The Best Books of 2022 (So Far)
Here are the top 10 best books of 2022 (so far):
1. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
Maddie Mortimer’s Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is her debut novel which has already been longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize!
Lia is a mother battling a devastating illness, and the book flashes between Lia’s present life with her fabulous husband Harry and wonderful daughter Iris, Lia’s past life, and the voice of her illness.
Overall, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a deeply moving, authentic novel with unexpected twists, written in a unique style, a treasure, haunting, lingering.
Length: 448 Pages
Release Date: June 28, 2022
Check out my in-depth review of Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies here!
Purchase here on Amazon for $11.99.
2. Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Upgrade has already received high praise from authors such as Alex Michaelides (author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens) and Andy Weir (author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian)!
Logan Ramsay is feeling great! He is able to concentrate better, multitask, read faster, and sleep less. However, Logan’s enhanced well-being isn’t due to diet and exercise. His genome has been hacked!
Here’s the catch: This hack isn’t random. Logan has been targeted for a reason relating to his past and family history. Will Logan be able to stop history from repeating itself? Can he and should he stop the hack from spreading?
The book is incredibly interesting, and it has short sentences and paragraphs which keep the action flowing. Upgrade is page-turning, and it keeps you guessing until the end.
Length: 352 Pages
Release Date: July 12, 2022
Check out my in-depth review of Upgrade here!
Purchase here from Amazon for $14.99.
3. The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
The Candy House is very difficult to describe, because it feels as though it is written by different people. Every chapter is written in a completely different style with a different character and in a different time period.
However, the book is riveting. At first, there didn’t seem to be a common theme amongst the chapters until about 40% of the way through.
The Candy House is about technology, how it feels so good yet has unintended consequences. Rarely has fiction caused so much self-reflection.
Length: 334 Pages
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Purchase here from Amazon for $14.99.
4. Bitcoin Widow by Jennifer Robertson
This is for fans of Netflix’s Trust No One The Hunt for the Crypto King!
There once was a young Canadian man by the name of Gerry Cotten. He owned a website where people could buy and sell bitcoin in Canada. His company was called Quadriga CX. In 2018, people started to report that they were having a difficult time getting paid for the bitcoin that they sold on Quadriga’s website. In early January 2019, Jennifer Robertson, Gerry’s wife announced that Gerry had died while in India. She also delivered devastating news: Gerry died with all of the passcodes so everyone who put in money or who had bitcoin with Quadriga was out of luck, approximately $190 million.
Now, the question is: Is Gerry Cotten really dead?
Length: 344 Pages
Release Date: January 18, 2022
Check out my in-depth review of Bitcoin Widow here!
Purchase here from Amazon for $13.99.
5. My Summer Darlings by May Cobb
May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives, is back! My Summer Darlings is a steamy mystery, perfect for this summer. May Cobb definitely knows how to bring the heat! Definitely do not hand this out as a gift unless you prefer blushing.
Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols are besties for life. Then, one day the hottest guy in the world, Will Harding, moves in next door. Will these housewives do more than drool? What is Will’s story? And what will it cost them to find out?
If you love Desperate Housewives or Sally Rooney novels, this book will delight you. It is a guilty pleasure with a twist you didn’t see coming.
Length: 368 Pages
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Purchase here on Amazon for $14.99
6. My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale)? Check. Free with Amazon Prime Membership? Check. Only one hour? Check.
Set in the mid-1950’s, a teenage girl is told that her mother is a witch, and her father is a garden gnome in her lawn. What will this teenage girl learn about her mother and father?
This short story packs a powerful punch, solidly earning a place as one of the best books of 2022.
Length: 32 Pages
Release Date: April 1, 2022
Purchase here from Amazon for $1.99 or free with a Prime Membership!
7. Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
Time Is a Mother is a collection of poetry by Ocean Vuong. These poems were phenomenal, but they were written after Vuong’s mother died so some of them are pretty dark.
Vuong is reminiscent of T.S. Eliot because the poetry evokes such clear imagery, almost as if you can smell the food based on the descriptions of the sounds of cooking.
Time Is a Mother is a short but satisfying read with loads of memorable lines. Pro tip: Try the audiobook!
Length: 126 Pages
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Purchase here on Amazon for $13.99.
8. The Imagination Chamber by Philip Pullman
Alright, let’s talk. I absolutely love this book. Philip Pullman is my favorite author of all time. He has such a high commitment to quality, and I have read almost all of his books.
The Imagination Chamber is a very short book. It consists largely of what I would classify as writing prompts, short little bursts (a paragraph or two) based on His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. The Imagination Chamber demonstrates the quandary that Pullman faces as he writes the last book in The Book of Dust series. Whose story is told? Whose story stays behind forever?
This book is rather expensive for the length. However, if you need writing prompts or if you are a die-hard fan of Philip Pullman (like yours truly) or His Dark Materials, The Imagination Chamber is a must!
Length: 96 Pages
Release Date: April 28, 2022
Check out my in-depth review of The Imagination Chamber here!
Purchase here on Amazon for $16.08.
9. The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
On December 3, 1926, Agatha Christie was told by her husband that he was leaving her for another woman, a Nancy Neele. Agatha Christie hopped into her car and drove off, only to have her car discovered abandoned with her clothing and driver’s license inside. Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Finally, on December 14, 1926, she was discovered at a hotel staying under the name Mrs. Tressa Neele.
The Christine Affair is a piece of historical fiction from the point of view of Nancy Neele or referred to as Ms. Nan O’Dea in the novel.
The book overall is a delightful, wild ride with excellent character development and surprises along the way.
Length: 309 Pages
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Purchase here on Amazon for $14.99.
10. Come As You Are by Jennifer Haupt
Come As You Are is an emotional roller coaster that has amazing character development and perfectly conveys complex relationships, characters who are trying to chase dreams, characters who are trying to establish boundaries while still being open to love, characters who fail again and again. This book shows what “happily ever after” really looks like, and it feels real.
This is the love story of 2022.
Length: 320 Pages
Release Date: March 1, 2022
Purchase here on Amazon for 99 cents!
Want to know the best books for the last half of 2022? Check out the most anticipated books for the second half of 2022!