Here go, skipping off into a brand new year. But before we travel too far into 2023, I’m continuing my tradition of my first blog post each year being a retrospective of the books I dwelled within the year before.
Two novels topped my list as favorites in 2022. Both were written by authors I’ve enjoyed in the past, and both were long journeys, one involving 592 pages and the other weighing in at a whopping 640 pages.
But enough about their bulk. What are their titles?
I’ll start off with my #2 favorite read of last year: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I had listed one of his other novels as a favorite of mine a few years ago–A Gentleman in Moscow. Such a masterpiece and wonder of a book!
So I had to check out The Lincoln Highway to see if Towles exceeded the joys of A Gentleman for me. But I soon found that to compare the two is like comparing a Golden Retriever to a Border Collie. Both are wonderful companions, but their personalities are a wee bit different.
What’s so great about this favorite read?
Here’s a brief listing of the book’s acclaim:
- #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
- More than ONE MILLION copies sold
- A TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
- A New York Times Notable Book, and chosen by Oprah Daily, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Bill Gates and Barack Obama as a Best Book of the Year
Any book that can sell 1,000,000 copies in its first year, well, that’s a lot of reader enthusiasm.
What’s it about?
Here’s a summary of the story:
In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York.
What makes this my #2 favorite read?
First, that Towles wrote a story about as far afield as one can imagine from A Gentleman in Moscow. The Lincoln Highway shows that the author is a great storyteller who can take a catalog of complex characters and move them through their journey to New York with each explaining what happens next in his own voice.
Second, the book mines the strengths of the best journey books: The Odyssey, The Iliad, Huckleberry Finn, and Of Mice and Men. Each of Towles’s characters unveils what makes him tick, both the good influences and the bad, and tells the story with a strong, unique voice. There’s no confusing the characters; you know right away which one’s point-of-view you’ve just moved to.
I found Towles exploring the idea of nurture or nature through each character. What makes that individual respond to the hills and valleys of the road trip showcases a consistency of character development that reveals a cascade of choices leading up to the latest bump in the journey.
The conclusion of the trip for every one of them feels inevitable. Considering that person’s response to stresses, detours, and intersections with others, of course the trail he traveled had to end where it did.
The Lincoln Highway is worth all 592 fat-free pages. I never felt bored, impatient, or lost. Instead, I found each corner the characters turned opened up new vistas of who we are–both the good and the bad. But also shows that the choice is always ours as to which side of our face we’ll turn toward others.
#1 favorite read in 2022
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, author of All The Light We Cannot See, is a marvel. The complexity of the book’s structure showcases how Doerr has not yet reached the heights of his writing career. What a tour de force!
What’s so great about it?
Among the book’s many achievements are:
- On the New York Times bestseller list for over 20 weeks
- A New York Times Notable Book
- A National Book Award Finalist
- Named a Best Book of the Year by Fresh Air, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and many more
- Currently has 23,878 Amazon reviews with a 4.5 rating.
What’s it about?
Okay, brace yourself. It’s sprawling, coming in at 642 pages. It’s a tough book to get into because it spans hundreds of years, with different protagonists in each era. At first, keeping track of each story as you jump around the time periods is seriously challenging. I’d encourage the reader to start the book by keeping track of the characters from each era because, as you move from one to another, it’s hard to remember where that part of the story left off. And who was each person again?
Here’s a brief summary of the story
In the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross.
In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege.
And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father.
What makes it my #1 favorite read?
I can only explain to you how I responded to this tome. I started out enjoying each story but feeling adrift every time the era switched to another. What, I wondered, holds this book together beyond the story of Aethon, which, trust me, isn’t enough to hold the book together?
I was so caught up in the present-day story that I sifted through the pages to continue with the present-day peril.
When I was able to take a breath, I then went back and read the book as Doerr intended. Soon I began to see that the progression of the book wasn’t a muddle but actually quite elaborately woven and a thing of beauty. The deeper I advanced in my reading, the more the author unveiled how it all fit together. And my breath was snatched away.
The concept that holds the novel together?
It’s an ode to books and to libraries and what they contribute to our lives and culture in particular.
The book’s dedication reads: “For the librarians then, now, and in the years to come.”
The skill required to pull off this story is a triumphant in and of itself. I still think about this book often, even though I finished reading it this summer.
But here’s the kicker. After completing the last page, I uttered aloud, “No, this can’t be where it ends; I want to know what happens next!” The conclusion is a jaw-dropping surprise that I never saw coming, but the implications were so profound, I wanted Doerr to take me further down the path to see what happens next.
Join the 23,878 Amazon reviewers and read this book. It’s not to be missed.
Now, tell me about your favorite read in 2022. (The book doesn’t need to have been published that year; it’s any book you read and want to tell others about.)
The Gift of Love
My favorite book of 2022 was All That It Takes by Nicole Deese. I related a lot to the main characters struggle and love seeing how she grew.
A couple of weeks ago I read the arc for her next book, The Words We Lost. I loved it. It comes out next April & I’m guessing it’ll be my favorite of 2023. So emotional and moving.
Tonya, I’m not familiar with Nicole Deese. Thanks for introducing her to me.
Oh, my goodness! How to pick a favorite??? Well, I started keeping track of what I read last year for the very first time. So, I can actually look back and think about your very hard question a bit. I did put stars by some of my favorites.
My favorite YA–Spinning Silver—Naomi Novik *
or
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge*—M.T. Anderson
My favorite middle grade–Howl’s Moving Castle*—Diana Wynne Jones
My favorite spooky book–The Souls of Lost Lake—Jaime Jo Wright*
My favorite dual timeline as well as my favorite book that shows how an author expands and grows in their skill–When Stone Wings Fly—Karen Barnett*
My favorite book I borrowed from my sons–The Lost Metal–Brandon Sanderson
My favorite Romantic Suspense–Woman in Shadow—Carrie Stewart Parks
My favorite RomCom–Meet Me in the Margins—Melissa Ferguson*
or
Authentically Izzy—*Pepper Basham
My favorite Christmas read–Restoring Christmas—*Cynthia Ruchti
or
Finding Father Christmas—*Robin Jones Gunn
My favorite re-read–Pride and Prejudice–Jane Austen
or
The Harry Potter Series–J.K. Rowling
But if I have to pick one …
Well, my favorite book that just blew me away with the sheer beauty of the words, sentence by sentence skill combined with total storytelling prowess, characters, plot … this book had it all. Well, that would have to be
Long Time Comin’—Robin W Pearson*
Kristen, what a stellar reading year you had! I haven’t read Karen Barnett’s latest yet; your commendation makes me realize I need to put it nearer the top of my reading pile. And Robin W. Pearson is just a wonder of a writer. So many other great picks on your list!
Absolutely! Robin Pearson just blew me away with her story craft and you’ve definitely got to read When Stone Wings Fly!!! I really enjoyed Karen’s other books, but this one shows her step into a whole new level of storytelling, so good! What especially impressed me was how she told both the story of land preservation and the story of people losing their land with depth and thoughtfulness. Hard to do, people always seem to pick sides. But as someone who has watched family lose land to form a preserve, I sure was impressed with how she gave voice to both sides beautifully. Because both things are true, deeply true. Our natural wonders should be preserved … and people shouldn’t lose their land. I was just really impressed.
Well, this is a challenge.
My favourite read has changed me,
for in pre-judging, I had sinned,
and I now will share with thee
Sheftall’s “Blossoms In The Wind.”
We think the tokko boys as mad,
on multi-psycho head case trips,
crashing aeroplanes (so sad!)
into Yankee fighting ships,
but we the West can’t understand
the love that doth transcend this life,
and in its purity demands
more than parents, home and wife,
that from a martyr’s flaming death,
Nippon may draw another breath.
I write of M. G. Sheftall’s “Blossoms In The Wind: Human Legacies Of The Kamikaze”, a work that brings understanding and even warmth to the stories of the individuals who chose a certain death to protect their loved ones, and their land.
We in the West see choices, and typically cannot understand a situation in which none seem to exist. That the Japanese were wrong was shown by the war’s aftermath, but neither their leadership nor closely controlled media would admit to that.
Thus, tokko (tokubetsu kogekitai, “Special Attack Unit”).
https://www.amazon.com/Blossoms-Wind-Human-Legacies-Kamikaze/dp/0451214870
That sounds like an eye-opening book, Andrew. The book club I belong to tends to pick books–either fiction or nonfiction–about seeing the world from other perspectives. I don’t always particularly enjoy each book, but my view of the world is widened each time. And that’s a very good thing. We need to know what causes other people to make choices that stymie us.
My favorite fiction read was a series by British television personality Richard Osman called The Thursday Murder Club series. There are three books, all of which are a delight, with a fourth in progress (too slowly!!). The four protagonists in this series are pensioners living in an upscale retirement village near Kent, England. Each have such wonderful backstories (from Tory labor leader to a sweet old lady who is a retired Cold War spy), and the plots are twisty and fabulous. A second favorite this year was an author, not a series. Anthony Horowitz came on my radar with his book Magpie Murders. This is a book within a book and features two sets of crimes to solve in two different time periods. The present day story is set in London and the protagonist is the editor of the mystery that is the second story. I’ve since read another of his books, Moonflower Murders, and am halfway through The Word is Murder. Each are so unique. Moonflower is a follow up to Magpie with the same editor solving another crime that involves a book she edited. Word is Murder brings the author in as an actual character in the novel. Word is written in first person from the author’s POV and features the writer following a detective as he is working on a case.
2022 was a mystery-centered year for you, wasn’t it? Have you watched Magpie Murders on Masterpiece Theatre? I would have thought such a complex, twisty plot would be hard to pull off as a TV series, and at first I had trouble figuring out the jumps between time periods and murders, but ultimately it was a very satisfying experience. I would think the book would be even richer–and probably easier to follow.
I have been on a murder mystery kick this–er last–year. I watched the PBS version of Magpie Murders with my husband. It was a pared down and edited version of the book. As usually happens, I liked the book better. 🙂
It’s a treat to read your favorite reads for the year. Thank you for posting your thoughts, Janet.
I listened to Cloud Cuckoo Land and almost stopped a few times in the beginning; but persevered and then realized I was listening to such a creative work, I continued. Very glad I did.
My favorite reads: Non-fiction – This Too Shall Last – K. J. Ramsey;
Top Two Fiction – Under the Magnolias – T. I. Lowe; Once Upon a Wardrobe – Patti Callahan
Other fiction I enjoyed, too (not in any special order): A Fall of Marigolds -Susan Meissner; Quest of the Queen – Dawn Shipman; The Lady’s Mine – Francine Rivers; The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter – Hazel Gaynor; The Record Keeper – Charles Martin; When Stone Wings Fly- Karen Barnett; The Winter Rose & Hidden Among the Stars – Melanie Dobson; Sugar Birds – Cheryl Grey Bostrom; By Her Own Design – Piper Huguley
Carol, you’ve chosen so many beautiful books in 2022!
You know I’m with you on the Cloud Cuckoo Land experience. Perseverance pays off with that one.
I’ve been told Cheryl Grey Bostrom’s Sugar Birds is a special treat, but I haven’t gotten to it yet in my TBR pile.