Hi everyone! I totally meant to have this up for you yesterday, but it was quite a busy day and I just didn’t get the time, so you’re getting my annual End of Year Book Survey as a New Year’s Day treat instead! This is a survey created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner which I do every year as a way of looking back and celebrating my year of reading and blogging. You can find the questions on Jamie’s blog here.
2022 Reading Stats:
Number of Books You Read: 20
Number of Rereads: 0
Genre You Read The Most From: Historical Fiction
Best In Books
- Best Book You Read In 2022?
It’s another memoir this year, and the third year in a row that my favourite read has been a non-fiction book-I don’t read many but when I do they always seem to top the list! Anyway, my favourite book this year was Chanel Miller’s memoir, Know My Name, such a powerful, painful, hopeful and beautiful book and it’s definitely a book that’s going to stick with me long after reading it. Reading about sexual assault is never something I find easy, but I’m definitely glad I listened to this book and got to hear Chanel tell her story in her own words.
2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
When Women Were Dragons. Ugh, I’m still so mad about this one. It should have been perfect for me, feminist, historical and dragons? How could that not be a winning combination? Well sadly, Kelly Barnhill did something I didn’t think was possible and made dragons boring for me. It was just such a slow, boring book and there weren’t anywhere near enough dragons for my liking. I’d heard such good things and I was so excited but I just ended up very disappointed.
3. Most Surprising (In A Good Or Bad Way) Book You Read?
Portrait of A Thief surprised me in a bad way (I know in an unusual turn for me, I’m talking about a bad surprise this year), because I was expecting this fast-paced, exciting book with lots of heists and it ended up being more of a slow introspection of identity and diaspora experience. This would have been totally fine if that was what I was expecting, but I was expecting a heist novel and it was kind of light on the heists! I was so excited to be getting five potential heists and felt like I was duped slightly!
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read And They Did?
I don’t think either have read it yet, but I recommended Looking For Jane to both my sister and my friend Nicola.
5. Best Series You Started In 2022? Best Sequel of 2022? Best Series Ender of 2022?
I only read the one series starter in 2022 and I actually wasn’t that big of a fan of it (This Poison Heart), and I’ve decided I probably won’t read the second book of the duology, so it would seem wrong to say it was the best series starter I read in 2022 just because it was the only one. So once again, I have nothing for series starter this year!
Best sequel of 2022, also the only one I read in 2022, was The River of Silver, by S.A. Chakraborty. I’m not entirely sure if this counts as a sequel, as it’s a collection of short stories, and not all of them take place after the end of the series, some take place during and some take place before, and it’s probably really more of a companion book than a sequel, but I’ll count it as a sequel for the purposes of this.
Best series ender of 2022, again I’m going to have to get creative here because I really didn’t read many series books this year, 2022 was all about the standalones! But I suppose the final issue of The Night Of Knives arc of VE Schwab’s Shades of Magic comics is a series ender of a sort, as it’s the end of that particular arc of the comics and it was my favourite comic of the arc as I brought the Night of Knives to a thrilling conclusion, so I guess I’ll go with that!
6. Favourite New Author You Read In 2022?
Heather Marshall! Her debut, Looking For Jane was one of the standout books of the year for me, and I will be eagerly anticipating her next book. Her website says to look for her next book in 2024, so I guess that’s next year now!
7. Best Book From A Genre You Don’t Usually Read/Was Out of Your Comfort Zone?
I’ll say Vol 4 of the Night of Knives arc of VE Schwab’s Shades of Magic comics for this one as comics aren’t usually my thing, I still have only really read VE Schwab’s comics but it’s a format that I never would have tried if it hadn’t been for her comics, and I’ve ended up really enjoying them and comics/graphic novels may be a format that I seek out more in the future now.
8. Most action packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
More for the unputdownable part that the action packed or thrilling, but I’m going to go with Know My Name by Chanel Miller again for this one. I was utterly gripped and flew through it in just over a week and a half which is quite quick for me for an audiobook of that length but I really couldn’t stop listening to Chanel’s story.
9. Book You Read In 2022 That You Would Be Most Likely To Reread Again This Year?
None, I’ve pretty much accepted at this point that rereading is something I no longer have time to do!
10. Favourite Cover Of A Book You Read In 2022?
I’ll be honest and say it’s not been a banner year for covers for me, I’ve read mostly historical fiction this year and much as I love them, they do tend to have rather dull covers. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the actual story, I do still really love the cover for This Poison Heart, I love all the vibrant colours and it’s always great to see Black girls featured on book covers.
11. Most Memorable Character of 2022?
Is it slightly weird if I’m choosing a character who was a real person? Maybe, but I have to go with Lyudmila Pavlichenko. What an absolute firecracker of a woman, if I’d been alive at the time, I would have loved/been slightly scared to meet her!
12. Most Beautifully Written Book of 2022?
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin. Martin describes her settings of 1940s Lisbon and Lyon in such a way that you really feel like you’re there, walking the streets alongside her characters. She also was able to really get across the emotions of the story through her words in such a way that I felt everything that Ava and Elaine were feeling and going through in the story.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life Changing Book You Read This Year?
I’ve used Know My Name a couple of times now, so instead I’ll go with Looking For Jane here. I learned a lot about the history of abortion rights in Canada, and the maternity home system which abused so many women and forced them into giving up their babies so it definitely had me thinking about a part of history that I wasn’t all that familiar with, and also if it was possible, entrenched my belief in the need for reproductive rights for all women and people with uteruses even more!
14. Book You Can’t Believe You Waited Until 2022 to read?
Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham. It’s one of those books that I’d been meaning to read for years, but I was always distracted by something else new and shiny and didn’t really read non-fiction all that much before about 2019/2020 so despite being a massive Gilmore Girls fan, I hadn’t read it yet. Still, I finally did last year and I’m so glad I did because it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed listening to all her stories from the Gilmore Girls set!
15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2022?
“My pain was never more valuable than his potential.” -Know My Name, Chanel Miller
There are many incredibly powerful quotes/sections from this book, but this is the one line that has really stuck with me ever since reading it.
16. Shortest and Longest Books You Read In 2022:
Shortest Book (comic!): The Rebel Army #2 by VE Schwab-32 pages
Longest Book: Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini-608 pages
Another year with no Sarah J Maas, so I got another different author as my longest read!
17. Book That Shocked You The Most?
There was a twist in Looking For Jane that completely knocked me for six and I actually had to go back and rewind and listen again to make sure I’d heard right because I couldn’t believe it!
18. OTP of The Year?
I’ve really not read that many books with all that much romance in them this year once again, but I guess if I had to pick one, Edwin and Robin from A Marvellous Light probably had the relationship that I was most invested in of the books I read this year.
19. Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year?
I loved the relationship between Nancy and Evelyn in Looking For Jane, though if I said much more about it, I’d probably be going into spoilery territory, so I’ll just leave it at that.
20. Favourite Book You Read In 2022 From An Author You Read Previously?
The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn once again knocked it out of the park with her most recent release. I’ve yet to be disappointed by anything I’ve read from her, and I can’t wait for her latest novel, The Phoenix Crown (co-written with Janie Chang) to be released in September.
21. Best Book You Read In 2022 That You Read Based Solely On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Bookstagram/Peer Pressure?
I’m pretty sure Looking For Jane was one that I came across on someone else’s book blog, I’m almost certain it was a Top Ten Tuesday list, but I can’t remember exactly whose it was now. Whoever it was, thank you very much!
22. Newest Cinnamon Roll Character From 2022?
My alternative to the fictional crush question as I decided I didn’t want to do that one anymore. It might be a bit strange to describe Edwin Courcey from A Marvellous Light as a cinnamon roll character as he’s quite prickly but he definitely fits the bill of “character I would protect at all costs” and he has a softer side, so I think he fits the bill here.
23. Best 2022 Debut You Read?
This can’t be a surprise given how much it has already come up on this list so far: Looking For Jane. Heather Marshall wrote such a powerful, emotional book and as I said before, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I mentioned this one in a previous answer, Madeline Martin really made 1940s Lisbon and Lyon come alive in The Librarian Spy and had me desperately wanting to visit Lisbon in particular!
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most Fun To Read?
Lauren Graham’s Talking As Fast As I Can had me laughing pretty much the entire way through.
26. Book That Made You Cry/Nearly Cry In 2022?
I’m going to sound like a bit of a broken record here, but Looking For Jane had me on the verge of tears multiple times throughout the book.
27. Hidden Gem of The Year?
The Mad Girls of New York. If you’re not familiar with Nellie Bly (and you absolutely should be, she was an incredible woman), Maya Rodale did a fantastic job of telling the story of her infamous stint in Blackwell’s Island Asylum for her most famous articles, a two part series titled “Behind Asylum Bars” and “Into The Madhouse” respectively. It’s not one I’ve seen a lot of people talking about, which I think is a shame because I found it a really enjoyable book. It’s listed as Nellie Bly #1 on Goodreads, so I’m hoping this means Rodale will chronicle more of Nellie’s escapades, as they would be very fun to read about: fingers crossed for her Around The World In 72 Days piece as the focus for the next book if there is one!
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
There were many moments in The Librarian Spy that completely crushed me.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2022?
Life After Life is probably the book that most fits the bill for this one as the premise follows the main character Ursula as she dies and is reborn over and over again, having chances to fix the mistakes she made in previous lives. It wasn’t my favourite book of the year, it was a little dull and repetitive (I actually enjoyed the TV mini-series more) but it’s certainly an intriguing premise.
30. Book That Made You Most Mad?
I’ve already talked about it, but When Women Were Dragons. WHEN I AM PROMISED DRAGONS, I EXPECT ALL THE DRAGONS DARN IT.
Your Blogging/Bookish Life:
- New Favourite Blog/Bookstagram/YouTube Channel You Discovered In 2022?
Did I discover any of these this year? I always find it really hard to keep track! Can I say something non-book related and say that Good Boy Ollie is my favourite new Instagram account discovery of the year? What’s not to love about a cute Labrador doing weekly activities? NOTHING.
2. Favourite Post You Wrote In 2022?
It’s always really hard to pick these, but I am very proud that I created my own original book tag for Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights. It was a lot of work but very fun to do!
3. Favourite Bookish Photo You Took In 2022?
It’s not actually of books but it me at a bookish event so I think it counts? Anyway, I love this one of me and my new friend Heather, who I met at YALC back in July (though I didn’t actually take it!)
4. Best Bookish Event You Participated In?
That last one leads quite nicely into this one as the best bookish event this year was obviously the return of YALC in July. I missed it so much and it was so wonderful to be back this year. However, it was sad that Hannah wasn’t able to make it this year, it wasn’t the same without her and I hope we’ll be back there together next year!
5. Best Moment of Bookish/Blogging Life In 2022?
I loved meeting Heather at YALC this year, I was so nervous to go by myself, so finding a new friend really made the weekend much more enjoyable than it would have been if I’d been on my own the whole time.
6. Most Challenging Thing About Your Blogging/Bookish Life This Year?
I’ve not read as much as I’d have liked, it’s just been a bit of a slow year for me, so I’m hoping next year I will be able to read a lot more.
7. Most Popular Post On Your Blog This Year (by comments or views?)
Views are always easier to keep track of, so I’m going with that again this year. In a bit of an odd turn this year, my most viewed post was a discussion post (which are hardly ever my most viewed posts!), it was one from six years ago where I talked about if reading could be an addiction and whether that was really a bad thing which was an interesting post to write. It was reasonably well received at the time, but it seems to have had somewhat of a resurgence recently, which I love, it’s always great to see my older posts still getting some love.
8. Post You Wish Got A Little More Love?
Once again, I’m going to plug my most recent Quarterly Rewind as they always take me an age to write!
9. Best Bookish Discovery This Year?
I got these really cute book stack earrings from Coryographies back in April which got a ton of compliments when I wore them to YALC back in July!
Here’s a link to Cory’s shop if you’d like a pair for yourself (this isn’t sponsored, I just really love these earrings!): https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Coryographies?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=91567095
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals you set yourself at the beginning of the year?
Yes! You can find out more details about that in my End of Year Check In post here.
Looking Ahead
- One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2022 But Will Be Your Top Priority In 2023?
I had Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner on several seasonal TBR lists in 2022 but never got to it, so it’s one that is definitely high up on my audiobook list for 2023.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2023 (non-debut)?
The as yet untitled first book in the Threads of Power series by VE Schwab. We’re going back to the Shades of Magic world and I could not be more excited!
3. 2023 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I actually only came across this one in November when looking for books to get in the double stamps deal Waterstones did on Black Friday, but I’m already super hyped for it: Death of A Bookseller by Alice Slater. It sounds so good, a true crime addicted bookseller getting dangerously obsessed with the bookshop’s newest employee? I AM IN.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating In 2023?
Hell Bent, the sequel to Ninth House: it has been a WHILE and I’m looking forward to seeing what misadventures Alex, Darlington and Dawes get up to in the next book.
5. One Thing You Hope To Do/Accomplish In Your Blogging Life In 2022?
I’ve got a lot of series to finish on my shelf so I’d really like to make a dent in some of those if I can.
6. A 2023 Release You’ve Already Read And Recommended To Everyone?
None! I’ve kind of stopped doing Netgalley for the time being and I’ve not really missed it that much? The pressure of getting a book read by the release date, and nearly always failing to do that always felt a bit stressful and I’ve been much more relaxed about my reading since I’ve not been reading arcs, so I’m sticking with that for the moment!
How was your 2022 reading year everyone? What are you looking forward to reading this year? Let me know in the comments!
Well that’s it! Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a good New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and are ready to start 2023. I’ll be back with more posts next week, the first is likely to be my first TTT of 2023 on Tuesday.
I know I chose a Maggie Stiefvater cover last year too, but she has the most incredible designs for her book covers. Whoever designs them deserves an award!
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