Favorite Books of 2022

This is the time of year when all the "best of" reading lists come out. And so of course I have to chime in. Read on for some recommendations of books that top my personal list. 

"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus. Elizabeth Zott is a character for the ages. As the description of the book says, "Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman." The time is the early '60s, an era when women were expected to be homemakers rather than professionals, particularly in the field of science. But Zott is not a woman who abides by anyone's rules but her own. 

I was all in on this novel before I finished the first page. Zott is packing her young daughter's lunch and includes some notes for inspiration. "Fuel for learning" reads one. "Play sports at recess but do not let the boys win" reads another. And finally, "Most people are awful." Talk about a way to let the reader know how Zott approaches both life and child raising. She is not one to sugar coat. And did I mention that her daughter Mad is just five when she reads these missives? Mad then puts them in a safe place away from prying eyes of teachers. (Her fellow students could not, of course, read these words much less comprehend them.) 

There's so much to this book as Zott struggles to find a career in chemistry, meets the love of her life, gets pregnant (out of wedlock!!!), suffers tragedy, is foiled in her insistence on being taken seriously at every turn and ends up with a cooking show. What???  The cooking show is the obvious outlier here, but it becomes a hit as Zott treats her show as a lesson in chemistry and her female audience as serious people who find themselves suddenly empowered. 

This description does not begin to do justice to the novel, which is hilarious (despite some heartbreaking moments) and a reminder of the strength of women and our ability to lift one another up. I could have started the book over the moment I read its final words. 

And an FYI. I only read "Lessons in Chemistry" because it was Barnes and Noble's Book of the Year. It beat out Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," the book that had been at the top of my list. I was curious, so I picked it up despite a cover that totally turned me off. Elizabeth Zott would not approve of the portrayal of the cutesy woman either. Don't make that mistake. Run, don't walk, to get this debut novel. I can't wait to see what Garmus comes up with next.

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin. Talk about not being able to wait for a book. I was so excited to read Zevin's new novel that I inadvertently ordered it twice -- once from Amazon and once from Barnes and Noble, both to arrive on the day the book hit the market. I was already into the story by the time the second copy arrived four hours after the first. 

Why was I so excited about this book? It certainly wasn't the ostensible topic of video games. I have never played a video game in my life. But two of Zevin's books were my favorites last year -- "Young Jane Young" and "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry." So I was eager to see what she had for readers next. 

"Tomorrow..." is a love story between Sam and Sadie, but not the romantic kind of love. Instead, their love is one of deep friendship and a work marriage (both of which have plenty of rocky moments) They meet by happenstance when they're kids and Sam is in the hospital. Sam and Sadie play a hand held video game to pass the time and build a lasting connection. They fall in and out of touch over the years but meet again in college and end up becoming video game designers together. Learning the backstory of the games they're creating intrigued me -- almost to the point of wanting to pick up a console. (Is that what they're called???) But it was their relationship - both enhanced and complicated by the addition of Marx, Sam's college roommate -- that is the real story. 

I watched a Zoom interview with Zevin, and it made me appreciate the book all the more. It's way too much to relay here, but I'll share a few of her thoughts. Zevin talked about true collaborations in life being much more rare than having a lover and that there are levels to love just as there are levels in video games. She quoted an early passage from the book that reads, "To allow yourself to play with another is no small risk." She compared the perfect bodies in video games to the imperfection of Sam's body, a struggle he deals with throughout his life. She talked about the complexity of games with their many layers, another parallel with life. Listening to her made me want to read the book all over again and think about the nuances. I loved it. 

"The Bullet that Missed: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery" by Richard Osman. If you're not reading this series of books, you are truly missing out. The set up is that a quartet of friends living in an independent living facility gather weekly to discuss cold cases. (I don't remember that as an activity at the place my parents lived, but it sounds much more fun than bingo.) The group is comprised of Elizabeth (an ex-spy who gets actual cold case files from her contacts), Joyce (a former nurse), Ibrahim (a past psychologist) and Ron (former labor activist). They've got all the bases covered. 

The cases the group end up pursuing are less relevant than the people they meet along the way. Talk about characters. Never has crime been so much fun. My only caution is to read these books in order because once you meet this foursome you're part of the club. The fourth installment in the series will be out next fall so you have plenty of time to catch up. I can't wait. 

And in case you missed them, here are links to reviews of the other books I blogged about this year. Let me know what YOUR favorite books of the year were. I'm always in the market for a good read!  

"The Last White Man: A Novel" by Mohsin Hamid

"Girl at War" and "True Biz" by Sara Novic