22 Books for 2022 — A Personal Selection
It is high time to empty this to-be-read pile!
Every year it is the same; new amazing books are published, recommendations come from all sides, and we find ourselves wanting to read more books and having a reading list even bigger. Among this year’s resolutions, I want to read these books that I have been wanting to read since forever or that have been sitting here on my shelves for way too much time.
There is a mix of famous, infamous, classic books, some French but also books from all over the world. I hope you will like this little selection and don’t hesitate to share yours!
Physical books
1 — A body to love by Angie Caruso
Looking back at 2021, I feel like I have grown a lot, I am more confident in myself but also more indulgent. This is partly due to Angie’s positive messages, her atmosphere of self-love, care, and acceptance. She helped me a lot in finding the lifestyle that worked for me and she taught me to listen to myself. Now she put everything (and more) in a book, and people are grateful for it.
Summary : A new conversation about the media and radical self-love, A Body to Love provides lessons on positively navigating body image in a social media saturated world.
Forming healthy relationships with the internet. To Angelina Caruso, recovery meant finding her tribe―a community that offered support, encouragement, and zero judgement. But she never imagined finding them online. Now a health and wellness blogger, she narrates the progression of a body image disorder and her unusual path to recovery. (more here)
2 — The Vanishing Half by Brit Benett
This book collects prizes and awards, among them the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction. Yes, this is a best seller who seems to make everyone agree. And I like sister stories.
Summary: The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?
3 — The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Obviously! It has been on my reading list for way too long, and I had the physical copy right on my shelf… Circe, by the same author, was a huge win, and I can’t wait to (re)discover Achilles’ story.
Summary: Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath. (more here)
4 — Tout le bleu du ciel by Mélissa Da Costa
Here we come, Frenchies! This one is only available in French for now, but I won’t be surprised if it gets translated worldwide. My best friends read it and loved it. I trust them on this; but I am also quite anxious because I read Les Lendemains, by the same author, and it was way too romantic for me. We will see.
Summary: Emile has decided to flee the hospital, the compassion of his family and friends. To his own astonishment, he receives a reply to this announcement. Three days later, with the secretly purchased camper van, he finds Joanne, a young woman, whose only luggage is a backpack, a big black hat, and no explanation for her presence. Thus begins a journey of stunning beauty. At every turn of this journey, through the encounter with others and the discovery of oneself, joy, fear, friendship and love are born, which gradually pierce Emile’s shell of pain. (more here)
5 — Wabi Sabi by Beth Kempton
I had my brother buy me this one for Christmas a couple of years ago, and it is still here. This little Bible feels so enormous and powerful it somehow scares me. I think I will be changed in a way after reading it. I hope so.
Summary: Wabi sabi (“wah-bi sah-bi”) is a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics, which helps us to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things. With roots in zen and the way of tea, the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi is more relevant than ever for modern life, as we search for new ways to approach life’s challenges and seek meaning beyond materialism. (more here)
6 — Dune Messiah, (Dune #2), by Franck Herbert
All of you must know about Dune now, after the movie’s worldwide success. Guess what, the books have been here since 1965, and I loved the first one. Hope this one will keep up.
Summary: Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known — and feared — as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne — and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.
7 — A Man’s Place by Annie Ernaux
Last month, I read Simone de Beauvoir’s first memoir, and I enjoyed it a lot. I thought that I would give more space to feminist authors. This one is much shorter and according to the librarian, one of her best.
Summary: Annie Ernaux’s father died exactly two months after she passed her exams for a teaching certificate. Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labour, Ernaux’s father had grown into a hard, practical man who showed his family little affection. Narrating his slow ascent towards material comfort, Ernaux’s cold observation in A Man’s Place reveals the shame that haunted her father throughout his life. She scrutinizes the importance he attributed to manners and language that came so unnaturally to him as he struggled to provide for his family with a grocery store and café in rural France. Over the course of the book, Ernaux grows up to become the uncompromising observer now familiar to the world, while her father matures into old age with a staid appreciation for life as it is and for a daughter he cautiously, even reluctantly admires.
8 — La vallée des rubis by Joseph Kessel
Well, this one just happens to be on my shelf, I have no idea where it comes from. So I might just as well give it a go.
Summary: More secret than Mecca, more difficult to access than Lhasa, there is a small city in the heart of the Burmese jungle that is unknown to men and yet has reigned over them with its fabulous wealth for centuries: it is Mogok, the citadel of the ruby, the rarest, most expensive and most bewitching precious stone. Mogok, lost in a maze of wild hills beyond Mandalay. Mogok, around which tigers prowl. Legend has it that in time immemorial a giant eagle, flying over the world, found in the vicinity of Mogok a huge stone, which it first took for a piece of living flesh, because it was the colour of the most generous and purest blood. It was a kind of sunshine. The eagle carried the first ruby of the universe to the sharpest peak of the valley. Thus was born Mogok…
Kindle / digital books
To be honest, I prefer reading physical books. Don’t we all? But sometimes, I can’t fit 3 books in an already heavy backpack, so I thank the world for ebooks for I am traveling. I know it happens a lot, and I am glad to have a little stack in my Kindle.
9— Legacy by Yann Arthus Bertrand
Summary: For the first time, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the ecologist and humanist photographer and creator of the Good Planet Foundation, gives his account in the first person. He questions the legacy that his generation is leaving to the younger ones — Greta Thunberg and others -, takes stock of the state of the planet and of a journey rich in experience, pitfalls, and eternal beginnings.
10 — Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
This one has almost been January’s choice for the is it worth the hype book club, but it caught my eye so much that I simply had to read it.
Summary: “This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me”. Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends — the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that — but his devoted mother and grandmother aren’t fazed by his condition. Their little home above his mother’s used bookstore is decorated with colorful post-it notes that remind him when to smile, when to say “thank you,” and when to laugh. Yunjae grows up content, even happy, with his small family in this quiet, peaceful space. The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever.
11 — Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Another classic I can’t wait to read! I feel mad at myself for not having read it so far, and I think I know most of the story already. I adore Virginia Woolf’s work.
Summary: In this vivid portrait of one day in a woman’s life, Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of a party she is to give that evening. As she readies her house she is flooded with memories and re-examines the choices she has made over the course of her life.
12— The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
This is Angie Caruso’s favorite book, so I have to read it, period. She is the kind of person I trust 100% and I don’t Donna Tartt is a great author too. If I am convinced, I read more of her.
Summary: The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph — a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and fate.
13 — The Enigma in Room 622 by Joël Dicker
I used to love thrillers a few years ago, and then they bored me. Joël Dicker made me like the genre again, introducing it with subtlety, with a strong story and awesome characters. I read the Marcus Goldman duet, and now I want to read this masterpiece too.
Summary: One dark night in December, an ideal murder takes place at the Verbier Palace in the Swiss Alps. The police investigation never leads to anything more than an unhealthy conclusion. A few years later, at the beginning of the summer of 2018, when a writer goes to the same hotel for a perfect holiday in the beautiful sunshine, he is far from imagining that he will find himself immersed in this case.
14 — The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Sorry for the obvious. I know this book is way too famous already and there is no need to mention it, but I want to get myself into reading it anyway.
Summary: When Stephen Covey first released The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the book became an instant rage because people suddenly got up and took notice that their lives were headed off in the wrong direction; and more than that, they realized that there were so many simple things they could do in order to navigate their life correctly. This book was wonderful education for people, education in how to live life effectively and get closer to the ideal of being a ‘success’ in life. (more here)
15 — La familia grande by Camille Kouchner
I don’t remember how and when I heard about this book, but know it is powerful and tells a story that needs to be heard.
Summary: “Remember, Mum: we were your children.” C.K.
This is the story of a large family that loves to argue, laugh and dance, that loves the sun and summer. It is the incandescent story of a woman who finally dares to tell what has long silenced the familia grande.
16 — How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
This man sure has a lot to tell, with a lot of experience behind him. And any point of view and knowledge about climate change is good to take.
Summary: Bill Gates shares what he’s learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. (more here)
17 — un été ensemble by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The author is kind of renowned, I guess; I wanted to give her books a try.
Summary: Seth and his younger brother Henry did not grow up in the most stable of homes. Their father has been in and out of prison; and they have never seen their mother, who left years ago. Their lives are still full of uncertainty — but fate may have a pleasant surprise in store for them.
After his son’s death, Augustus stops drinking and decides to embark on a journey that is very close to his heart. He finds himself stranded in a small town at the mercy of the local mechanic — Seth and Henry’s father. Then he gets an unexpected offer: if he takes the two boys for the summer, he won’t have to pay for the repairs. The unlikely trio hit the road, and an equally unlikely and unforgettable friendship begins to take shape…
Others
I have not decided yet in which format I will read them, I guess it depends on when I will be reading them.
18 — Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Can’t wait to get into this one. It is everything I like about nonfiction; a memoir of powerful personalities, with society messages about feminism, family, etc.
Summary: Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.
19 — Normal People by Sally Rooney
After reading Beautiful World, Where Are You by the talented Mrs. Rooney, I felt the urge to discover more of her books. I am doing it the other way around through her writings, but we all gotta start somewhere.
Summary: Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
20 — Salt by Nayyirah Waheed
A little poetry can’t hurt anyone. I love these books that you can just open and close wherever you want, get submerged into it, and beoverwhelmed with the emotions carried by the writer. Home Body by Rupi Kaur resonated through me and I am seeking the same experience.
description: salt. a literary work.
21 — 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna West
Ok I know I might be a little late on this one. I don’t realize how famous it is or not but it has attracted me for a long time. Reading from other people’s experiences and their concrete learnings makes me reflect a lot.
Summary: Over the past few years, Brianna Wiest has gained renown for her deeply moving, philosophical writing. This new compilation of her published work features pieces on why you should pursue purpose over passion, embrace negative thinking, see the wisdom in daily routine, and become aware of the cognitive biases that are creating the way you see your life. Some of these pieces have never been seen; others have been read by millions of people around the world. Regardless, each will leave you thinking: this idea changed my life.
22 — The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Year after year, this book stays in the favorites. It was among many’s top tens of 2021. Moreover, it is historical fiction, happening in France during world war II. The subject has been covered a lot, but when it is done well I love it.
Summary: In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939. In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. (more here)
That’s a wrap! Let me know if you have read some and what you thought about them, or if there are some on your reading list. Happy reading!
