As 2022 has ended, many people feel the urge to compile lists of their favourite books from the past year. This can be a fun and rewarding activity that allows people to reflect on and appreciate the literature they have consumed over the course of the year. It can also be a great way to discover new books and authors that they may have missed earlier in the year.
However, the process of creating a list of favourite books can also lead to feelings of inadequacy or stress. Some people may feel that they have not read enough books to create a meaningful list, or that they have not read the “right” books that are considered important or popular. Others may feel pressure to include certain books on their list in order to fit in with certain literary circles or to meet societal expectations.
New ideas
It’s important to remember that there is no one right way to create a list of favourite books and that it is okay to include any books that you personally enjoyed or found meaningful, regardless of their popularity or literary merit. It’s also important to be kind to yourself and not to put too much pressure on yourself to read a certain number of books or to include certain titles on your list. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to read for pleasure and to enjoy the experience of exploring new ideas and perspectives through literature.
Technology has made it both easier and more challenging to write fiction or non-fiction. On the one hand, advances in technology have made it possible to write and publish more efficiently and effectively. On the other hand, the sheer amount of information and resources available can be overwhelming, and it can be difficult to keep up with the rapid pace of change.
Artificial intelligence
One aspect of technology that can be particularly challenging for writers is artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can be incredibly useful for tasks such as language processing and data analysis, it can also be prone to errors or misunderstandings. It is important for writers to be aware of the limitations of AI and to use it carefully and thoughtfully.
There has been speculation that AI may eventually replace humans in a variety of fields, including writing. While it is impossible to predict the future with certainty, it is likely that AI will continue to play a significant role in the writing process. To be successful in this changing landscape, writers will need to develop both technical skills and emotional intelligence to work effectively with AI.
2022 saw a proliferation of both fiction and non-fiction books, with many focusing on productivity and other related subjects. As a result, it can be overwhelming to try and keep up with all of the new releases and determine which books are worth reading.
One way to approach this challenge is to look at the best book lists published online, which can provide a curated selection of the most highly regarded books of the year.
However, even these lists can be long and intimidating, and it may be difficult to find the time and energy to read everything on them. In this context, it may be easier to turn to the classics of previous eras, which have stood the test of time and have been widely recognised as important and influential works.
It’s worth noting that the ease of publishing books today means that there is a vast and constantly growing corpus of literature available to readers. While this can be a blessing in terms of the diversity and richness of the material available, it can also be a challenge to find the best and most meaningful works among the vast sea of options.
Amidst the release of new books from well-known authors and literary giants this year, it is exciting to see the success of lesser-known writers and unique voices. Now is a great opportunity to try out a book from an author you have never read before. While this list includes several books set in a post-apocalyptic world, it’s worth noting that current events may make these stories feel all too real.
In the past, it was relatively easy to find a single comprehensive list of the best books by simply googling the keyword “best.” However, with the proliferation of literary platforms online, it is no longer the case. For example, Time magazine has already compiled a list of 100 must-read books for 2022, and Wired.com has published a list of 12 best books. These lists can help identify some of the top books of the year, but they can also be overwhelming, with many more titles than one person could possibly read.
To make the task of finding the best books more manageable, some lists focus on a specific genre or category. For example, Time’s list of the 10 best fiction books of 2022 is a more condensed version of its larger list, which may be easier to navigate and prioritise. Ultimately, the best approach will depend on your personal reading preferences and the amount of time and energy you have to devote to reading.
Different ways
There are a few different ways you can approach selecting the best books of a certain year. Taking a look at book award winners is one possible option. Many prestigious book awards, such as the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award, are given out each year to recognize the best books published in that year. These awards are often a good place to start when looking for the best books of a certain year.
Checking out the bestseller list is another alternative. Bestseller lists such as the New York Times Bestseller List and the Amazon Bestsellers list can be a good way to identify popular books that have received a lot of attention. You can also ask for recommendations from trusted sources: If you have friends or family members who are avid readers, you might consider asking them for recommendations on the best books of a certain year.
You can also check out book review websites or ask your local librarian for recommendations. Plus, do not forget to look for critical acclaim. You might also consider looking for books that have received a lot of critical acclaim from literary critics and reviewers. Look for reviews in trusted publications or websites to get a sense of which books are being highly praised by experts in the field.
Ultimately, the best way to select the best books of 2022 will depend on your personal preferences and reading interests. It might be helpful to start by looking at a few different sources and then narrowing down your options based on what interests you most.
There are several reasons why it can be beneficial to select the best books for a year. It makes you reflect on your reading experiences. Choosing the best books allows you to reflect on what you’ve read and consider which ones had the greatest impact on you. It can also help you identify patterns in your reading habits and make more informed choices about what to read in the future. By selecting the best books, you have the opportunity to share your recommendations with others.
This can help you connect with like-minded readers and expose others to new and exciting works that they might not have discovered otherwise. Selecting the best books can also serve as a record of your reading for the year. This can help track your progress and remember what you’ve read. The process can inspire others to read more and discover new authors and genres. Selecting the best books for a year can be a rewarding and enriching experience that helps you reflect on your reading habits, share your recommendations with others, and inspire a love of reading in others.
We have created a list of eight books that have made a splash in 2022 by collecting and organizing information from various sources, including lists available on multiple book platforms.
Notable books published in 2022
The Candy House
by Jennifer Egan
The Candy House enlarges A Visit From the Goon Squad not just by revisiting its memorable characters, but by doubling down on its formal conceits, with many chapters written in texts and emails. In this alternate reality, the world has been forever changed by Own Your Unconsciousness, a popular platform where memories are stored in the cloud and accessible to any user. As Egan hopscotches through the interconnected stories of shared memories, she asks powerful questions about the innate human need for connection and the price of surrendering our privacy. Of the many novels that have sought to make sense of the social media age, The Candy House is the finest yet.
Trust
by Hernan Diaz
In 1920s New York, everyone who’s anyone knows Benjamin and Helen Rask, the wealthy couple sitting pretty at the top of the financial world. But how exactly did they accumulate so much power and wealth? That question is the driving force of the immensely popular 1937 novel Bonds—one of four distinct texts within Hernan Diaz’s Trust. The story of the Rasks (or the Bevels, depending which book-within-the-book you’re reading) contains mysterious multitudes. Their relationship and their privilege are undermined, examined, and rewritten as Diaz spins a dazzling story about subjectivity and greed.
Sea of Tranquility
by Emily St. John Mandel
A sequel of sorts to her surprise-blockbuster novel Station Eleven and its follow-up The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility is a discursive tale looped directly atop its predecessors, cutting them up and rearranging the pieces into a trippy, wistful story. If Mandel were a musician, it would be an album made from sampling earlier songs. The past isn’t just prologue—it’s the present and future, too, as the plot hopscotches across centuries, following a time-traveller named Gaspardy who’s trying to figure out whether the universe is a simulation. Although Sea of Tranquility is set largely in the future and adorned with sci-fi flourishes, it raises old questions about how we can make meaning.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
by Jennette McCurdy
Though its provocative title may raise a few eyebrows, Jennette McCurdy’s memoir is a dazzling, heartbreaking, and hilarious look back at her life as a child actor and her complicated relationship with her emotionally abusive stage mother, who was laser-focused on catapulting her daughter to stardom. McCurdy, who became a television star on the Nickelodeon show iCarly, maps out her journey with eating disorders, codependency, and recovery in a triumphant debut that lays bare the horrors of child stardom.
Vladimir
by Julia May Jonas
Julia May Jonas’s debut novel is an intimate portrait of a failing marriage, yes, but it’s also a look at the reconstruction of a life meticulously built whose foundation begins to crack, then crumble. A middle-aged lit professor has to decide whether to stick beside her husband, also a middle-aged professor at the same liberal arts college, who is being investigated by the school for sexual misconduct with former students. Enter the titular Vladimir, an accomplished younger writer who’s the newest tenured professor.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
by Gabrielle Zevin. Knopf.
Sadie is Jewish and Sam and Marx are mixed-race Asian Americans. All of them believe without a doubt that they can make something great together, and their first game, about a child lost in a storm, becomes a big hit. Compromises with the industry, quarrels about the merits of making a sequel, clashes over credit, romantic travails, and family crises follow.
Demon Copperhead,
by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver’s powerful new novel, a close retelling of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in contemporary Appalachia, gallops through issues including childhood poverty, opioid addiction and rural dispossession even as its larger focus remains squarely on the question of how an artist’s consciousness is formed. Like Dickens, Kingsolver is unblushingly political and works on a sprawling scale, animating her pages with an abundance of charm and the presence of seemingly every creeping thing that has ever crept upon the earth.
Young Mungo,
by Douglas Stuart
When his Shuggie Bain took home the Booker Prize in 2020, readers were desperate to see what this astounding debut novelist would do next. It will come as no surprise that Stuart’s second effort soars—and socks you right in the belly. Set in the tenements of Glasgow during the 1990s, Young Mungo is the wrenching story of the doomed and forbidden love between two teenage boys, one Catholic and the other Protestant. Insecure, self-loathing Mungo is forever changed by the calming influence of tender-hearted James, but in a stratified society such as this one, their bond can’t be allowed to stand.