I usually have quite a long list of my favorite books of the year. For 2022, I tried to be more picky about which books I thought earned 5 stars. I read 125 books and I picked 18 – but 7 are a part of two series, so I think I can make that 13 favorite reads for 2022. Let me know in the comments what your favorite books are from your 2022 reading! I will probably add them to my 2023 to-read list!
FICTION
Ransom is kidnapped by a former college friend and is taken, along with another man, to another planet. The other two men have been before and are planning to give Ransom to the alien life they found before as a sacrifice. However, Ransom runs away and starts exploring the new planet, eventually finding spiritual life as well. The story reminded me of Project Hail Mary. I plan to read the rest of the trilogy. (You probably need to at least enjoy science fiction to enjoy Out of the Silent Planet.)
Perelandra is the second book in C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy series. Dr. Ranson is called by the angels to visit a different planet (Venus). On Venus, he finds life is at its beginning stages and meets its “Eve.” However, Eve has yet to meet her Adam and only has one rule to follow. She must stay on the floating islands to sleep at night and not stay on the fixed ground island. Shortly after meeting her, Dr. Ransom finds that someone else has made his way to the planet and has brought along evil intentions. The book focuses on the struggle between good and evil and what a struggle it is! I found the story greatly fascinating.
Ransom reappears in the third book of C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy as an “older” man waiting for a message of when to wage war in That Hideous Strength. Not a war of humans, but a war between good and evil. The NICE organization has moved into a small, English town and has taken over the local college’s grounds. NICE has nefarious plans to take control of the local population by resurrecting Merlin. However, the organization did not take into account the good side fighting back. The book is a good reminder, as with the other two in the series, that there is more in this world than what we see – there is a spiritual realm.
I needed an audiobook to listen to while driving to Mississippi and back to pick up my daughter from a dance intensive. I had put off reading The Hunger Games since I didn’t want to read about teenagers killing each other. However, I finally gave in and enjoyed the message behind the storyline. In these dystopian novels, Panem has emerged after the U.S. has been destroyed and is a country with a capitol and 13 districts. However, the districts rebelled against the capitol and the treaty after the war required each district to sacrifice two teenagers each year, a boy and girl, to participate in the Hunger Games. It is a fight to the death, with only one winner. Katniss takes her sister’s place from district 12 in the 74th year, and without intending to, she helps spark a new rebellion. The overall message is what is worth sacrificing for future generations’ freedom?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: In this Hunger Games prequel, the author delves into the story of Snow, who is one of the main protagonists in The Hunger Games books. At first, I didn’t want to like him since he was not a nice character in the books, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows how he got to that point in his life. While a large part of it was outside influences, he makes some decisions that he cannot turn back from – even for love. Hunger Games fans will enjoy reading this book.
In 1700s France, Addie LaRue finds herself in a desperate situation. She longs for freedom, but is condemned to a life of marriage and family. On her wedding day, she runs away and hides, praying to anyone who could hear her. After dusk, there is a response and she makes a deal with a dark power. She is free, but no one will remember her and she will live until she is ready to give the spirit her soul. A centuries-long battle between her and the darkness begins … I really enjoyed the plot of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It had a lot of twists and turns and has the overall lesson to avoid evil spirits.
It took me 16 days to read Centennial, but it’s probably going to be one of my top reads of the entire year. It’s a history book that brings history to life. This is the first Michener book I’ve read and I really enjoyed how he tied the history of Centennial, Colorado, from the prehistoric era to the 1970s. Historical fiction readers will love it as it reads like a novel instead of a history book. I plan to read more of Michener’s works – probably Alaska next.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is a story about lost stories. There are many known books, plays and stories mentioned in antique documents that we do not have anymore. This book explores how one such story may have tied a few generations together if it had not been lost. The story is told by an ancient family, a teacher trying to help students and a girl who is on a spaceship traveling to a different planet to save civilization. I really enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Sea of Tranquility is one of my 5-star reads this year. It is set throughout several different people’s lives in different time eras. There is something that ties them together – a glitch. Each person experiences a sensation for just a few moments of being in two places at the same time they hear a violin playing. In the future, where time travel is available to the government only for investigations, Gaspery is sent to look into the glitches. I can’t give much more away, but I highly recommend this book.
Alice is turning 40 and while her life is okay, she wonders if it should be something more. She gets drunk and falls asleep in the guard house near her father’s home in New York City. She wakes up in her 16-year-old body. Learning how to time travel and what can and cannot be changed dominates her life until she finds a way to be happy. I really enjoyed This Time Tomorrowand found it interesting that now two of my top reads for 2022 involve time travel.
NON-FICTION
I highly recommend Soundtracks to anyone who overthinks or had an internal voice that won’t stay quiet. It has great suggestions on how to tame the voice and overthinking. Each chapter provides a concrete suggestion. It has inspired me to take a better initiative of who I want to be and how I want to think. There is a short, youth-edition called Your New Playlist that is good for teens and young adults.
Letter to the American Church is a warning letter to today’s Christian church. The times we are currently living in require knowers of the truth to stand up and speak it loudly. I highly recommend this book to all Christians, especially those in leadership. Metaxas is today’s Bonhoeffer and he’s worth listening to.
Science, archeology and philosophy all now argue for the existence of God and against atheism. Fact by fact, case by case, Metaxas goes thoroughly through the current evidence that supports faith and the Bible. Is Atheism Dead? is well-documented and up-to-date with things that have been discovered sometimes in just the past few years.
I would encourage anyone who is either solid in their faith or wavering to read this book and let it challenge what you think about the proof of the existence of God.
Frankl is a survivor of a concentration camp and Yes to Life is a group of his speeches about what makes life worth living. The answer is because it is life. He addresses why the survivors were not hopeless, suicide and how to think about life when it’s hard. I highly recommend this book and any of his books.
“To say yes to life is not only meaningful under all circumstances—because life itself is—but it is also possible under all circumstances. And ultimately that was the entire purpose of these three parts: to show you that people can still—despite hardship and death (first part), despite suffering from physical or mental illness (second part or under the fate of the concentration camp (third part)—say yes to life in spite of everything.”
Before women had the right to vote and were recognized as having their own personhood after being married, they were subject to the whims of their husbands. The Woman They Could Not Silence covers the atrocity of husbands and fathers committing their wives and daughters to insane asylums without any proof of insanity – just because they didn’t want them at home. Elizabeth Packard was sent to one for three years because she disagreed with her husband on several religious points and he was a pastor. Her six children were suddenly motherless and Elizabeth had almost no power about her situation. But, with what little power she did have, she fought every step of the way. This is a powerful book and I highly recommend it to learn about this aspect of American history. Kate Moore has uncovered another key part of women’s history as she did in The Radium Girls, which I also highly recommend!
In Order to Live is my first 5-star book of 2022! It’s an important book to read about a person who escaped North Korea. She and her mother journeyed to China and finally made their way to South Korea after being trafficked. It’s not an easy story to read, but Yeonmi pulls back the curtain on what life is like in North Korea. Due to the trafficking aspect, it’s a story for mature readers. I plan to listen to some podcasts she’s been interviewed on in the next few weeks.
If you want to follow my reading journey and see how I’m doing with the 2023 challenge (125 books), check me out on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/bysarahannecarter!