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It's that time of year folks!

Every year at BNC we post our favorite books and the ones that we really disliked. (you will find past lists in this Folder)

The books do not have to be published in 2022, only read by you in 2022.

If you could provide a link and a few words on each book that would be great.

So far this year I've read 63 books.
29 Fiction books
34 Non Fiction books

My top rated books ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� 😊 👍

Interesting that they are all non fiction.

King Richard: Nixon and Watergate �� An American Tragedy by Michael Dobbs
non fiction
The unraveling of President Richard Nixon's presidency. The focus is on the one hundred days that followed his second inaugural. Well done !

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
non fiction-YA
A big Thank You, to Simon for recommending this award winning book. It was exactly what I was looking for. The book also contains a lot of terrific photos. I also appreciated that this well researched book contains many firsthand accounts and eye witness testimonies.

The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World by A.J. Baime.
non fiction
The book takes you from his humble upbringing to the highest office in the land. He certainly rose to the occasion.

Lincoln and the Fight for Peace by John P. Avlon
non fiction
The book is about the Civil War and President Lincoln's plan to win the peace after the war. The book moves along at a nice pace. It makes one wonder what might have been if Lincoln was able to carry out his plan for peace.

Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome by Will Bulsiewicz
non fiction
Good motivating book on why Fiber is so critical to ones health.
An estimated 95% of American adults and children do not consume recommended amounts of fiber.

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
non fiction
This is a collection of about 40 wide ranging essays. The stories are full of interesting tidbits and alternates between the humorous and the poignantly personal.

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

Books that did not resonate with me. 😝👎
I only had two 1/5 rated books.

Stress Less, Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher
The book is basically a repetitive infomercial for her expensive online meditation course and in person teaching. Run away from this sales job.

Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie by Julia Haart
The first part of the book was interesting. It explains her life in an ultra orthodox Jewish community. The second half of the book is a complete disaster. It jumps from one odd business dealing to another as Julia decides to become a shoe designer. Everyone, including Julia, seems to be scamming someone. Julia also never tires of telling you how brilliant and sexy she is. Nope. Kicking this one to the curb in my non designer shoes. :)

Best Books That I Read in 2022
Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle

Nurse, Come You Here!: More True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle

The Brown's Chicken Massacre

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

Barnum: An American Life

Lindbergh

Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty

These are the books I gave 5 stars to, though I think I had only one or two stinkers this year!

Alias Reader wrote: "

So far this year I've read 63 books.
29 Fiction books
34 Non Fiction books

My top rated books ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� 😊 👍

Interesting that they are all non fiction.

[book:King Richard: Nixon and Watergate �� An..."

Some of these look so good! I've been looking for a good President book to check off on my Reading 100 List.
Thanks for sharing!

I've read 50 books so far, 17 of which I rated 5 stars (!!) - It was a good book year! Only one 1-star and two 2-stars (including 2 DNFs)

Here are a few of my favorite 5-stars:


I love that there are so many amazing non-fiction "growth"-related books out now. This one was especially great - it's all about how as humans, we get stuck in the familiar and how our brains aren't really wired to re-think and question everything. The author Adam M. Grant is a social scientist who gives the science behind why our brain does what it does, which makes it even more interesting (For me, personally.)


This was such a powerful fiction novel by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia Her writing is beautiful and she really connects the reader to each character. I also learned a lot about Nigeria's history. The characters are fictional, but the historical events are real.


This is another fiction with gorgeous writing and lots based in actual events. I learned a ton about Palestine and Israel, but was totally emersed in the characters and story. The author does an amazing job of creating empathy for every single "side" of the story.


Non-fiction; the author Kareem Rosser tells the story of his childhood in Philly and how he and his brothers (& friends) became the first all-black national polo team. It's an amazingly well told story (his first book too!), and the narrator for the audio does a great job.


Non-Fiction - I love how the author Johann Hari highlights lots of ways in which our focus is "stolen" (not just phones/technology) and explains the science behind each of his chapter topics. Really engaging, easy to read. He also goes through a list of things everyone can do to regain their attention (easily attainable, small goals) at the end, which I enjoyed.


Another Non-Fiction, amazing read. Everyone would get something out of this, regardless of any trauma in their childhood (or not.) Written by Oprah & Bruce D. Perry, the audio is amazing - they speak in an almost conversational tone, which makes the book feel like one long podcast almost.


And now my 1-star...

Some of my favorite "bookstagrammers" loved this one, but I couldn't get into it. It's supposed to be dystopian, but it just didn't work for me. The author didn't make anything seem truly believable in my opinion - I was rolling my eyes at some of her repetitive sentences, which is never a good sign... But people seem to either love or hate this one, so who knows!

Wow, you folks were ready with your lists. I am far from that. There is wisdom in using a star system when the end of the year round up arrives, you can check for your 5-star books.

These lists are neat because i could remember the reviews and comments you made about the books you listed. Immediately, i understand what called you each to move the book to the tops.

Thanks for sharing!

Lindsey wrote: "I love that there are so many amazing non-fiction "growth"-related books out now. This one was especially great - it's all about how as humans, we get stuck in the familiar and how our brains aren't really wired to re-think and question everything. The author Adam M. Grant is a social scientist who gives the science behind why our brain does what it does, which makes it even more interesting (For me, personally.).."

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know was one of my top rated books of 2021.

Lindsey wrote: I've been looking for a good President book to check off on my Reading 100 List.

One of my favorite presidential books is

The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter

If you like straight-foreward, mostly biographical facts bios, as i do, i can suggest the following:
John Adams--David McCullough

John Tyler, the Accidental President--Edward P. Crapol

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness--Harlow Giles Unger

There are livelier bios, of course, but, in addition to the qualities mentioned above, these three fill readers in on the issues of the age, so you have their presidencies in the midst of their history, which is another thing i like.

Earlier this year i read a bio AliasReader mentioned for Theodore Roosevelt. I felt it adequately told his story but the details i savor were not as abundant as i like. Still, it was factual and interesting, while not as long as the others--Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt--Aida D. Donald.

I will list my top 10 of the year (there were more but too many to put on here) and then will list the dnf books with an explanation.

Top 10 Reads - 5 star reads!

1) The Shadow of the Gods
2) The Exorcist's House
3) The Garden of Bewitchment
4) They Thirst
5) The Troop
6) Dracul
7) Fairy Tale
8) Assassin
9) Vampires, Zombies, & Mojo Men
10) Charnel House

The books that were dnf are as follows which are not many - I only had four dnf books this year which means that most of the books I liked. lol :)

Nightshade - Lots of repetition and a very slow burn. Normally I will read a Saul book as his books usually will keep me in horror suspense, but this one didn't work for me. Also I had a hard time with it as one of the characters has Alzheimer's. My mother had it before she passed away and it was just too hard to read about the character going through as it brought back what I went through with my mother. So I had to lay it down.

Merfolk - this book was supposed to be about mermaids and lots of water, but there were no mermaids in this story and if there were they must have been invisible. I pushed myself to read near half the book and still there was no merfolk swimming through this story. Normally I like the books that this author puts out but this one just went "swimming" into nowhere land.

The Haunting On Park Road: A Memoir Based On Terrifying True Paranormal Events - This book was supposed to be based on a true ghost story events but it just fell flat. No spooks within this book! lol :)

Legion - This book I thought was going to be super scary since it is the sequel to The Exorcist. But this book was far from the "scary zone" as I felt it was just boring.

So that is my wrap up for this year in books. The good and the bad. :)

Thank you both for the wonderful recommendations! I used to read US history (non fiction & historical fiction) fairly exclusively as a kid, but haven’t read much in recent years. These should help me dive back in!

Marie wrote: The books that were dnf are as follows which are not many - I only had four dnf books this year which means that most of the books I liked."

A good reading year for sure.

Lindsey wrote: "Thank you both for the wonderful recommendations! I used to read US history (non fiction & historical fiction) fairly exclusively as a kid, but haven’t read much in recent years. These should help ..."

You're welcome. Happy reading !

My best, by far, was The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.. I was awed by that book. Still am awed.

I also liked all of the John Banville and his alter ego, Benjamin Black. I read Snow and April in Spain, among others. So interested to see how Quirke copes with the ending of April in Spain.

I loved Louise Candlish's books and Our House was a favorite. The movie version was great, too.

I did not like Carl Hiassen 's Squeeze Me. I just don't feel it lived up to his previous books.

I read two books of Gothic novellas by Joyce Carol Oates that I loved: Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense, a favorite and Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong were great, but I didn't care for Pursuit. No substance.

Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente did not wow me at all. One of the worst books I've ever read.

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: The books that were dnf are as follows which are not many - I only had four dnf books this year which means that most of the books I liked."

A good reading year for sure."

Thank you, Alias! :)

Kiki wrote: "My best, by far, was The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.. I was awed by that book. Still am awed.

I also liked all of the John Banville and his alter ego..."

Thanks for sharing, Kiki. I liked Squeeze Me more than you did.

I recall when Comfort Me with Apples and Tender at the Bone: Two Culinary Treasures came out and seemed very popular. The book never called to me.

Alias Reader wrote: "Kiki wrote: "My best, by far, was The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.. I was awed by that book. Still am awed.

I also liked all of the John Banville and ..."

There were parts of Squeeze Me that I really liked, but overall, I felt it lacked a center, grounding. But it did have some hilarious scenes. I do love Carl Hiaasen's writing. Well, at least most of it. Comic novels aren't so popular in literature, and comedy is more difficult to write than tragedy, so I really appreciate the author's contribution to literature.

A really hilarious book for me is William Boyd's, A Good Man in Africa. I laughed out loud at that one!

Kiki wrote: A really hilarious book for me is William Boyd's, A Good Man in Africa. I laughed out loud at that one!"

Thanks for the title. I've never heard of the author or book.

Marie wrote: "I will list my top 10 of the year (there were more but too many to put on here) and then will list the dnf books with an explanation.

Top 10 Reads - 5 star reads! ..."

I hear ya on that one, Marie. I have a list of Top 19 best of the year, which i intend to winnow down, or force myself to winnow. :-)

Meanwhile, i remember many of your reviews for books on your list. Nice!

Kiki wrote: "My best, by far, was The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.. I was awed by that book. Still am awed.

I also liked all of the John Banville and his alter ego..."

Kiki, i'd not heard of the Jones book but have added it to my TBR. Too high praise to ignore.

I haven't read Banville but the name struck a chord. I believe his name & works were mentioned in passing in one of the British novels i read this year. Possibly a mystery series from Elly Griffiths.

ANYway, thank you for sharing your thoughts on your selections here.

Because i was rummaging through my Books Read list, i randomly also decided to see how balanced my female to male author ratio is. I'm rather pleased at the result, as often it's overwhelmingly heavy on females writers. This year, it's approximately 51 females to 45 males. (Note: some names i didn't recognize as either sex and the title didn't help, so i just decided to skip those.)

Of course, i still don't have my list of Best/Worst but i know this fact now! LOL

You got me curious�� I figured mine would be a pretty good mix, but surprised to count 32 women authors and only 18 men!

madrano wrote: "Because i was rummaging through my Books Read list, i randomly also decided to see how balanced my female to male author ratio is. I'm rather pleased at the result, as often it's overwhelmingly hea..."

Mine were
29 female 34 male


According to the Great and All Knowing Google:

There are over 7,046 authors currently employed in the United States. 50.5% of all authors are women, while 49.5% are men. The average age of an employed author is 41 years old.

Starting with gender and popular fiction, it's clear that the bulk of authors were male. The difference is pretty stark, too—over 70% of the bestselling books used in this study were by male authors, while only 30% were by women authors.

More Than 80 Percent of the Most Popular Novels Are Written by Men


FICTION WRITER DEMOGRAPHICS AND STATISTICS IN THE US



Why Are So Many Men Still Resistant to Reading Women?


MALE LEADS IN FICTION SELL 10 MILLION MORE BOOKS ON AVERAGE THAN FEMALE LEADS

It's neat to compare our guess vs. the numbers. I was certain i would be lopsided female because long, long ago i decided to read female authors, as they are just more well rounded overall, imo. And, to be fair, almost a dozen or so of the males i read this year were due to our 100 Challenge--Louis L'Amour, John O'Hara, Paulo Coelho,Laurence Sterne, to name a few.

Alias, thanks for the links.

Deb since I like non fiction, I thought my list would skew male.
I'm happy to see it's 50/50

You make a somewhat unspoken point, Alias. The number of nonfiction written by men is overwhelming. In looking at presidential biographies earlier today, i could find only one each for Taft and Wilson that were written by women. The numbers in history are increasing, however.

I had a few 5 star books, but these were my favorites of them:





I had one 2 star book, which was:



There were a few DNF, but I don't keep track of those, so I don't have a list.

Thanks for sharing, Kim. These look like fun reads.
Glad to hear you only had one 2 star book !

Kim, i need to give Sutanto's book another try. I don't think i was in the right frame of mind for it when i tried this summer.

Thank you for sharing with us about your favorites for the year.

madrano wrote: "Kim, i need to give Sutanto's book another try. I don't think i was in the right frame of mind for it when i tried this summer.

Thank you for sharing with us about your favorites for the year."

Oh, it was so much fun! I literally laughed out loud a few times during it.

Who doesn't love those reading moments?!

Just a couple of each from me ...

I listened to the essay collection The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin, finding it outstanding (library download)

I bought the audiobook Good Behaviour by Molly Keane, but recommending this very well done satire, without being completely over-the-top, in any format.


Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life by Laurie Notaro was my biggest disappointment of the year. Humorous? Hardly ever. Unpleasant? Much of the time. A shame as her previous books have been genuinely funny.

Saturday Night at the Greyhound by John Hampson was just plain sad. It may have been a snapshot of its time, but struck me as dated and depressing; unless you'd enjoy the story of a failing pub run by a very dysfunctional couple, along with several unpleasant patrons set in a grim backwater town.

John wrote: "Just a couple of each from me ...

I listened to the essay collection The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin, finding it outstanding (library download)
."

Thanks for the title, John. This book will work if I need a book on racism for next years challenge. I don't know if I have enough time to fit it in this year. Also a plus my library has the eBook. Right now I'm limited to eBooks for my reading.

When you get a chance if you can share your prompts for the 2023 challenge. Then next week I'll put up the full list and we can
start to cull it. Thanks !

Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "Just a couple of each from me ...

I listened to the essay collection The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin, finding it outstanding (library download)
."

..."

The Baldwin book is fairly short, and can be read in say one essay a day

Will be adding my challenge ideas this weekend.

John, i enjoyed reading your lists. Your "best" are new to me, even though i recognized Baldwin's name, of course.

The "worst" sound trying to me, too. This is particularly true of the Greyhound. No, thank you.

Thanks.

John wrote:
The Baldwin book is fairly short, and can be read in say one essay a day.."

I think I'm doing well with the challenge this month. I'm just running out of time ! I need to focus more at the start of the year. As with life, I thought, Oh I have plenty of time. Hmmm. There's a lesson here somewhere for me. ;)

I'll admit i jumped right into the 100 but, remember, this is my first challenge of this sort, with prompts, unlike some others. So, i was eager to get going. Life got in my way for a couple of biggies. I'm still astonished that i read only 4 books in November.

Still, because i started early, i had some leeway later. I will try that approach next year, too. Indeed, i've decided that as soon as we create the list, i will find as many books to fit them as i can before the year even ends. I'm here to tell you that finding a fitting book for some prompts took several hours for me. Hours that could have been spent reading, i tell ya!

Best of many good ones follows:

1) All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake--Tiya Miles About a burlap sack which a slave mother prepared for her soon-to-be sold 9 yr. old daughter. It contained a tattered dress, three handfuls of pecans, a braid of Rose’s hair, and all her love. The two never saw each other again. Miles's prose has a poetic turn to it, which heightened the pleasure for me. Much is supposition, giving history of some of the items and their meaning, and even a couple of pecan recipes. Miles's prose has a poetic turn to it, which heightened the pleasure for me. But, oh, this story! This was the best book i've read in a long time for many reasons.

2) The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss--Edmund de Waal.  One man's search to learn about the over 200 netsuke figurines he inherited from his great-uncle. The author is an established potter and has become his family’s biographer in an unusual look into their wealth and the art they purchased. He traces the original purchase by the family of the Japanese figures, when Europe was in a buying frenzy of anything Japanese. The way de Waal crafted this story was lovely and in any other year it would have been easily "the Best". (And i really must give a nod to PattyMacDotComma for the introduction to deWaal, from his short Letters to Camondo.)

3) Farming Dissenters--Carole Watterson Troxler. This was instructive about what Scottish farmers, called "Regulators", faced from bureaucrats, "Enforcers of the Crown" in the 1700s. Their protests lead to the execution of some protestors for things they did before the legislature passed a law against their acts!! Short and full of info.

4) The Things They Carried--Tim O'Brien. Short stories/essays about soldiers in Vietnam, both before & after their time there. Another PattyMac introduction. My husband, a Vietnam vet, liked the book very much, too.

5) Death of a Red Heroine--Qiu Xiaolong. I liked the flowing prose, while learning much about 1990s China and their bureaucrats while solving a murder in Shanghai.

The following nonfiction were close because i learned much from them:
18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics--Bruce Goldfarb. A unique advance in criminal detection, using miniature crime scenes, was begun by the wealthy Lee and adopted by the Feds, via Harvard. Neat story.

The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code--Margalit Fox. The story of decoding Linear B found in Crete in late 1800s.  The book focuses on Alice Kober but is also about others who worked on the script. Kober's story is well explored, particularly as she did all her research on her kitchen table, after her full working day.

Carbon Queen: The Remarkable Life of Nanoscience Pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus--Maia Weinstock. The biography of Dresselhaus, her lifelong work with carbon, particularly in the 40s & 50s and the way she mentored other females in the sciences.

I began a new mystery series, set in Ireland, which is primarily about recovering bodies found in bogs. These can go back centuries, so well do bogs preserve the bodies. Haunted Ground--Erin Hart.


The worst was The Spy: A Novel of Mata Hari--Paulo Coelho. I'd long heard of his work but this one was awfully told, imo. I understand many feel this was poor on his part. It seemed the purpose was to offer a sympathetic look at Mata Hari (Margaretha Zelle MacLeod) and her circumstances which may have led her to spy.

What an interesting and varied list, Deb. What is best is these books are not the titles one sees all the time.

madrano wrote: "Best of many good ones follows:

1) All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake--Tiya Miles About a burlap sack which a slave mother ..."


Quite a varied list - as a nonfiction junkie, I'm impressed!

2022 was the year I came back to ŷ������ consistently after a few years away. Last year I read 45 books. I will list the best, but I didn't have any one star reviews last year, and many 2-3 stars.

The Palace Papers; Inside the House of Windsor
The Complete Brigadier Gerard
American Midnight: Democracy's Forgotten Crises 1917-1921
The Divider; Trump in the White House
Eleanor and Park
Wildland; The Making of America's Fury
Invisible Storm; A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD
Unthinkable: Trump, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy.

Very heavy on non-fiction and Trump. I think I have it figured out, though, and aside from the 1/6 Report, I will probably not be reading as much NF/politics/crime next year. I hope.
I add my thanks to all of you who contribute and give me ideas.

American Midnight: Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, 1917-1921--Adam Hochschild sounds very good, so i thank you for that title, Michele. You had a productive reading year and are probably quite informed about Trump & what has happened the last couple of years to Democracy.

Michele wrote:
American Midnight: Democracy's Forgotten Crises 1917-1921"

American Midnight: Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, 1917-1921 by Adam Hochschild sounds very interesting. It might also be a good follow-up to any books one reads on WWI. I see it was also a "A Best Book of 2022: New York Times."

Thanks for the title, Michele !