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We’ve spent much of the past year curled up in our homes reading. We’ve packed books for the tube, pressed audiobooks for late-night walks, and written dozens of guidebooks on everything from this year’s best beach reads to this year’s favorite new novels.
Below are some of the best books we’ve read so far in 2022, from page turners we finished in a single night to nonfiction we still can’t stop thinking about. We have new releases for 2022 like “When You Call My Name” and “Happy-Go-Lucky” as well as recent hits like “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous”, “Empire of Pain” and “Truth.”
The 15 best books we’ve read so far this year:
“The Women I Think About at Night” by Mia Kankimaki
“The Women I Think About At Night” by Mia Kankimaki
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $22. On the same subject : How Much Hawaiian Electricity Should Be Discounted For High-Tech Farmers?.99
At 25 in 2022, I don’t share much with Mia Kankimaki, an accomplished travel writer in her 40s, or the historical women she writes about who break the gender norms of their time. However, I was referring to the struggles of the “Night Women” and Kankimaki herself: struggles to find a sense of home, forgive yourself, and find meaning. Part travel memoir and part biography, Kankiamki literally follows in the footsteps of travelers and artists throughout history to Florence, Tibet, Nigeria and Tokyo. I love that Kankimaki allows her heroes and herself to be both flawed and brilliant, disappointing and inspiring. -Lily Alig, reporter
Foreverland by Heather Havrilesky
“Foreverland” by Heather Havrilesky
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $17. To see also : Amazon Prime Video just got a cool free streaming upgrade.99
I love Heather Havrilesky’s Ask Polly column, and while this book is a memento of her marriage, I think it has that same amount of honesty and lightheartedness that makes her such a valuable writer in these confusing times. It’s an in-depth look at their long-standing marriage that, on the surface, looks perfect to us on the outside. She addresses the doubts, struggles, annoyances, and growth both partners must go through to stay happily married, demystifying the process for people like me who obsessively worry about that national 50% divorce rate and really want to know how people stay happily together over a long, long time. -Julia Pugachevsky, Editor
Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris
“Happy-Go-Lucky” by David Sedaris
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $17. See the article : Because parenting books can make you feel bad about yourself.79
I love David Sedaris. I’ve read all his books, attended several book signings, he left me a voicemail once saying the C-word to my mom. He is great. “Happy-Go-Lucky” is like many of his earlier books: a collection of essays from his life experiences. It’s full of dark humor, including dealing with his father’s death. But there are happy moments too, including shopping with his adorable sister Amy (of Strangers with Candy and At Home with Amy Sedaris fame). Sedaris’ writing is my happy place. -James Brains, reporter
“Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong
“Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $14.40
I am a lover of short stories and poetry, and when Ocean Vuong’s writing was recommended to me by some dear friends, I flipped through this collection of poems. His use of language and metaphors is breathtaking and has often moved me to tears. He really is one of my favorite authors now. -Maiya Pascouche, Associate Story Producer
“One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway – and Its Aftermath” by Åsne Seierstad and Sarah Death (translator)
“One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway — and Its Aftermath” by Åsne Seierstad and Sarah Death (translator)
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $11.99
This book is one of the most memorable things I’ve read in a long time. Seierstad pulls off a small miracle here, rigorously describing how a lonely boy became a lonely, dangerous man, while making just as much space to tell the stories of the victims of the massacre. We learn about the high school friends in love who are raising two sons that the community adores. We meet parents who named their firstborn daughter after a snowfall in a hospital without electricity years before emigrating to Norway.
I warn you that it was difficult to read about a mass shooting when there are so many in our nation. But Norway’s community spirit and the humanity recreated by Seierstad’s perspective managed to inspire an incredible sense of hope in me. -Mara Leighton, senior reporter
Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
“Dirtbag, Massachusetts” by Isaac Fitzgerald
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $18.97
Full Disclosure: Isaac was my boss many moons ago, but even without my natural bias, I think everyone should read this book. It’s a collection of essays about his life in Boston and rural Massachusetts and his experiences everywhere from fight clubs with his friends to biker bars, often exploring how the least “safe” places feel like home can feel. -Julia Pugachevsky, editor
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Radden Keefe
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $21
Who makes investigative non-fiction like Patrick Radden Keefe? His books are Sistine Chapels of reporting and storytelling, respectively. I loved Say Nothing and Empire of Pain is a worthy follow-up. It covers three generations of the Sackler dynasty and their impact on the opioid crisis. The book is detailed enough that Keefe probably knows what the living members had for dinner last night, but it also has soul – not just in its effort to hold power accountable, but in its windows into the lives of just a few of the hundreds of thousands of people who have died from opioids. -Mara Leighton, senior reporter
“The Courage of Not Being Liked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve True Happiness” by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
“The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness” by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $12.99
I’ve forgotten how I heard about this book, but the title caught my attention and I’ve added it to my reading list. Conceived primarily as a conversation between a philosopher and a student, it explores the psychological principles of Alfred Adler (one of the three psychology giants of the 20th century, along with Freud and Jung). The whole point is what your “duties” are, and teaches you to separate which problems in life are actually your problems and even under your control. I have to say many of the lessons really stuck with me and I often think of lines from them. -Julia Pugachevsky, editor
“Verity” by Colleen Hoover
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $15.80
I was in a rut this spring and looking for a page turner. I heard about this book on #Booktok and ended up reading it in one evening. It falls into the psychological thriller genre with a questionable female protagonist that I just can’t get enough of. The premise is that a ghostwriter takes on a job to finish a series for an injured best-selling author. She visits the author’s home in Vermont and finds a disturbing autobiography among her notes. There are really scary moments that made me squirm and all sorts of twists and turns. -Lauren Savoie, Associate Editor
Find more Colleen Hoover books here, as well as books to read if you’ve already read all the Colleen Hoover books out there.
“The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood
“The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $11.04
I wrote a rave review of this book and was keen to give it a try, although romance novels aren’t usually my thing. While it’s definitely an offbeat storyline, I liked that the characters (especially the lead) seemed fleshed out and concerned about their careers as well as their budding love story. Sometimes I was even more interested in learning what a career in medical research is actually like than the relationship itself – it felt like I was reading about real people rather than the rom-com clichés of characters, who have more glamorous jobs. -Julia Pugachevsky, editor
“On Earth We’re Shortly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong
“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $8.70
Unable to stop at Night Sky with Exit Wounds, I immediately picked up Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and was amazed that it was as good, if not better, than his first published work . This novel reads like a long letter to the main character’s mother, taking the reader through the family’s generational trauma, love and devotion. I cannot recommend this book or Ocean Vuong’s work highly enough. -Maiya Pascouche, Associate Story Producer
“Nobody Talks About It” by Patricia Lockwood
“No One Is Talking About This” by Patricia Lockwood
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $9.38
This book is beautiful. Sometimes it took my breath away. It reads like a free fall into the depths of the internet – its incoherence and cacophony – and is at the same time painfully human and alive. Lockwood’s text reads like poetry—some sentences I’ve jotted down for safekeeping—but that’s not surprising for a poet’s debut novel. I read it alone, I read it to my sister, I read passages again. If you’re not swept off your feet at first, go ahead; The story deepens and the payoff is well worth the investment. -Mara Leighton, senior reporter
You can read our review of No One Is Talking About This here.
“If You Call My Name” by Tucker Shaw
“When You Call My Name” by Tucker Shaw
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $16.19
Full disclosure that I used to work with Tucker Shaw, but I couldn’t stop thinking about his latest book for days after I finished reading it. It gives such a beautiful insight into a time and experience we don’t often hear about: being young, gay and in love in the heart of the AIDS epidemic. It tells the story of Adam and Ben, two gay teenagers who discover themselves and their community in 1990s New York. Their individual stories are connected through a lot of sadness, but also a lot of fun and joy. -Lauren Savoie, Associate Editor
Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller Bridge
“Fleabag: The Scriptures” by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $20.49
I revisited some of my favorite TV shows and read the scripts in tandem. I’ve read the dialogue from “The Writing” and the director’s guide for a Fleabag episode, and then the episode itself. It’s mostly the same on screen and on page, but occasionally the body language directions added a delightful new meaning; In one scene, Claire and Fleabag are described as “sitting in sisterly silence” in a cab. Overall, this prolonged and deepened my enjoyment of something I already love. Perfect. -Mara Leighton, senior reporter
“Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin
“Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin
Available on Amazon and Bookshop, starting at $9.99
I love fantasy, sci-fi, and gender theory, so Left Hand of Darkness has been on my list for a while. I eventually got my hands on a copy and was quickly mesmerized by Le Guin’s storytelling. Published in 1987, it still reads like a seminal novel exploring gender fluidity, political science, and imperialism. Le Guin packs all of this and more into an exciting, intergalactic story. -Lily Alig, reporter
Mara Leighton is Senior Digital Culture Reporter.
If you would like to get in touch please email mleighton@insider.com or DM @maraleighton on Twitter.
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