2022: Reflecting On My Year In Reading

As 2022 comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on my reading journey this year. I am an active Goodreads user, so I will be using a snapshot of my reading year on the date 12/28/2022 (I will exclude any books I finish between now and New Year's for our purposes).

I set a reading goal of 70 books this year. As I tend to do, I overdid it a bit! I ended up reading 135 books. (Granted, graphic novels really helped me out, but those aren't the majority of the reading I do. Not saying that graphic novels are any less valuable or engaging than their non-illustrated, print counterparts, but they are definitely quicker reads.)

See below for a visual look at my 2022. Continue below the visuals for a highlights analysis. 

*Spoilers warning for the discussion below. You've been warned!*

1. I underestimated how much I would read this year! I think that was obvious based on the total number of books I completed through 12/28/22. Perhaps this is my way of under-promising and over-delivering. This and the lifetime total of 754 books read (so far) has spurred me to add additional shelves on my Goodreads profile to better organize my reading, because I am not stopping reading anytime soon! For example, of my shelf additions, I finally added a "dnf" shelf, which is short for "did not finish," as I feel that keeping track of those books I could not really get into is as important as those I end up finishing. 
2. This year, I really dived into graphic novel/manga series that correspond to my favorite animes. These would be the My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer series. Unfortunately, I am doing the reverse of what I normally would do when books are adapted into TV series or movies, by reading the source material after watching the show. (In my defense, both animes are ongoing, so I will be getting back on track with "book first" as season hiatuses ensue.) However, both franchises feature compelling stories and characters, and managed to navigate the many tropes associated with any coming-of-age/young-adult stories with considerable grace. Of course, they're not perfect, but do an overall good job with plotting and characterization. Not to mention these "comic books," as some would derisively call them, deal with pretty heavy themes, such as ideological struggle, violence, and what it means to be heroic in a chaotic, dynamic world.
3. The variety of genres read this year has shown my gradual branching out into other genres I normally wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. My comfort genres are science fiction and fantasy and some historical nonfiction (particularly narrative nonfiction). This year, due to book clubs or my natural curiosity, I have been reading more of the biography/memoir and mystery/thriller genres. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager was my favorite mystery/thriller of this year, despite some supernatural features to the story that I felt made a five-star book into a three-to-four-star read. Mysteries and thrillers done right really hook you in from the first page and are good at tricking naive readers, like myself, into thinking they have figured out what is really going on. As for the biography/memoir genre, I found the most powerful read was I'm Glad My Mom Died by former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy. She describes the very toxic relationship she had with her late mother, who passed from cancer, and how after her mother's death, she was able to start her healing journey.
4. The book I thought was the most unique this year was Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer. Why? Well, the way the author deployed narration. Taking introspective to a whole new level, the cancer plaguing the protagonist, Lia, and her family's lives, drives the story itself by flashback to Lia's tumultuous coming-of-age and reflection in the present. This is all going on as Lia slowly succumbs to her illness. At once comic, heartbreaking, and poignant, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a book I will remember for a long time going forward for the effective use of a menacing intruder to reach all corners of the body of the story. 
5. Finally, if you are looking for feel-good stories to transport you out of the present, try Becky Chambers. She primarily writes science fiction stories that really explore the connections between all kinds of life (artificial or otherwise). My new favorite of her's is the first entry in the "Monk and Robot" series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built. This book follows the adventures of a tea monk and their robot companion as they travel around the fictional planet of Panga in search of an answer to the robot's "big question": What do people need? This is more philosophical than action-driven, but don't underestimate this book. The budding friendship of the monk and robot is heartwarming, and their travails reassuringly relatable. A tale more optimistic and hopeful than pessimistic, this book is definitely one to try if you need to read something different.

Here's to a new year of reading!

--BookOwl