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2022 Book Rankings
It’s time for my much-anticipated annual book rankings. This year is notable because I liked almost everything I read to some degree, whereas typically I’m more of a hater. Several of my favorite authors let me down, but I found some new ones to pick up the slack.
These are tiered but unranked within the tiers, because it’s too difficult to parse out how to rank books between genres. They are based solely on how much I enjoyed reading them with no attempt at objectivity.
Loved
My Name is Asher Lev – Chaim Potok
A masterpiece. The way Potok is able to convey atmosphere and emotion with such simple writing is stunning. It is the last book I finished in 2022 and the most profound thing I’ve read in years. The Remains of the Day probably remains the most impactful thing I’ve read as an adult, but this is a close second. Thanks to the Close Reads Podcast for introducing me to it.
Liked
Ghettoside – Jill Leovy
Jaw-dropping and stomach-turning. Best non-fiction account of a societal problem I’ve read since Evicted.
The Code Breaker – Walter Isaacson
Very well-done. It’s less of a focused biography than I expected and surprisingly detailed on the science. I learned a great deal.
The Great Bridge – David McCullough
It is very inspiring to read about the engineering accomplishments of prior generations. The challenges these men faced building a bridge across the water are practically unimaginable today. Also, it all takes place within walking distance of my apartment.
The End of the Affair – Graham Greene
Interesting and complicated. Perhaps a bit absurd at times, but Greene is incredible.
Liked Less
Brooklyn – Colm Tóibín
This is a terrific if somewhat cliche novella. The final part complicates the character and the narrative quite a bit and left me a bit befuddled. Still really enjoyed it.
The Last Subway – Philip Mark Plotch
It’s a bit dry but full of information about the history of the subway in NYC and why it’s so hard to build more of it. Also, it serves as one more reminder that all politicians are corrupt liars.
Golden Gates – Conor Doughtery
American cities need to build more housing, a conclusion that continues to elude everyone except those who think about it honestly for 2 seconds.
Juliet, Naked – Nick Hornby
Not his best, but if you like Nick Hornby, this is certainly a Hornby book. I happen to really enjoy them.
My Salinger Year – Joanna Rakoff
I am a sucker for books about young people navigating life in New York, especially if there’s a meta-angle about books. It’s a simple little memoir and seems to have an axe to grind with a particular ex-boyfriend, but it’s a fun read if you’re into that type of thing.
Diary of a Bookseller – Shaun Bythell
Nothing happens and the manager seems like a bit of a jerk. But it’s a cozy read.
Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It feels like a draft of a great novel. The story is so aggressively unsubtle that the author put a scene into the book defending the fact that it isn’t subtle. Still, the writing flows very well, and it’s very engaging for a novel that isn’t plot-driven at all. It’s a little tedious and has a mediocre ending but overall very impressive.
Farewell, My Lovely – Raymond Chandler
I enjoyed it much more than The Big Sleep. This was a nice change of pace for me as I rarely read plot-heavy detective novels.
The Plantagenets – Dan Jones
Very easy to read history of an era I knew little about.
Enjoyed but had Flaws
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour – Joshua Ferris
Joshua Ferris is in my head. He captures certain trains of thought so perfectly it’s scary. That being said, I have no idea what the point of this book is. The story is strangely complex and also goes nowhere. I enjoyed it but wouldn’t really recommend it. Then We Came to the End is much better.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail – Hunter S. Thompson
The only Hunter S Thompson I’ve read. It is worth reading as it captures the mindset of a time and place, and George McGovern seems largely forgotten. Very funny to see which things have changed in politics and which have not (including Hunter’s espousing of the persistent myth that a bunch of young people will rise up and change politics which continues to not happen).
Peace – Gene Wolfe
Wolfe is obviously brilliant, and a lot of this book went over my head. I admired it more than I enjoyed it, because the stories within stories and constant symbolism get to be a bit much. I’m not itching to read more Gene Wolfe. (Shoutout to the Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast) for helping to make sense of this.
Milkman – Anna Burns
I feel like I should hate a stream-of-consciousness style novel about the Irish troubles. The dialect is awkward and repetitive, and the story is mostly told through atmosphere and the threat of what-might-happen rather than anything actually happening. Still, this book works. While the dialog may seem off-putting at first, Burns manages to convey a powerful sense of time and place, and I found it be quite skillfully done.
You Shall Know our Velocity – Dave Eggers
This book seems tailored to prey on mid-to-late twenties existential angst. It does this well enough to stay on the right side of the line between profound and cringe-worthy, so I give it a pass.
The Goal – Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Not sure why I read this. Obviously, the story is terrible from a literary perspective, but packing practical problem-solving advice into a narrative like this is not that easy, and it’s useful enough to be worth your time… if you’re interested in optimizing supply chains.
Meh
A Calling for Charlie Barnes – Joshua Ferris
All of Ferris’ books are the same on some level, and whatever that thing is I am into. Still, the meta-angle later in the book didn’t do it for me, and the existential angst is laid on a bit thick even for me. It’s worth reading but not my favorite.
Emperor’s Soul – Brandon Sanderson
A tightly crafted little sci-fi novella. If you’re into that this is a good one. I read it mostly as a test of whether I could get into Brandon Sanderson, and I don’t think I can at this point in my life.
In the Garden of Beasts – Erik Larson
It is eminently interesting that this family existed, and the book is able to capture some of the oppressive atmosphere in early Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, it just feels like the author didn’t have enough source material to go on to round out the narrative he wanted, so he spruced it up with details about the daughter partying with Nazis. It all comes out a bit muddled and boring
The Candy House – Jennifer Egan
Really disappointing. There are too many characters, and they just aren’t differentiated enough or compelling enough for me to figure out how they all relate to one another. Egan really wants to write about technology, but she doesn’t seem to know very much about it, which at times really hurts the book. It’s not like bad, she’s obviously a great writer, but it’s by far my least favorite Egan novel. A Visit from the Goon Squad is one of my favorite novels ever, so I take no pleasure in putting this here.
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain – George Saunders
I enjoyed the Russian stories but didn’t find Saunders as profound as I had hoped. This book ending up feeling like a chore to me.
Actively Disliked
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
The story is reasonably interesting, but the dialogue and flashbacks to ostensibly “realistic”” scenes were so cringey I could barely finish it. Every single person talks like they’re a teenager writing in their diary. It’s awful. I don’t get how any editor let this be published.
Imago – Octavia E. Butler
I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy a lot. This last entry feels redundant, but also darker and more disturbing than the other entries. It’s like a horror story told from the perspective of the villain. The villain wins. The reader doesn’t.
Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel
Reading any fiction about pandemics is just painful at this point. This book is trying too hard and doing too much. (I hope this is the last zoom meeting fatigue joke I will ever have to endure in a novel.) There’s a lot of exposition here, and it’s pretty clunky about what it’s trying to accomplish, especially when what it’s trying to accomplish is a tired sci-fi trope.
I hate to be an Emily St John Mandel hipster but Last Night in Montreal and Station Eleven are much better than Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility.
A Sky Beyond the Storm – Sabaa Tahir
I picked up Ember in the Ashes randomly at an airport several years ago. I found the Roman fantasy angle refreshing, and I was very excited have a new fantasy series to look forward to. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for where the rest of the quartet went, and I read the last entry out of obligation more than anything.
The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein
Designed to be emotionally manipulative.
Just Like You – Nick Hornby
Hornby seems to want to write an essay about Brexit, but being Nick Hornby, all he can write is a tale about a relationship where nothing happens, so he wrote both things at once. Both fall flat. I love Hornby’s books about relationships where nothing happens, but they’re good because he has a rare gift for capturing how people really think. This book doesn’t do that, it shoves politics into their minds in random, ham-fisted ways, and none of it works at all.
It would be one thing if he thought Brexit was a really fascinating vehicle for a character study and wanted to focus on it, but the angst about the interracial relationship beggared belief. This is London in 2020 we’re talking about, not Alabama in 1930. You know what would be progressive Nick? Writing a book about an interracial couple in 2022 that didn’t call attention to the fact that one of the characters was black on every single page!