My Top 9 Books in 2022

Plus 6 Honorable Mentions and a List of All My Reviewed and Unreviewed Books from This Year

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

I read almost twice as many books this year as I thought I might. My typical tally runs between 50 and 70 books a year. When I decided to review every book I read for this project, I figured my total might drop somewhat; if I slowed to share my thinking on each book, I imagined I might read more like 45.

Nope.

What happened instead: I actually read and reviewed 52 books this year. I read and left unreviewed another 37, bringing my total books read to 89. I think that’s the most I’ve ever covered in a single year.

I’m happy to report some real stars emerged. It’s taken me a few weeks to land on my top 9, and some books have bounced on and off the list. I decided to share my final top picks along with a handful of honorable mentions.

Along with those, I thought I might also share the entire list of books read and reviewed this year, along with those read and left unreviewed. Scan down; you’ll find those below.

My Top 9

Nine of my favorite reads from 2022. A mix of history, biography, and social science.

1. Thomas S. Kidd, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh

2. Andrew D. Kaufman, The Gambler Wife: The True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky

3. Farah Jasmine Griffin, Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature

4. Dennis Duncan, Index, a History of the: A Bookish Adventure

5. Luke Burgis, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

6. Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen, The Library: A Fragile History

7. Michael Blastland, The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals Its Secrets

8. David Hackett Fischer, African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals

9. Christina Thompson, Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia

Every one of these books is surprising, fascinating, and revelatory. I’ve linked to my reviews so you can discover their specific charms and qualities. I feel joy, intrigue, or a mix both whenever I spot one of their spines on the shelf.

And the same could be said for these next six titles.

Honorable Mentions

More social science and history.

1. Russ Roberts, Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us

2. Seb Falk, The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science

3. Leidy Klotz, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

4. Anselm Grün, Lead Like a Monk: Benedict’s Path to Cultivating Meaning, Joy, and Purpose at Work

5. Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan, Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success

6. James Poskett, Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science

I can’t pass up an opportunity to pump these titles. They’re all thought-provoking and excellent. Easy prediction: Some of the ideas in these books will rattle around in my head for years to come.

Of course, these 15 are just part of the total list of books for the year. If you’re wondering about the rest, look no further. They’re directly below. Those read and reviewed come first; they’re roughly in the order I finished them throughout the year.

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All Books Read and Reviewed

1. Michael Blastland, The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals Its Secrets

2. Christina Thompson, Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia

3. Kenneth Cukier, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, and Francis de Véricourt, Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil

4. Seb Falk, The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science

5. Leidy Klotz, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

6. Margaret Heffernan, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future

7. Cecelia Watson, Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark

8. Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen, The Library: A Fragile History

9. Dennis Duncan, Index, a History of the: A Bookish Adventure

10. Abraham Flexner, The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

11. Sergei Hackel, Pearl of Great Price: The Life of Mother Maria Skobtsova 1891–1945

12. George Johnson, Miss Leavitt’s Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe

13. Fiona Maddocks, Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age

14. Luke Burgis, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

15. Emily St. John Mandel, Sea of Tranquility

16. David Robson, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World

17. Leonard Mlodinow, Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking

18. Thomas S. Kidd, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh

19. James Poskett, Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science

20. Caroline Williams, Move! The New Science of Body over Mind

21. Kevin Birmingham, The Sinner and the Saint: Dostoevsky and the Gentleman Murderer Who Inspired a Masterpiece

22. Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross, Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World

23. Aristotle, How to Innovate

24. Andrew D. Kaufman, The Gambler Wife: The True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky

25. Marcus Brotherton, A Bright and Blinding Sun: A World War II Story of Survival,  Love, and Redemption

26. Laurie Woolever, Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

27. David Hackett Fischer, African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals

28. Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land

29. Russ Roberts, Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us

30. Richard Cohen, Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past

31. Eric Berkowitz, Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West from the Ancients to Fake News

32. Richard Ovenden, Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge

33. Farah Jasmine Griffin, Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature

34. Eugene Vodolazkin, Brisbane

35. Grant McCracken, Return of the Artisan: How America Went from Industrial to Handmade

36. Moshe Bar, Mindwandering: How Your Constant Mental Drift Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Your Creativity

37. Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan, Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success

38. Anselm Grün, Lead Like a Monk: Benedict’s Path to Cultivating Meaning, Joy, and Purpose at Work

39. Danièle Cybulskie, How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life

40. Kim Haines-Eitzen, Sonorous Desert: What Deep Listening Taught Early Christian Monks—and What It Can Teach Us

41. Edward Chancellor, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest

42. Eric J. Johnson, The Elements of Choice: Why The Way We Decide Matters

43. Kieran Setiya, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way

44. Eleanor Jackson, The Lindisfarne Gospels: Art, History, and Inspiration

45. Jeffrey F. Hamburger and Joshua O’Driscoll, Imperial Splendor: The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire, 800–1500

46. Roland Betancourt, Performing the Gospels in Byzantium: Sight, Sound, and Space in the Divine Liturgy

47. Bob Dylan, The Philosophy of Modern Song

48. Greil Marcus, Folk Music: A Biography of Bob Dylan in Seven Songs

49. Arthur C. Brooks, From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

50. Thomas Suddendorf, Jonathan Redshaw, and Adam Bulley, The Invention of Tomorrow: A Natural History of Foresight

51. Dipo Faloyin, Africa Is not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent

52. J. Storrs Hall, Where Is My Flying Car?

Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash

Reviews of every one of the books on the above list can be found in the archive. If any of those titles pique your curiosity, by all means follow the trail. You might find a treasure. Below find the books I read but for one reason or another chose not to review. This list is mostly in the order I read them, though not strictly; I couldn’t always remember.

All Books Read but Unreviewed

1. Amanda H. Podany, The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction

2. Marc Morris, The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

3. T. C. Boyle, Talk to Me

4. Roderick Beaton, The Greeks: A Global History

5. Linda Woodhead, Christianity: A Very Short Introduction

6. Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe

7. Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here

8. Kirstin Valdez Quade, The Five Wounds

9. Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture

10. Stephen De Young, God Is a Man of War: The Problem of Violence in the Old Testament

11. Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry, The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe

12. Brant Hansen, The Men We Need: God’s Plan for the Manly Man, the Avid Indoorsman, or Any Man Willing to Show Up

13. Marc Wittman, Felt Time: The Science of How We Experience Time

14. Christopher Cox, The Deadline Effect: How to Work Like It’s the Last Minute—Before the Last Minute

15. Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey, Why Are We Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment

16. Jason M. Baxter, The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind

17. Emily Levesque, The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers

18. Leonard Mlodinow, The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

19. Ayelet Fishbach, Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation

20. Michael Greger, How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

21. Michael Greger, How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss

22. Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

23. Emma Smith, Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers

24. Mark Kurlansky, Paper: Paging Through History

25. Colin Wells, Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World

26. Jeremy Schipper, Denmark Vesey’s Bible: The Thwarted Revolt that Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial

27. Ritchie Robertson, The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680–1790

28. Richard Bauckham, Jesus: A Very Short Introduction

29. E. P. Sanders, Paul: A Very Short Introduction

30. Michael Coogan, The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction

31. Valarie Hansen, The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World—And Globalization Began

32. Tamim Ansary, The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection

33. Oded Galor, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins and Wealth of Inequality

34. Ananyo Bhattacharya, The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann

35. Violet Moller, The Map of Knowledge: A Thousand-Year History of How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found

36. Irene Vallejo, Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World

37. Daisy Dunn, The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny

That’s it for me this year. I’m going to take the next couple of weeks off. I’ll keep reading, of course, but I’ll be spending more time with family and friends as we head into Christmas and New Year’s. I love the Advent season and want to engage with a little less distraction as the Nativity approaches.

In the meantime, thank you for the gift of your attention all these months. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your encouragement and support for this project. Your comments, recommendations, shares, and other involvement have made it deeply rewarding. I’m looking forward to sharing more reviews with you in 2023, including these 12 classic novels!

By the way, if you’re looking to set a reading goal of your own for 2023, you might find this post helpful. I explain how to set goals using the SMARTER framework. There are many ways to do it, but the SMARTER framework works better than any other method I know.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

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