said that, these are the ones that stayed with me the most.  Here we go...

Middle grade:

"The Silver Chair" and "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis

"Pony" by R.J. Palacio

"From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konsburg

"The Ickabog" by J.K. Rowling

Books I'm still Thinking About:

"Even Better Than Eden" by Nancy Guthrie

"Why God Makes Sense In A World that Doesn't" by Gavin Ortlund

"The Brave Learner" by Julie Bogart

"The Tech Wise Family" by Andy Crouch

"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius

"Out of the Silent Planet" and "Peralandra" by C.S. Lewis

Favorite books where you get swept up in the story:

"Illusion of Control" and "Loyal 2 Chaos" by Kenny Ching

"Greenwood" by Michael Christie

"Love and Saffron" by Kim Fay

"Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt

"Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century" by Kim Fu

Amazing Writing:

"A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean (specifically the first story)

"To Bless the Space Between Us" by John O'Donohue

"One Long River of Song" by Brian Doyle

"The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene

"Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan

One Miscellaneous Other That I Really Liked:

"What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami

These are my favorites of the last year!  Please tell me if you've read any of these and what you thought, and also what books you've read recently that you loved.