Happy new year! I realised rather quickly into 2022, with regret, that I never wrote a reading digest for 2021—a shame, because I read my highest total yet (80 books), and it was such a fun year of reading and reading differently. But that’s alright. My goal for this space and this year is to just be a bit more consistent and actually get my thoughts down about books shortly after I read them, so that I don’t forget all the little bits and pieces that I enjoyed so much. Anyhow, here’s my 2022 reading digest!
Goodreads summary
In the first place, I did not actually meet my Goodreads goal for the first time ever. That was rather a bit unsatisfactory for me, a girl who likes numbers and goals and meeting them :’) I had to come to terms with this reality a few days before the end of the year, when it was going to be very impossible for me to read eight books in two days.
So, I finished the year at 62/70. 88% still isn’t bad for my first whole year juggling full time work and full time grad school. Those two together are the biggest reasons why I didn’t accomplish what I felt so sure about in January of 2022. I also actually read a handful of books that I didn’t superbly enjoy (which is not usual for me), and these set me into serious reading slumps for large chunks of the year.
This is the first year I didn’t actually read the whole of LOTR in! I started my reread in late Autumn, but what with finals and work and coaching, I didn’t finish it before year’s end! So, my stats finally reflect that: LOTR has always been the longest book on my shelf. Anyway…
How I fared with my 2022 reading goals
Genre-specific
I aimed for 20-25 classics, and I came in at 27, since I’m including Elie Wiesel’s Dawn, which could be debatable?
Unfortunately, I did not pick up any Russian lit—this year!!! I only read one Steinbeck, Cannery Row, whilst in Denver visiting Megan, but I think the EoE reread will def happen this year since the Netflix adaptation is incoming. No plays, anthologies, or ancient works, alas, but I did read Lewis’ essay collection On Stories, which I enjoyed immensely.
As for the five and five for non–fic and theology, I hit 4/5 for non-fic that was not theology, and 8/5 for theology. If you add all of it up, it’s technically 12/5 for non-fiction as a whole. I did read one church history book, Dr. Lawson’s (favvvv) John Knox: Fearless Faith. Perspectives on Pentecost, by Richard Gaffin Jr., is both historical and theological, so there’s a bit of crossover there. Unfortunately, I did not get to Calvin’s Institutes Vol. 2, but I plan to in the next month or so!
Monthlies
My monthly reading routine aims were fairly unaccomplished also, lolzies. I was very slow with non-fic this year, so I didn’t average those every couple of months as planned (more like every few months).
Aside from Narnia and An Old-Fashioned Girl, which I reread every year, I actually only read 2 childhood favourites: Snow Treasure and Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill.
I wrote that I wanted to read 1-2 new-to-me fiction reads every month, and hit 25 total this year. I think I pretty much hit that rotation every month, and my total of new reads was 26—just made it!
Let’s not even talk about the goal of 2021 leftovers—I think Les Mis remained untouched, and so did Sherlock Holmes. (This year?!)
Enjoyable/Favourite New Reads
I actually read two contemporary fics: Conversations With Friends and The Love Hypothesis. Somewhat shockingly, I enjoyed both, but especially Rooney. I found myself so taken with her writing style and delivery, and I am actually looking forward to hopefully reading her other novels sometime this year.
Where the Crawdad Sings was utterly stirring. I went back and forth over whether I would read this, and then I saw that Daisy Edgar Jones would be starring in the adaptation. That, coupled with the intriguing trailer, finally pushed me to a decision, and I ate this novel up right before Christmas weekend, and then watched the adaptation during Betwixtmas the following week. Delia Owen’s prose was gorgeous, sprawling, evocative, and imagistic. The story itself brought me to tears several times as well. If you haven’t read it yet, I would recommend it!
The Night Circus (great start to the year’s reading) // The Tenant of Wildfowl Hall (ADORE) // Persuasion (IN LOVE) // Atonement (post still in the works LMAO; such an incredible novel in every possible way) // Dune (idk how I’m going to remember all I wanted to say about it, but I will write a post about it soon—just FANTASTIC) // Dune: Messiah (same fr I’m just in love with Herbert’s abilities) // An Ember in the Ashes series (exciting, suspenseful, moving, great characters) // ACOTAR series (no one say anything I’m embarrassed lmfao; really enjoyable & surprisingly great! buddy read with my bestie irl so that was half the fun, really. Currently on the final read!)
Enjoyable Re-reads
The Anne books (<3 just!!! Everything!!!) // An Old-Fashioned Girl (as mentioned in my end of year tbr, I actually didn’t read it last year, and I think that made this year’s reread all the sweetest. I was in BITS. I wept over it like I hadn’t in awhile. Ugh!!! <3)
Many happy returns!!
My failure to reach my Goodreads goal was good for my pride—I needed to be humbled haha :’) I look forward to devouring many books during 2023, in any case, and I think that will be done rather well as I’m taking a gap semester this Spring (yay! More coming soon on that and other life updates). Anyway, this was 2022’s reading digest, and what a wild, stagnant, fun, slow year it was. The reading highs were very high, and the lows were very low (yes, Caraval series, that is a jab at you and the only mention you will get here :’)), but it was fun!
might as well share those lows which caused slumps, eh?
p.s. caraval was fine okay. it was fine. but also it was boring and repetitious. so there. it set me back for months ngl. also dubliners. sorry joyce, it was just okay. nice stories, def still want to read ulysses, but it was slumpy. also pickwick papers :/ breaks my heart to even say that bc it’s genuinely so stinkin hilarious and dickens is one of my favs, but let’s just say i at last feel refreshed to pick it up again.