9 books i read (and loved) in 2022
read these read these READ THESE (only if you want to, no pressure)
i started writing this 3 months ago (yikes). things have been stressful, but anyway, here’s a brief round-up of the best books (IMO) i read last year. i won’t get into the summary (everyone can google that). i’ll just leave with you why i liked it + a quote from the book that has stayed with me. i hope that’s fine? 🤨
i read 50 books in 2022. while a few were awful (verity and the silent patient, i am looking at you), some were amazing! soo, here are my favourite ones (clarification: these are the books i read last year. NOT all of them were published in 2022.).
Bunny
Mona Awad | Horror | 307 pages
“Can I take your coat?” Cupcake offers. I turn to her. She’s looking at me so hopefully. So willing to take a coat I’m not wearing, I almost want to give her my skin.”
“Why do you lie so much? And about the weirdest little things?" my mother always asked me. "I don’t know", I always said. But I did know. It was very simple. Because it was a better story.”
pretentious MFA students, cult, university setting, unreliable narrator - all the right ingredients for a delicious dark academia-esque horror. think of The Craft meets Heathers, with a dash of Mean Girls. if you like endings that make you want to reread the entire book right away because the last sentence absolutely caught you by surprise and made you doubt wtf really went on for 300 pages, this one’s for you, i think!
CW: animal cruelty, bullying, self-harm
Penpal
Dathan Auerbach | Horror / Mystery | 243 pages
“When you try to reconstruct the series, you find that it isn’t complete, but maybe this never really bothers you, because you can’t miss what you don’t remember.”
“Memories extend our lives backward through time, making them feel longer.”
what started as a story on the r/nosleep subreddit turned into a novel-length account of interconnected events about a man trying to connect the dots about a series of unsettling things that happened to/around him during his childhood and teenage.
this is perhaps the scariest book i have ever read. plus, it also made me cry (stick around till the end and you’ll know what i mean). not a week passes when i don’t think about this book, but i cannot bring myself to reread it.
CW: death of a family member, (implied) death of an animal, (implied?) paedophilia
Pet Sematary
Stephen King | Horror | 542 pages
“Sometimes dead is better.”
stephen king and i do not always get along, but when we do, it absolutely blows my mind! pet sematary is amazing. it is make-your-skin-crawl scary while also being an excellent exploration of grief. worth checking out! i do not recommend the films tho.
CW: death of a child, death of an animal, graphic description of a car accident, suicidal ideation
Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory
Raphael Bob-Waksberg | Short stories | 256 pages
“…actually, if you wanted to, you could say the same thing about life. That life is terrifying and overwhelming and it can happen at any moment. And when you’re confronted with life you can either be cowardly or you can be brave, but either way you’re going to live. So you might as well be brave.”
poignant short stories that shatter your heart and make you laugh simultaneously. while some stories are slightly instagram poetry-ish, the book includes enough standouts. my personal favourites are The serial monogamist's guide to important New York City landmarks and The average of all possible things.
[oh, also, the author also created BoJack Horseman. i have not watched the show, but i think the book might be intriguing to the ones who have watched - and enjoyed - it!]
When I Grow Up I Want To Be A List Of Further Possibilities
Chen Chen | Poetry | 96 pages
“I am not the heterosexual neat freak my mother raised me to be.
I am a gay sipper, & my mother has placed what’s left of her hope on my brothers.
She wants them to gulp up the world, spit out solid degrees, responsible grandchildren ready to gobble.
They will be better than mangoes, my brothers.
Though I have trouble imagining what that could be.
Flying mangoes, perhaps. Flying mango-tomato hybrids. Beautiful sons.”
great, refreshing queer poetry. quick, short read. very accessible.
CW: mentions of homophobia
How To Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing
KC Davis | Non-fiction / Self-help | 156 pages
“You do not have to earn the right to rest, connect, or recreate. Unlearn the idea that care tasks must be totally complete before you can sit down. Care tasks are a never-ending list. If you wait until everything is done to rest, you will never rest.”
“No one ever shamed themselves into better mental health.”
i don’t read self-help but checked this one out after withcindy mentioned the book on her channel. perfect for especially neurodivergent people, this one’s a nice, short read on reframing how you view organisation, chores, and rest.
Time Is A Mother
Ocean Vuong | Poetry | 128 pages
“Oh no. The sadness is intensifying. How rude.”
“Because what I did with my one short beautiful life— was lose it on a winning streak…Because this mess I made I made with love.”
if you loved on earth we’re briefly gorgeous (i’m yet to finish), i believe you will like this. even otherwise, this collection of excruciatingly beautiful writings on queerness, grief, and loss is 10/10 worth checking out.
CW: death of a parent, xenophobia, homophobia, self-harm
In My Dreams I Hold A Knife
Ashley Winstead | Thriller | 345 pages
“I studied myself the way I’d done my whole life, searching for what others saw when they looked at me. I wanted them to see perfection. I ached for it in the deep, dark core of me: to be so good I left other people in the dust. (...) I didn’t need to be perfect, per se, as long as I was the best.”
fast-paced thriller with a campus setting and multiple timelines. really fun and comes with plenty of twists and a well-knit friend group (with their secrets, of course 👀 ).
CW: suicide, sexual assault, eating disorder, mentions of internalised homophobia
I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy | Memoir | 320 pages
“She wanted this. And I wanted her to have it. I wanted her to be happy. But now that I have it, I realize that she’s happy and I’m not. Her happiness came at the cost of mine. I feel robbed and exploited.”
the best book i read last year. might as well be the best book to come out in 2022. i guarantee you would not be able to put it down.
will direct you to a few videos instead of trying to convince you on my own.
CW: death of a parent, body shaming, eating disorder, alcohol abuse, gaslighting, OCD, grooming and sexually predatory behaviour towards a minor
until next time,
ekata ✨