2022 was an amazing year in the book world. There were so many amazing books that came out in 2022. Here are some of the best books of 2002 for you to read and enjoy!
These make great gifts also!
From historical romance novels to literary fiction to non-fiction, there is something on this list for everyone. So buy one from the store, get a copy from the library or borrow it on Kindle and enjoy!
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The Latecomer
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. This complex novel sucks you in and keeps you hanging on until the last word.
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
I love historical romance novels, and this one hits the Regency Romance novel spot! This is a frothy pleasure, full of brilliant repartee and enticing wit–one that readers will find an irresistible delight. Follow along as Kitty Talbot hunts a rich husband and maybe finds love along the way?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Solito: A Memoir
A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.
Book of Night 
In Holly Black’s adult dark fantasy debut, Charlie Hall tries to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. Still, she can’t seem to escape this maelstrom of doppelgängers, thieves, and magic. Unfortunately, manipulating shadows has a cost, and Charlie is about to be swept up in a battle for its secrets.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
This captivating fantasy seamlessly weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic. Inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e, this debut is the first in a romantic duology and boasts lush world-building, a strong female protagonist, and vivid characters.
The Hacienda
Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this superb work of postcolonial Gothic horror. As a debut author, Isabel Cañas skillfully knows when to rely on haunted house tropes—and when to subvert them—in a way that will keep readers perpetually guessing.
I Will Die in a Foreign Land
This razor-sharp debut follows four disparate people during the 2014 Maidan revolution in Ukraine. A novel that is both beautifully poetic and intensely moving, I Will Die in a Foreign Land is the kind of read that feels like a timeless ballad detailing the connections between humankind and the tragedy of war.
To Paradise
Three storylines spanning three centuries in alternate versions of America are woven together in this enthralling novel about love, loss, family, and the prices and promises of utopia. Hanya Yanagihara delivers a bold new story that hinges upon and withstands the test of time.
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
In a world not unlike our own, 13-year-old Skandar dreams of becoming a respected unicorn rider and competing in the Chaos Cup. Unicorns in Skandar’s world are real; they are deadly, bloodthirsty creatures who are dangerous unless bonded to a rider. As Skandar learns even greater danger may be afoot, an adventure of epic proportions ensues.
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again
We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus—as individuals, and as a society—if we are determined to fight for it.
Fairy Tale
Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.
Horse: A Novel
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.
Carrie Soto Is Back
In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.
Demon Copperhead
From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity.
Our Missing Hearts
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz To Warn the World
This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who even as a teenager understands that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death, a man who deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.
City on Fire
From the gritty streets of Providence to the glittering screens of Hollywood to the golden casinos of Las Vegas, two rival crime families ignite a war that will leave only one standing. The winner will forge a dynasty.
Lessons in Chemistry
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.
The Maid
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.
Book Lovers
Emily Henry’s third novel tells an inspiring story of both selflessness and self-acceptance, with all the witty banter we have come to know and love. This novel went viral on BookTok this year and is really one of this year’s standout books.
Sea of Tranquility
Emily St. John Mandel’s newest novel is filled with time travel, love, and humanity. This book spans 300 years and follows an exiled son of an earl, an author on a book tour trapped on earth during a pandemic, and a Gaspery-Jacques Roberts alongside his childhood best friend who has seen the opportunity to do something great that would change the fabric of the timeline of the universe.
All the Broken Places
All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel’s girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting.
Take My Hand
Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patient.
The Door of No Return
From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Kwame Alexander comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.
Butts: A Backstory
Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.
Memphis
Unfolding over seventy years through a chorus of unforgettable voices that move back and forth in time, Memphis paints an indelible portrait of inheritance, celebrating the full complexity of what we pass down in a family and as a country: brutality and justice, faith, and forgiveness, sacrifice and love.
Which one of these books have you read? Which ones will you be putting on your reading list?
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Robyn Goldfarb
Hi! I am a millennial mom with a passion for personal finance. I have always been “into” personal finance but got inspired to start my blog after a period of extended unemployment. That experience really changed the way I viewed my relationship with money and the importance of accessible personal finance education.