Here are my 5-star reads of 2022, in list format. If you’d like the pretty, picture-rich version with all the linky goodness, plus my reviews, check it out here.
I read a tonne of books every year, and am always asked for recommendations by friends and colleagues. So, I thought, “Why not put them all in one place?”.
Herewith, my lists, split into non-fiction and fiction.
P.S. I track all of my reading on Goodreads, so, if you love books, why not join me over there? My profile and reading lists are here.
Non-Fiction
- Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
- Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Malone Scott
- Rich Enough? A Laid-Back Guide For Every Kiwi by Mary Holm
- Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
- Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
- The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively by Todd B Kashdan
- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
- The Rag and Bone Shop: How We Make Memories and Memories Make Us by Veronica O’Keane
- Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam M. Grant
Fiction
- Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- The Library of Unfinished Business by Patricia Bell
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
- Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
Reading analysis
In 2022, I read 155 books, and rated 18 of them as 5-star reads – that’s 11.6% of ’em, and I’m pretty happy with that ratio.
I have a high bar for rating something as a 5-star read. It has to be something I would happily read again (preferably multiple times), that I wuold be proud to have on my bookshelf (and for most of the non-fiction titles, I actually do have them on my physical or virtual bookshelf), and that I would recommend to others.
And to keep myself honest, I have a personal policy that, if I’m going to give a book five stars (or,at the other end of the spectrum, one star), I have to place a review on Goodreads. I generally don’t place a review for two, three, or four-star books, unless something in particular stood out for me as the reason for that rating.
