It’s been a ~year~! And while it hasn’t been easy trying to carve some time for reading, we still made it folks! I finished my 2022 Reading Challenge!

I was scrolling through my reading challenges and I can’t believe this is the 12th year! It’s been a journey really. I don’t finish it all the time (especially during the early years of tracking this) but it has been a yearly tradition that always give me comfort and happiness. And though I found some other things to spend my time on this year (going for walks, hiking, meeting new people, going to new places), reading has always been my first love. The one that perseveres through time. One of the things I can always fall back on whenever things get tough – and that, in itself, is a blessing to have.

I’ve gone through points in my life when I was unhealthily using reading to escape my problems and ignore my emotions (a thing my therapist called me out on). I know the journey to practicing mindful reading and using it as a tool to improve my life (instead of otherwise) has not been a straight line but I’d like to think that I’ve improved on this front – even if just for a bit. This year was focused on taking it slow so my numbers drastically decreased compared to previous years. Initially, I felt bad. But in lieu of a better reading experience and less noise, I don’t mind. 🙂

Here are my quick reading stats for this year (courtesy of Goodreads):

These are all the books I’ve read this 2022:

In bullets, these are the things I noticed this year:

1. I lessened the amount of time I spent listening to audiobooks significantly. I was compulsively doing it last year only to realize, in retrospect, that I was trying to limit the time that my mind was actually blank and silent. It honestly backfired, but I learned to just enjoy my walks and my chores without background noise in my head playing all the time. It’s honestly refreshing!
2. I tried reading more physical books again and, oh my, nothing still beats the feel of paper in your hands.
3. I am starting to realize that I am really becoming a huge fan of memoirs. (Read: My Favorite Memoirs So Far) This is the main genre of non-fiction I usually enjoy. The informational ones, particularly around mental health, is the one that comes close.
4. I moved to a new place this year and, naturally, the author names that pop up in the bookstores around me also changed. I discovered new Irish and British writers and it was such a trip. I used to just read about the way of life here in the UK (I’m currently in Belfast) in Mhairi’s books and, now, I am actually experiencing it. It’s different and lovely – and I love reading how the day-to-day life is reflected in these authors’ perspectives.
5. Speaking of things that I enjoy reading, I feel like the types of books I loved to read are becoming clearer and clearer by the day – namely, contemporary fiction about the lives and loves of modern adult women. I feel like this mirrors closely to my personal life so sometimes I feel like I am experiencing it with them. I never really had an older sister but reading about these women going through some tough stuff and somehow seeing it through gives me so much hope. Isn’t it beautiful how literature does this to us?
6. I also limited my exposure to Book Twitter (just because I was always overwhelmed in that scene whenever I log in) and I noticed that it significantly lessened the amount of time I read fantasy. And I also don’t follow as much trends these days compared to before. This is interesting for me and has significantly contributed to my somehow coming to my own (thus, #5).
7. This is the first time that I actually read more non-fiction books than fiction (I think?). It surprised me but it also made me so happy. 🙂
8. I also read fewer books in a series this year but I appreciated the peace of mind of not anticipating and almost never waiting for the next thing to happen to the story.

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2023 Resolutions

I’ll keep this brief and easy, here are my 2023 bookish resolutions:

• Try to read more physical books. (If possible, read the ones you already have.)
• Try to post more about the books I am reading, real-time.
• Don’t pressure myself into finishing a lot of books for the sake of the numbers: quality over quantity.
• Try to revive this reading blog again and post more about: Taking Stock, Non Fiction Round-Up, (full-length) Book Reviews).

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My Top Reads of the Year

And of course, this recap won’t be complete without a list of my top reads. I wasn’t exactly planning for it to be actually 10 books but that is how our list went (in random order), so bear with me.

• Beautiful Player (Beautiful Bastard, #3) by Christina Lauren – There was something about this book that I find charming, in a series of *meh* stories. This featured Will Sumner (my favorite BB hero) and a “bombshell bookworm” (lol, I know) Hanna Bergstrom. I didn’t know what exactly to call this but I live for tropes like this.
• Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell – This was a random find when I visited Waterstones this weekend and damn did I feel lucky I discovered Lucy Caldwell. Intimacies is a short story collection penned by someone who was born in Belfast (where I am right now!). I figured this could be a great way to introduce me to Northen Irish literature but I didn’t expect to find an exciting female author with such an interesting writing style (and in short story format, nonetheless!).  [Review]
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – This ended up shooting straight to my list of top memoirs I’ve ever read. I can’t believe I only discovered Didion’s works now. This is the closest literature I’ve ever read that mirrored my experience with grief and mourning (and even my feelings towards death) with perfect clarity and abandon. [Review]
• This is Your Mind in Plants by Michael Pollan – This book dove deep into 3 substances: caffeine, opium, and mescaline – and has been pretty informational. This was adapted into a documentary-style series which made me appreciate it more. Please watch it on Netflix!
• Writers and Lovers by Lily King –  I resonated with a lot of things in that book. But I think the writing is what kept me glued to it. I loved reading quiet books, because (for some reason) when they really strike a chord, they leave a deep impression on me more often than not. And Writers & Lovers is like that. [Review]

• Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery by Catherine Gildiner – A random find once again in Scirbd. This is worth reading if just for Story 3 – which featured an indigenous man struggling in the face of grief. The sessions brought light to complex PTSD caused by forced residential schooling in the age of systemic cultural genocide directed to Canada’s First Nations. The details were harrowing and the long term effects heartbreaking. This is the first direct account I’ve read of such events and it was eye-opening. This turned out to be significantly better than Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and I rated that book 5 stars. 
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry – The ultimate books for anxious, overachieving older sisters – and a book lover, at that! What more can I ask for? Honestly, I’ve never met an Emily Henry book I didn’t like.
• Ghosts by Dolly Alderton – I’m pretty sure I didn’t rate this book that high but this is one book I kept coming back to. I can’t stop thinking about it. I guess this holds a special place in my heart, no matter how I keep denying it.
• The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & Gloria Vanderbilt – My God, this book! What a pleasant surprise. It started out slow but then it escalated into something wonderful and unforgettable. The title (and the cover) is a bit cheesy when I first read it, to be honest, but when I finished the book – it took on a whole new meaning – something close to my heart. [Review]
• Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci – I’ve read a lot of memoirs by chefs – but this book, Stanley’s reflections, have truly captured that essence. A life lived through food – and all the memories and people attached to it. [Review]

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I know this has been a lot for my first post of the year in this space but I really enjoyed writing this recap (no matter how relatively late it is). Looking forward to a better reading year this 2023!

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How was your 2022 reading year? What are your favorite reads this 2022? Link up your wrap-ups if you have any! Comment up and let’s talk!

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