It’s officially a new year here in Indonesia, which means it’s time to reveal some of the best books I read in 2022!
Last year, I read 62 books. The number is slightly lower this time at 55 books, but some of them were so great they made it as my all-time favorites.
Without further ado, here are my 9 best reads of the year…
The 9 Best Books I Read in 2022
I haven’t ranked these books, but my top 3 picks this year will have to be Station Eleven, A Little Life, and The Rape of Nanking.
Station Eleven
A haunting post-apocalyptic book about the resilience of people that resonates even more in light of a real pandemic.
What’s it about? Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic novel following a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a traveling actor troupe. Set during different points in time of a devastating, world-ending pandemic, the story ties these various characters and events together in such an interesting way.
I loved how the descriptive writing style was very fitting to the theme—the resilience of humans and finding beauty amid the remains of civilization. Reading this as the real world is wrestling with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic was an experience in itself. A lot of the scenes felt eerily real, like the observation of a city standing still. No concerts, no shops, no flights. Just a world disrupted. All in all, hands down one of the best books I read in 2022.
Memorable Quote: “First we only want to be seen, but once we’re seen, that’s not enough anymore. After that, we want to be remembered.”
Dark Matter
A beautifully written and page-turning sci-fi thriller that will make you feel minute.
What’s it about? Dark Matter is a sci-fi thriller about a man who finds himself abducted and trapped in an alternate world where his life is not the one he knows. It’s difficult to talk about the plot without giving away spoilers. One thing I can say is that this is the kind of book you should dive into blindly. It’s what I did and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
While I personally don’t read much sci-fi, I could immediately tell that Dark Matter is a unique book. Its plot explores the theme of regret, dissecting questions like “what if I hadn’t done that?”, “what if I had done that?”, and more. The official synopsis describes it as “mind-bending”, which accurately sums up this novel.
Memorable Quote: “If you strip away all the trappings of personality and lifestyle, what are the core components that make me me?”
The Push
A psychological drama on the making and breaking of a family, as well as a riveting study in motherhood.
What’s it about? The Push reveals the story of a woman who is convinced there’s something wrong with her daughter. But, well, what kind of mother thinks that about her own child? The Push explores the portrayal of mothers and daughters and the question of how much of our personality is genetic.
The writing is so poignant and heartfelt. One thing I noticed is that the point of view felt a little confusing in the beginning. But once I finished the last page, I went right back to the start and it made perfect sense. The prose felt more beautiful too!
Memorable Quote: “Marriages can float apart. Sometimes we don’t notice how far we’ve gone until all of a sudden, the water meets the horizon and it feels like we’ll never make it back.”
A Little Life
A difficult, heart-wrenching literary fiction about love, family, and lifelong friendships.
What’s it about? A Little Life chronicles the journey of four friends from their college years to adulthood as they go through love and heartbreaks, poverty and success, happiness and despair. Although if I’m being honest, mostly despair. Each of these four characters has flaws and backstories that will get you invested in them.
I’m always wary of best-selling titles because sometimes they don’t live up to the hype. A Little Life is, ironically enough, a big book, and that would’ve been a lot of time wasted if it turned out to be a disappointment. Well. I’m happy to say that it isn’t and I get what all the rage is about. Writing? Beautiful. Characters? All fleshed out and believable. The story? Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Difficult.
Memorable Quote: “He experienced the singular pleasure of watching people he loved fall in love with other people he loved.”
The Book Thief
A sweet and heartfelt historical war fiction told from the perspective of Death.
What’s it about? The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany, following a young girl who falls in love with words and begins to steal books from all sorts of unlikely places. The plot is set in motion when her foster parents hide a Jew in their basement.
One thing that I love about this novel is the fact that it’s narrated by Death. Yes, something like this could easily be gimmicky, but I think Zusak made it work. I know some people may not like how the chapters tend to be short and broken up, but I do find the fragmentary narrative captures the transience of human life in the face of something permanent. Like Death.
Memorable Quote: “Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.”
The Eyes of the Dragon
A classic fantasy adventure that reads like the perfect bedtime story.
What’s it about? The Eyes of the Dragon is as classic as a fantasy story can get, embracing tropes like the murdered king, the wrongly accused heir, the overshadowed second son, and the evil wizard pulling their strings. Yet despite, or maybe because of, all these seemingly overused elements, this book manages to be both nostalgic and fresh.
The language is simple. No fancy words, no elaborate plot twists, just storytelling in its finest, purest form. This was my first Stephen King book, and while I’m not a fan of horror, it 100% made me want to pick up his other books (which I will, very soon!).
Memorable Quote: “One of the great things about tales is how fast time may pass when not much of note is happening. Real life is never that way, and it is probably a good thing.”
The Rape of Nanking
The forgotten Holocaust of World War II.
What’s it about? The Rape of Nanking describes in gruesome, realistic details the little-known event of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937. The subtitle of this book reads, “The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II”, which I think speaks volumes. It’s hard, nay, impossible, to write a review about such a book, except by saying that everyone should read it.
When the Japanese army invaded Nanking, they raped, tortured, and murdered over 300,000 Chinese civilians. And yet, why is it that so few of us have heard, let alone know, about it? Politics has a lot to do with it, but I believe this is an important piece of history that should be taught in schools around the world.
Memorable Quote: “Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has monopoly on wartime cruelty. The veneer of civilization seems to be exceedingly thin – one that can be easily stripped away, especially by the stresses of war.”
Bad Blood
The inside story to how one woman created a multibillion-dollar startup based on lies.
What’s it about? In Bad Blood, the author-slash-journalist investigates the secrets behind a shady Silicon Valley Startup. Theranos managed to attract renowned scientists and investors without ever having a functioning prototype. Its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, convinced her employees and the world that they could conduct elaborate health tests on just a single drop of blood. For years she orchestrated the perfect enterprise. Until people began to notice…
So much about this book is so riveting, from the honest journalism to the true story that feels plucked straight out of an epic crime novel. I actually didn’t know Hulu had also released The Dropout this year, a mini-series inspired by Holmes’ story, and it was also a fantastic watch!
Memorable Quote: “The way Theranos is operating is like trying to build a bus while you’re driving the bus. Someone is going to get killed.”
Patting the Shark
Inside the mind of a surf writer who is coming to terms with living alongside cancer.
What’s it about? Patting the Shark is a memoir by Tim Baker, a prolific surf writer who is learning to live well with prostate cancer. It’s a raw and candid account of his diagnosis and treatment, revealing the different ways his life was forced to change.
This title rounds up my best books in 2022. I adore his metaphor of cancer as a shark. That instead of trying to punch or run away from it, one could learn to pat the creature. I actually met Tim at a literary festival this year and bought the book directly from him. Maybe I’m also biased because it came to me at a point in life where many parts of his story hit home.
Memorable Quote: “My great white shark is a balding, bespectacled urologist dispassionately informing me that not only do I have prostate cancer, but the cancer has already spread to my lymph nodes, my right femur (thigh bone) and left seventh rib.”
2023 Reading Plans
That’s all for the best books I’ve read in 2022!
I talked about wanting to read more Indonesian books and poetry in 2022, which I didn’t manage to do. This year, life might be a little busy, so I’ll simply take it easy and read whatever catches my fancy. I’m also hoping to write more in 2023 🙂
What are some of your favorite reads last year? Drop me a comment below!
Hapy new year and cheers to 12 more epic months of reading.
