Another year, another trip around the sun where the snacks, cleanliness of the rest stops, and the travel companions were of varying quality. But let’s leave that poor metaphor alone and talk books. In 2022 I read 105 books. These 105 books included:

Well, 2022 is over. Insert your favorite metaphor about the passage of time here, and then lets get to what we all came for. Books!
In 2022 I read 105 books. This included:
16 nonfiction works
3 beta reads
3 rereads
44 young adult books
My most read authors were Becky Albertalli, Katee Robert, and Rachel Lynn Solomon. I read four titles from each. (JIC it wasn’t clear, I adore all three of these authors.)
Now that we have those *very important* stats it’s time for…drumroll please…made up awards.
Funniest Book:
Last year I gave this award to Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material. This year, it goes to the sequel, Husband Material. The book opens at a non gender specific bachelorette party with the protagonist Luc wearing a “bespoke crocheted vulva hat” and a t-shirt which reads “Bridge’s Bitches No Oliver I Think It’s Fine We’re Using It in the Reclaimed Sense and Anyway it’s Too Late to Change.” It only gets better from there.
Best Craft Book:
Many of us have heard of the hero’s journey. Did you know there’s an entirely separate heroine’s journey story structure? Not only does it exist but it’s hiding in plain sight. It’s the structure behind Harry Potter, Twilight, and even the 2017 Wonder Woman movie. I’ve always written books of this style even though I didn’t realize it. Gail Carriger’s book The Heroine’s Journey helped me understand the structure behind my intuition and in so doing helped me write better. The book also includes a delightful and vindicating discussion about the broader social issues which seem to come up around this story structure.
Best Comfort Book:
Sometimes you need to turn off the real world and go to a place where people accept and try to do right by each other, and where the spicy scenes are on point. When that’s what I need, I reach for The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.
Most Holy Cow How Did You Write That Book:
Only Mostly Devestated is not only the title, but also how you will feel as you read it. But not in a bad way. Except for in the sad parts, which will make you feel sad, but that’s what is supposed to happen and…all my words are coming out at once because I am so excited about this book. This book does what it does well. In my experience, life doesn’t neatly segregate into good times and bad, happiness and sorrow. It’s all mixed up in a great big ball of experience that’s complex, and beautiful. This book held space for that better than anything else I read all year.
What were your favorite reads of 2022? Drop a comment below.