This year was a squeaker for me in my ability to reach my Goodreads goal by the years’ end. But I managed to squeeze by with one book to spare in hitting my goal of hitting 75 books. I’ll blame my September move from small town North Carolina to river town Pennsylvania for why things came down to the wire this year.
I find myself re-reading books more often as the years go on, so the list of new titles I read each year is slowly shrinking. But there were some deeply moving and resonant new works I read this year. So here are my 10 favorite books I read for the first time this past year (book titles linked to my longer Goodreads reviews).
This was a rather eye-opening look at the very physical ways that trauma can affect people—and what true healing really looks like. Both as a writer and as someone who wants to know how to best help others who may struggle with trauma in my own life, I found this book quite helpful.
This is one of the last books I read this year, and thus a very recent addition to this list. But it was one of those memoirs that just snuck up on you. One moment you were laughing at the author’s humorous escapades. And the next moment he hit you with a load of poignant truth.
I adored the setting of this world. Because yes, I am that kind of reader who loves a Jane Austen/Charles Dickens take on the fantasy genre. The climax of the book left me disappointed. But the charming journey made even the disappointing destination well worth it. [Read more…] about Top Ten Books Read in 2022