18 Books to Read This Year (2022 Book List)
If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that every January, I share my book list for the upcoming year. I usually choose books from several different categories because I like mixing up my reading material throughout the year. This year’s categories include:
Business
Creativity
Fiction
Personal/Intellectual
Nonfiction/Memoir
I like starting the year with a book list because it helps me read with intention and avoid those awkward gaps in the year searching for what to read next (you know what it’s like).
That being said, I’m not married to this list, it’s not set in stone. It will likely change and evolve as the year unfolds—as I hear about books from friends on Instagram or pick up paperbacks at the church rummage sale (such a great place to find books!). I find having at least some book titles written down in January is a good place to start.
Looking for a few books to add to your reading list this year? I hope you find something interesting and inspiring from my list below.
What’s On My 2022 Book List
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Business
Company of One (Paul Jarvis)
“What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale a new start-up, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours, and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better—and smarter—solution is simply to remain small? This book explains how to do just that.”
Be the Go-To (Theresa Līna)
“In Be the Go-To, Theresa reveals a groundbreaking, step-by-step approach called the Apollo Method for Market Dominance. It’s a detailed, pragmatic recipe for becoming your market’s Go-To brand, brought to life through fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories from the Apollo Space Program, Tesla, Disney, Apple, Lego, Salesforce, Amazon, REI, and more.”
Creativity
The Practice (Seth Godin)
I love Seth Godin’s writing style but more so his perspective on business, creativity, and marketing. This book is all about the creative practice.
“Godin insists that writer's block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you're a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you've been seeking to share all along.”
The War of Art (Steven Pressfield)
“The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline.
Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself.”
Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert)
I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, Eat, Pray, Love several years ago and fell in love with her writing style. This book is all about creativity.
The Amazon description reads, “Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.”
Fiction
The LAst Thing he Told Me (Laura Dave)
“With its breakneck pacing, dizzying plot twists, and evocative family drama, The Last Thing He Told Me is a riveting mystery, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn.”
The Time of Our Singing (Richard Powers)
Written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this story is about three musical, mixed-race children growing up during the Civil Rights era and struggling to navigate the social and musical worlds that threaten to divide them.
This one is a denser read, but from what I’ve heard, the prose is beautiful and it brings to light some of the racial inequalities that are present in the field of classical music still today.
The Vanishing Half (Brit Bennett)
“The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?”
The Switch (Beth O’Leary)
In this novel, a granddaughter and grandmother decide to switch lives for two months. “Eileen [grandmother] will live in London and look for love. She’ll take Leena’s flat, and learn all about casual dating, swiping right, and city neighbors. Meanwhile, Leena [granddaughter] will look after everything in rural Yorkshire: Eileen’s sweet cottage and garden, her idyllic, quiet village, and her little neighborhood projects.”
Will they find themselves in the end?
Personal & Intellectual
I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet (Shauna Niequist)
I have been waiting for Shauna Niequist’s new book to come out and this is the year! This book is “a clear-eyed look at what happens when everything we've been clinging to falls apart--what we keep, what we let go, and how we're transformed along the way.”
Speaking the Piano (Susan Tomes)
I heard about this book on a webinar with Marvin Blickenstaff of the New School for Music Study.
“[Renowned pianist] Susan Tomes reflects on how her own experience as a learner, in different genres from classical to jazz, has influenced her approach to teaching. She tells us how her performing career has given her insight into what young performers need to know, and how discussions with students have fed into her own practice. She describes the brilliant and intriguing teachers whose masterclasses opened her ears to the many ways in which music can be brought alive and communicated.”
The Next Right Thing (Emily P. Freeman)
I’ve read several of Emily P. Freeman’s books in the past. Looking forward to adding this one to the list!
“If you have trouble making decisions, because of either chronic hesitation you've always lived with or a more recent onset of decision fatigue, Emily P. Freeman offers a fresh way of practicing familiar but often forgotten advice: simply do the next right thing. With this simple, soulful practice, it is possible to clear the decision-making chaos, quiet the fear of choosing wrong, and find the courage to finally decide without regret or second-guessing.”
On Writing Well (William Zinsser)
A classic guide for all types of writing, offering “fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher.”
Inspiring Impressionism (Lynne Ambrosini et al.)
We went to our local art museum a few months ago and I was captivated by a landscape painting by Charles François Daubigny. This book explores his work and impact on the Impressionist movement.
I Know An Artist (Susie Hodge)
“Each of the 84 illustrated profiles [in this book] reveals the fascinating links between some of the best-known artists. Whether through teaching, as in the case of Paul Klee and Anni Albers; a mutual muse, as seen in the flowers of Georgia O’Keeffe and Takashi Murakami; or an inspirational romantic coupling like that of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock.”
Nonfiction & Memoir
Life from Scratch (Sasha Martin)
I love a good food memoir, especially one that includes recipes! This one began with a challenge: to cook—and eat—a meal from every country in the world. Over the course of 195 weeks, Martin discovers the “power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal—and celebrates the simple truth that happiness is created from within.”
Caste (Isabel Wilkerson)
I read Isabel Wilkerson’s book, The Warmth of Other Suns last year and learned so much about the Great Migration in America.
“In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.”
Built to Belong (Natalie Franke)
Natalie Franke, the founder of The Rising Tide Society, wrote this book about building and finding community in a world where it’s easy to feel isolated, lost, and alone.
“Human beings are not highlight reels—we’re done fanning the flames of comparison, drowning in our insecurities, and being pitted against one another. We’re saying no to the endless rat race of getting ahead and goodbye to the narratives that leave us feeling left out and alone. . . .We’re made for so much more.”
I’d love to hear from you:
Have you read any of these? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What's on your book list this year?