2022 Wrap Up

Welcome to my 2022 wrap up! This post reviews my reading year in 2022, and will include statistics as well as my favorite and least favorite books of the year.

Reading Statistics

I read 59 books in 2022, surpassing my reading goal by 9 books. I’m honestly pretty proud of this number. I was worried I wouldn’t make it to 50 books because I knew 2022 would be a busy year for me, with junior year and college applications. My saving grace was definitely AP Lit; I counted all my required readings towards my 2022 reading challenge on Goodreads, which helped me achieve my goal (even if the books were short). Besides the AP Lit books, though, I definitely did read for pleasure. Throughout the year, even if I read less during the school week, I made sure to get a lot of reading in during the holidays/summer break.

This year I recorded my reading in Goodreads and, for the first time, Storygraph. I use Storygraph because I love the statistics that Storygraph creates for each user. It tracks your reading tendencies for mood, book length, pace, and more.

My top 5 genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy, and Mystery. This is no surprise to me, since my favorite genres are YA, contemporary, and romance. I would really like to read more fantasy next year! I know I could definitely be reading more fantasy if I didn’t read only one book from each fantasy series a year.

Number of rereads: 6. I do have a tendency to want to reread my favorite books throughout the year, since I know they’ll be 5 star reads. I’m trying to make rereading less of a habit because I want to be actively looking for new favorite books each year. I don’t count rereads in my best/worst books of the year because that wouldn’t be fair.

My 2022 Ratings: 7 books with no ratings (my AP Lit books), two 2 stars, fifteen 3 stars, sixteen 4 stars, seventeen 5 stars. I’m glad to have the most 5 star reads, even if a few of them are rereads. My average rating was 3.96 stars.

Number of DNFs: 1. Something Wilder by Christina Lauren. This was a huge disappointment and shock to me because I usually adore Christina Lauren, but I could not get into the romance. Other than that book, there were no other DNFs. I always pick books which I know I’m going to enjoy, which is why I don’t DNF or rate very many books below 3 stars.

My Reading Habits

My “quirkiest” reading habit is related to reading series. I don’t like to read all the books in a series consecutively. I always need a palate cleanser in between each book. I usually end up reading the second book in the series a whole year after the first one, so now I have approximately 10 unfinished series that will only be finished by the time I’m 84 years old. Some of these unfinished series include An Ember in the Ashes, Throne of Glass, The Poppy Wars, Bear Town, The Naturals, Stalking Jack the Ripper, and Shatter Me.
I do not like British books. As in, books set in the UK which have a lot of British vernacular and slang. Which is a problem when it comes to Beth O’Leary romances, since I want to read them but I know I won’t be able to fully enjoy them. It’s SO mean of me to say, but for some reason I just cannot deal with “mum”, “bloody”, “lad”, and the sort. To all the British people reading this right now, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me.
Seasonal reading! I don’t know if this phrase is an actual concept or if I just made it up. Basically, I tend to read light and fluffy books like rom-coms in the summer, and dark academia, mystery, and horror books in the fall. Reading books in their appropriate seasons makes my reading experience all the more immersive and fun, so I intentionally put off reading certain books until the “right” time.
I already touched on this habit earlier, but I LOVE rereading old favorites. Especially when I haven’t read a 5 star read in a while, I choose one of my favorite books and reread it to get myself out of my slump. I even have a list on my Notes app of books that I want to reread soon.

Favorite Authors I Read From

Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka, romance authors who are married, are a writing duo who captured my heart when I read The Roughest Draft. You could tell that they know each other and their writing styles very well, and their voices mesh so well together to tell a story. I can’t wait to read their new release, Do I Know You?.

I read 2 books from Taylor Jenkins read in 2022, both of them being 5 star reads. Historical fiction novels normally aren’t my thing, but TJR’s are always so heartfelt and emotional, and usually are structured in unique ways. Carrie Soto is back and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo were heartwrenching in the best possible way, and I can’t wait to read even more of Reid’s books.

Most Disappointing Read

I define a “disappointing” read as one that I had thought would be a 5 star read but was just mediocre. First, some honorable mentions: This Woven Kingdom, Better Than the Movies, and Restore Me. But the book that takes first place has to be Babel by R.F. Kuang, which is also definitely a very unpopular opinion. Kuang is one of the most intelligent writers in the world to me, and the concept for Babel was so interesting and relevant. However, the plot and characters were severely lacking in depth or… enjoyment. Which is weird, because The Poppy War series had a character and plot that I was so invested in. Babel was slow-moving and didn’t have lovable characters for me personally.

3. The No Show by Beth O’Leary

Number 3 goes to The No-Show by Beth O’Leary. It was just such a bizarre romance. The convoluted and strange plot should have been creative and original, but instead it took away from the romance aspect of the book and created a weird mystery that the readers had to attempt to puzzle out, instead of being able to relax and enjoy the romance.

2. Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Second place is awarded to Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter! Everyone on Tiktok seems to love this book, but it was the first book I read in 2022 and I was not impressed. My main problem was with the main character. Liz was insufferable, immature, and SO annoying. The romance was cute, but I hated the MC so much that nothing could make up for it.

1. Restore Me by There Mafi

My worst read of 2022 was Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi. I really like most books in the Shatter Me series, but this book made me question everything. First of all, so little in terms of plot happened that I had to check to make sure this wasn’t a novella. The “plot” just consisted of Juliette being an absolutely incompetent and clueless leader, Juliette and Warner having a totally unnecessary breakup and dissolving into matching blobs of despair, and some completely meaningless filler dialogue. It was all very melodramatic for no reason whatsoever, since nothing of importance was happening in the plot.

3. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

My third favorite book of 2022 has to be The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber. It had the coziest, most magical and enchanting vibes and setting. It was a literal Disney fairytale in book form. The complex relationship between Jacks and Evangaline had me screaming in my room. It was full of romance, tension, plot twists, and an utterly heartbreaking cliffhanger ending.

2. The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka

Second place goes to The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka! It had the most angst, tension, and chemistry between two characters I’ve read in a romance in a long time. The two main characters had their own flaws and barriers but learned to overcome them and realize their love for each other by the end of the book.

1. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

And… the best book I read in 2022 was I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston! I always end up going back to my roots– young adult high school romances. This book detailed the teenage experience so earnestly, and a lot of people will find it very relatable. The large cast of characters were so real, complex, and lovable. Reading this made me feel grateful for my high school experience. The academic rivals to lovers romance was surprisingly nuanced and angry. The found family aspect was impeccable and emotional, and the commentary on being queer in a religious community was smart and well executed. I connected with this book from start to finish and highly recommend it to everyone!

Books I Can’t Wait to Read in 2023

These aren’t necessarily books that are releasing in 2023; just books that I really want to get to this year.

These Infinite Threads, Do I Know You?, Bloodmarked, Greywaren, Love on the Brain, and all of the fantasy series that I have essentially abandoned because I cannot commit to one series at a time.