Best Books Read in 2022

In many ways, this was a “banner year” in reading. For the first time since I started tracking books, I read over 30! To be precise, I read 32. Of those, only 6 were re-reads, which leaves 26 books to choose from for this list.

As usual, it’s an eclectic bunch, but what stood out were the books that made more of a lasting impact or gave me a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time or simply showed something new to me within its pages.

So, which books impressed me the most? Let’s find out!

Best Reads of 2022

10. The Monster in the Hollows – Andrew Peterson

The third book in the Wingfeather Saga didn’t impress as much as book 2 did last year, but it’s strong themes of making mistakes and finding forgiveness kept it around on my top 10. There’s a feeling of build up to something better, and that sense of looking forward to the next entry helps, too.

9. Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

I had mixed feelings after reading this book. It was well-written and an interesting little fantasy story. But I had expected something else and that threw me off. As the year progressed, though, I kept coming back to how I would describe the novel: meditative. It has this sense of soaking in the world God made and appreciating that. It’s that lingering feeling that garnered it a spot on this list.

8. Everybody Fights: So Why Not Get Better at It? – Kim and Penn Holderness

I expounded on this book in my May Reading Report. It also made an appearance at #3 on my best reads so far in June. The big drop from 3 to 8 is due largely to not thinking about the book as much. It still has valuable points and certainly helped me see things in a new light, but I didn’t come back to it as much as the year progressed.

7. A Brief Account of the Life and Labors of George Muller – Mrs. Muller (Jim Elliff, Editor)

Maybe this one has some recency bias going for it, but a month later some of the themes of this book still come up in my mind from time to time. While Muller’s philosophy of life was not new to me, I found reading the first hand accounts fascinating and challenging.

6. The Aleph Extraction – Dan Moren

The next entry in Moren’s spy-sci fi series The Galactic Cold War was a big improvement over the previous book. But that alone doesn’t notch it a spot here. A particular heist scene (hinted at on the cover) was so unique, new, tense, and fresh, I thought about it all year long. When finalizing my list, I toyed with pushing it to #11 in favor of something more Literary. But that scene was too good to let this title be an honorable mention.

5. The Aeneid – Virgil (Shadi Bartsch, Translator)

This is the same spot it was sitting at in June, and, like Aeneas standing like a rock in the middle of a battlefield, this book won’t move! While it’s not my favorite epic poem I’ve ever read, I did enjoy it overall. It had some memorable scenes, especially in the final battle when the hero charges in with unstoppable force. Like the previous book, that particular sequence kept it strong in my mind as the year went forward.

4. Brimstone – Tobias Cole

Like the previous book, this hasn’t moved from the spot I had it at in June. I’m a sucker for a good Western and this is in that corral. It’s fast-paced plot mixed with themes of forgiveness and redemption made a good impression on my mind that has lasted since the start of the year. If you want to know more of my reflections on this novel, check out the January Reading Report.

3. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life – C.S. Lewis

This book not only gave me insight into Lewis’ life and influences, it made me consider what are the things that have brought me to the point I’m at today. It also re-awakened my love for Lewis’ non-fiction work. You can read more of my thoughts on this book in the post for the February Reading Report. The lessons I expound on there lasted through the year.

2. The Everlasting Man – G.K. Chesterton

There were multiple reasons I picked up this book. One, because Lewis mentions it prominently in Surprised by Joy. Two, because my favorite album of the year, This Beautiful Mystery by Terry Scott Taylor has a Chesterton-heavy song that borrows the book’s title. So, I was well-primed to take the dive into this work and found it well worth the time. Chesterton’s “outside-the-box” approach to history may have its limitations, but it nevertheless gave some interesting perspective and helped remind me how having roots in antiquity isn’t such a bad thing. I expounded on my thoughts more in the September Reading Report. As much as I enjoyed this book, though, it couldn’t overcome…

1. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

This summer I decided to read a series and the Hunger Games Trilogy was what I chose. Book 1 immediately jumped to the top of the list and refused to relinquish that spot. Its follow-ups failed to impress as much (unfortunately) but, of all the books I read, this dystopian thriller felt the most balanced in entertainment value, character depth, and thought-worthy themes. I explored some of this in the June Reading Report.

Honorable Mentions

I had a harder time finalizing the lower half of my list this year, resulting in several good reads winding up on the outside looking in. Here are a few worth noting:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard; Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

What were some of your favorite reads?