2022 in Books

I read 150 books this year.

Here they all are

Holy shit.

Every year I compile a whole bunch of book stats, and I did so for this record-breaking year, too. I thought it might be interesting to share with you guys! Below, I’ve listed some of the numbers I found interesting, my book superlatives for 2022, my full top 30 books (because with that many read, how could I limit myself to 10?), and my top 10 favorite short stories of the year.

Interesting Stats

Of my 150 books read…

  • I read 148 seperate titles (yeah, I reread Blue Lily, Lily Blue twice, don’t @ me)
  • 9 were books I’d read before
  • only 19 were 2022 releases
  • similarly, only 19 were more than 10 years old
  • I gave out 54 five-star ratings. That’s more five stars than books I read in all of 2020!
  • I also gave 68 books four stars, 21 three stars, and 3 two stars. I didn’t give anything one star, and I decided not to rate two books
  • per Goodreads, my average rating was a 4.2
  • I read the most in October (23 books) and the least in January (5 books). I averaged 12.5 books/month, or 1 book every 2.5 days
  • my most-read genre was Fantasy (85 books), followed by Science Fiction (43 books).
  • I also read a decent chunk of Horror (29), Contemporary (27), and Historical Fiction (22). Don’t worry about the math–I often cross-list books in multiple genres
  • I read 2 whole nonfiction books!
  • in terms of format, I read mostly regular-ass novels, but I did read 4 picture books, 6 graphic novels, 33 novellas, and 27 volumes of short fiction
  • I track a few kinds of representation in my reading. Keeping in mind that what I decide “counts” as rep is super subjective and arbitrary, I read 14 Jewish books and 52 queer books this year.
  • I also read 9 Sherlock Holmes retellings, 8 books about spooky houses, and 5 books that could be called Dark Academia
  • I mostly read physical books (96), but also a decent chunk of audiobooks (41) and a few eBooks (11)
  • I read 15 books under 100 pages and 4 books over 500 pages. The rest were, like, normal page counts.
  • 37 of my books had been on my Goodreads tbr for over a year. 40 I added in 2021, and 61 either I added this year or they were just never on my tbr (not counting rereads)
  • 2/3 of the books were by authors I’d read from before, 1/3 by authors who were new to me.
  • My most-read author demographic is white women. This is always true, but I did read 60 books by non-white authors, more than ever before!

Superlatives

Questions adapted from youtuber Booksandlala’s list

  • Longest: Jade City at 560 pages
  • Shortest: The Lottery at 30 pages
  • Most Widely-Read: Dracula at over a million readers
  • Most Obscure: Bewildered at 4 readers
  • Favorite 2021 release: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
  • Favorite older title (5+ years): Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
  • Lived up to the hype: Harrow the freaking Ninth
  • Didn’t live up to the hype: History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
  • Biggest reading accomplishment: I mean. 150 books.
  • Favorite couple/ship: Beatrice and Ianthe from The Midnight Bargain
  • Favorite character: Elliot Schafer [In Other Lands] is a bitch and I like him so much
  • Least favorite character: Meyer Landsman from The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. If anyone else had been the narrator I probably would have loved that book.
  • Most surprising moment: In Raybearer, when Tarisai [REDACTED] Dayo right after he [REDACTED] (if you know you know)
  • Best prose: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (tied)
  • Book you’ll be recommending: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
  • Favorite newly discovered author: Annalee Newitz
  • Favorite cover: For All Time by Shanna Miles
  • Favorite sequel: It’s already on the list, but I can’t lie to you. It’s Harrow the Ninth again.
  • Favorite short story: “Neilah” by Hannah Moskowitz
  • Made you cry: The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer
  • Made you laugh: The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
  • Favorite reread: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • Most surprising 5 star: A Study in Charlotte. I expected this book to be sugary and middle-grade-y. It was not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not grimdark or anything, but it went way harder than I expected.
  • Least fav overall: Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell >:(

Top 30 Books*

  

  1. The Seep by Chana Porter
  2. In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
  3. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
  4. Harrow the Ninth/Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  5. A Spindle Splintered/A Mirror Mended by Alix Harrow
  6. Bunny by Mona Awad
  7. Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
  8. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
  9. Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
  10. Lakewood by Megan Giddings
  11. Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas
  12. The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
  13. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
  14. The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
  15. Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
  16. The Midnight Bargain by C L Polk
  17. We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker
  18. Wild Beauty by A M McLemore
  19. A Psalm for the Wild Built/A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers
  20. Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
  21. A Cathedral of Myth and Bone by Kat Howard
  22. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
  23. Resist Fascism ed. Bart Lieb and Kay Holt
  24. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
  25. Piranesi by Susannah Clarke
  26. Spear by Nicole Griffin
  27. The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
  28. Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark
  29. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
  30. Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater

*not counting rereads; series all go on one line together

Top 10 Short Stories

  1. “Neilah” by Hannah Moskowitz in It’s A Whole Spiel
  2. “Ballroom Blitz” by Veronica Schanoes in Burning Girls
  3. “The Resident” by Carmen Maria Machado in Her Body and Other Parties
  4. “Once, Future” by Kat Howard in A Cathedral of Myth and Bone
  5. “Bread and Milk and Salt” by Sarah Gailey in Robots Vs Fairies
  6. “Inventory” by Carmen Maria Machado in Her Body and Other Parties
  7. “Among the Thorns” by Veronica Schanoes in Burning Girls
  8. “Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank’s Late-Night Starlite Drive-In” by Kristen Koopman in It Gets Even Better
  9. “Midwestern Girl is Tired of Appearing in Your Short Stories” by Gwen E Kirby in Shit Cassandra Saw
  10. “Guess” by Meg Elison in Tiny Nightmares

What were your favorite books of the year? Did we read anything in common? Drop me a comment, I’d love to know!