This post provides a list of my favorite books of 2022. It was a great reading year for me! I have read over 125 books so far this year and so many of them were really good.
I’m a bit of a geek. I have a spreadsheet in which I keep a list of books I read each year, logging in the titles, authors and genres. I have logged over 125 books so far this year, ranking them on a scale of 1 – 5. It occurred to me that this spreadsheet could be a wealth of information for anyone looking to give books as gifts this holiday season.
First, let me just review how I rank my books.
5 – I enjoyed this book so much I will likely read it again (or I already have read it multiple times)
4 – I enjoyed this book so much I have to recommend it to others
3 – I really enjoyed this book
2 – I did not care for this book
1 – Bad, bad, bad (I rarely score a book a 1, instead it will become a DNF (did not finish)
Below is my list of 4s and 5s (5s are in this color). I have not written about all of these, but where I have, I have also included a link so you can see what I had to say about it! I’m breaking them out into loose genres, but other than that, they are simply in the order that I read them.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Crime
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin {BlogPlost}
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney {BlogPost}
The Maid by Nita Prose {BlogPost}
Into the Downing Deep by Mira Grant {BlogPost}
The Body in Question by Jill Ciment
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
His & Hers by Alice Feeney
The Anomoly by Herve LeTellier
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson {BlogPost}
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Sworn to Silence (book 1) by Linda Castillo {BlogPost}
Pray for Silence (book 2) by Linda Castillo
Breaking Silence (book 3) by Linda Castillo
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell {BlogPost}
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell {BlogPost}
Gone Missing (book 4) by Linda Castillo
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister {BlogPost}
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Historical Fiction
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver {BlogPost}
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Romance/Lighter Reads
Book Lovers by Emily Henry {BlogPost}
The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
Lighthouse Beach by Shelley Noble {BlogPost}
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston {BlogPost}
Magical Realism
The Binding by Bridget Collins {BlogPost}
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen {BlogPost}
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen {BlogPost}
Cackle by Rachel Harrison {BlogPost}
Other Fiction
The Unseen World by Liz Moore {BlogPost}
Things You Save In a Fire by Katherine Center {BlogPost}
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney {BlogPost}
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
The Mixtape by Brittainy Cherry
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
Britt – Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman {BlogPost}
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle {BlogPost}
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simson {BlogPost}
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan {BlogPost}
Non-Fiction
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman {BlogPost}
Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver {relatedBlogPost}
Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
Bittersweet by Susan Cain
My Holiday Favorites
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Winter Solstice by Rosamund Piltcher {BlogPost}
Recommendations from Facebook Comments
I asked for your book recommendations. Here are a few of your suggestions:
Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
The gift that keeps on giving
Did you know that you can give the gift of AUDIBLE? If you know someone that loves audio books as much as I do, this would make an amazing gift!
There are some great books on this list that will make the perfect gift for someone on your shopping list (or a great gift to give yourself). I hope this eases some of your stress this holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
Cocktails In The Library 
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