Here are the books I read in 2022. Four more didn't make the cut to make it 60- I either started and didn't continue, or still need to finish. So I completed 56 books!
I didn't set out in 2022 to read this many books.
And I've never done this before.
Unless you count studying science-y textbooks or research articles for hours on end, but I think that's different.
This year, I chose all these books, tried new genres I don't usually read, and wrote down every quote that resonated. It's like taking notes but so much better!
A few things happened that set me on course for this voracious reading year.
First, I injured my ankle and was missing my running ladies, so made a point to attend our Trail Sisters offshoot book group. This made me read books (especially fiction) I wouldn't have even heard of otherwise, and hang with smart people with a gazillion recommendations for books they've loved and who have some pretty swift library use intel.
Second, while injured in Steamboat and leaning into staying in during everyone's ski trip (don't worry, I did get out for a weights workout, swim, and hot springs soak at the local gym), a friend left his copy of Atomic Habits on the coffee table. I started it, and finished in two days.
And third, smarty-pants Ben filled me in on the Libby library app while I was treating him on the table. And also how he keeps a list of the books he reads each year. He also is to blame for some of my favorite reads for the year.
One thing led to another, and yada yada yada, I was inspired and equipped.
And then just kept going.
I made a point to read while looking for key points I wanted to remember, a la Ryan Holiday, either for myself or for sharing with others in the future.
For some of you wondering how, I consumed by a mixture of audio, digital, and hard copy book forms. A couple were re-reads (or something I'd listened to before but decided to read in regular book form), and it was fun to see where this list took me. The more I read, the more I'd go down a rabbit hole or get more great recommendations.
I've been making a point to be intentional about what media I consume.
News and social media, for example, are quick and emotion-inducing, like a sugar high for your mind. They feed into my ego's default frantic doubting mode.
Books go deeper. They're like broccoli for your mind. But not plain ol' raw broccoli. The grilled kind with all the spices and flavors and just the right tenderness that you're all, what the heck, I had no idea broccoli could be like this. And you savor every last word till the plate is clean.
To write and publish a book, someone had to spend time going into the depth of their topic. The author must be vulnerable, share truths, and take the trouble to get their ideas published for the world to see.
Books are valuable. They can take you to new places, give you new perceptions, tell stories that move you.
The best ones elevate the way you think.
I'll be sharing my top picks from this list in a separate post.
But first, here's the full list:
Books I Read in 2022:
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself- Joe Dispenza
The Big Leap- Gay Hendricks
Untamed- Glennon Doyle (re-read)
Keys to the Enneagram- A.H. Almaas
Piranisi- Susanna Clarke
Atomic Habits- James Clear
Stillness is the Key- Ryan Holiday
Meditations- Marcus Aurelius
All the Light We Cannot See- Anthony Doerr
The TB12 Method- Tom Brady
The Power of Myth- Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
The Shadow Drawing: How Science Taught Leonardo to Paint- Francesca Fiarino
Hidden Figures- Margot Lee Shetterly
Running Flow- Mihaly Caikazentmihalyi
On Writing Well- William Zinsser
Never Split the Difference- Chris Voss
Leonardo da Vinci- Walter Isaacson
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- Taylor Jenkins Reid
Einstein: His Life and Universe- Walter Isaacson
On Writing- Stephen King
The Evolution of Physics: From early concepts to relativity and quanta- Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld
The Jeweled Path- Karen Johnson
Several Short Sentences About Writing- Verlyn Klinkenborg
Pachinko- Min Jin Lee
Greenlights- Matthew McConaughy (re-read)
Bird By Bird- Anne Lamott
Letters from an Astrophysicist- Neil deGrasse Tyson
Educated- Tara Westover
The Personal Librarian- Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
The Color or Compromise- Jemar Tisby
The Personality Brokers: The strange history of Myers-Briggs and the birth of personality testing- Merve Emre
Siddhartha- Hermann Hesse
Do Nothing: How to break away from overworking, overdoing, and underliving- Celeste Headlee
Exhalation- Ted Chiang
The Other Einstein- Marie Benedict
Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, Keep Going- Austin Kleon (audio trilogy)
Bravey- Alexi Pappas
Cheshire Crossing- Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen
Let’s Not Do That Again- Grant Ginder
Signs: The secret language of the universe- Laura Lynn Jackson
Kindred- Octavia E. Butler
This is Your Mind on Plants- Michael Pollan
Lessons in Chemistry- Bonnie Garmus
The Order of Time- Carlo Rovelli
Stories of Your Life and Others- Ted Chiang
When We Cease to Understand the World- Benjamin Lebatut
Running and Returning: Seeking balance in an imperfect world- Vicki Ash Hunter
Seven Brief Lessons On Physics- Carlo Rovelli
Come As You Are- Emily Nagoski
The Brain in Search of Itself: Santiago Ramon y Cajal and the story of the neuron- Benjamin Ehrlich
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up- Mari Kondo
A Mindful Nation- Tim Ryan
The Surrender Experiment- Michael A. Singer
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck- Mark Manson
Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics- Sam Harris
Everything is F*cked: A book about hope- Mark Manson
I had some themes this year, like Physics, writing, time, and the brain. And as I write those 4 topics, I could just drool, they make me so interested and enthused.
In short, books are cool, so are libraries, so is being a nerd.
Learning is always "in" no matter what. At least if you're into things like growing as a human being.
How do we know? Because books will never go out of style. They haven't yet.
What kind of media do you consume most?
Have you read any of these? Have any favorites? Or other recommendations? Put it in the comments.
And stay tuned for my top 7 picks (maybe 8, I'm not sure yet) from this list.
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