Spotify has Spotify wrapped well I have my bookish year wrapped.
Hey Page Turners, and welcome to my bookish wrapped. I did this last year but it took forever to do because I literally went through all of the books I enjoyed/disliked etc, I have a feeling I am going to do the same this year but it will be much more organised. Grab a hot chocolate and enjoy reading my year in books.
I’ll start off by saying that I am so grateful that I can read, so grateful that I have access to literature and so grateful we have services like the library (which people should use more) and I am so grateful that I have read such amazing books this year. People ask how I read so much, the answer is simple without books I can’t survive. I know that sounds cliché but it is the truth. It is my safe space where I find escapism, where I find romance, where I find fantasy worlds, dystopia worlds, and non-fiction that educates me in every single genre (because I am such a mood reader if I haven’t already said) comforts me and is my outlet from real life. I also (don’t know if anyone else does this) associate the book I read with a memory. Like I remember reading Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and Secrets of Divine Love when I lost my grandad back in Feb. I remember reading Frankisstein by Winterson when it was Eid. I remember reading The Paper Palace after I finished uni so it must have been the end of May when I started reading I remember it was a rainy day and I also started watching Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix which I absolutely loved. I love how it triggers memories and milestones and nostalgic vibes…anyways I am going off on one.
I didn’t write my resolutions down this year which I normally do but I guess I did a smaller version in my journal my resolutions were to read more meaningful books (which in a way tick) listen to audiobooks (didn’t listen to a lot but a win because I listened to some and found a favourite). Diversify my reading (tick) and complete the Popsugar reading challenge (which I didn’t do but more on that later). My Goodreads reading challenge was to hit 100 books and I can thankfully say I have surpassed that. My biggest goal this year was regardless of how many books I read I want to find meaningful, favourite books that make me feel. (I even made a Goodreads shelf for it) because what’s the point in reading so many books when they are forgettable? So I made a point of reading books that make me feel. Let’s discuss my bookish year wrapped.
So all of my stats are below thanks to story graph and Goodreads breakdown.
My shortest book was T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets at 48 pages, ever since I read The Waste Land during my A Levels I loved his poems and writing so was glad when it was a set text for uni and last year I read his selected poetry and found some favourites in there.
My longest book was the audible version (well I suppose and the physical copy) of Bleak House (at 900+ pages) by Charles Dickens. It was 48 hours long and I only survived because of Miriam Margolyes's incredible narration that kept me gripped. My first essay was on Bleak House by Dickens and I surprisingly really got into it and loved it. Have a love/hate relationship with Dickens but after liking Bleak House, and loving Great Expectations, I really want to read David Copperfield by him now.
My average book length was 356 pages. My average rating for 2022 was 3.6 stars. The book I read that was most shelved by other people was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The least shelved book was Sophia Khan and the Baby Blues by Ayisha Malik. My first review of the year was Lisa Unger’s Confessions on the 7:45 which was a Popsugar reading challenge prompt to read a book about a secret I loved it and gave it four stars. Below I have listed genres and have gone back through the books I have read this year and listed my favourites I have read which I also recommend others to read as well.
Fiction
• Anne Tyler- Redhead by the Side of the Road
• Burnt Shadows, Kamila Shamsie
• Elif Shafak, 10 Minutes 38 seconds in this strange world, The Island of Missing Trees.
• The Memory of Love Aminatta Forna,
• Beautiful World Where Are You, Sally Rooney
• The Paper Palace Miranda Cowley Heller
Classic
• Frankenstein Mary Shelly
• The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot
• The Tempest, Shakespeare
• The Lonely Londoners Sam Selvon
Mystery and Thriller
• The Last Thing He Told Me- Laura Dave,
• Anatomy of a Scandal- Sarah Vaughn
• The Dead Ex- Jane Corry
• My sister the serial killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite
• The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi
• The Anniversary, Laura Marshall
• The Ivies, Alexa Donne
• As Good As Dead, Holly Jackson
• Karin Slaughter, Pieces of Her, False Witness
• The Secrets She Keeps, Michael Robotham
• Clare Mackintosh Hostage
• Watch her Fall, Erin Kelly
• All for You, Louise Jensen
Historical Fiction
• Hollow Fires Samira Ahmed
• Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Kristin Hannah The Great Alone
Fantasy
• A Sky in the Storm, Sabaa Tahir
• Malorie Blackman Noughts and Crosses Trilogy
• This Woven Kingdom Tahereh Mafi
• The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon
• Forging Silver into Stars, Brigid Kemmerer
Romance
• All In duology Emma Scott
• The Flat Share, Beth O’Leary
• Love for Beginners Jill Shalvis
• Hana Khan Carries On, Uzma Jalaludin,
• Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Science Fiction
• Mary Shelley Frankenstein
• Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed
• Frankisstein, Jeanette Winterson
Gothic
• Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno Garcia
Nonfiction
• The Things I should Tell You, Sabrina Mahfouz
• George Orwell Essays
• Secrets of Divine Love- A. Helwa
Memoir and auto-bio
• Anita Rani, The Right Sort of Girl
• Oranges are not the Only fruit, Jeanette Winterson
• Michelle Obama The Light we Carry.
Poetry
• Emily Dickinson, Selected Poems
• T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Books that make me feel
• Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart
• Hag-Seed, Margaret Atwood
• A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
• Against the Loveless World, Susan Abulhawa
• Radio Silence, Alice Oseman
• Oranges are not the Only Fruit Jeanette Winterson
• Carrie Soto is Back Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Adnan’s Story, Rabia Chaudry
• Hollow Fires- Samira Ahmed
Audiobooks
• Adnan’s Story, Rabia Chaudry.
These are the books that have been my favourite reads of 2022 you can find the reviews if you click the link below and click the individual link. I am currently reading Mothers and Daughters by Erica James (a massive fan of her books) and Love at First by Kate Clayborn, next on my read is Diana’s autobio by Andrew Merton because since the Crown I have been wanting to read it so I will hopefully write the reviews before the new year or early Jan which you can follow my daily reviews on Goodreads or Instagram- links below. I am hoping to in the new year to do monthly reviews on the books I have read hopefully I can do that. My goal for next year as well is to read the books I have brought but haven’t picked up (book lovers know the struggle of buying so many books but not getting around to reading them) that were my most anticipated. I also want 2023 to be my re-reads of the books I absolutely love and need to re-read because it has been a while, reading more classic fiction and non-fiction and of course, reading for the Popsugar challenge and reading outside those I have mentioned. I found a lot of favourites in 2022 and I know I will treasure them for years to come.
Comment below on your favourite reads of the year, and I will be back in January with more recommendations and bookish updates. I love the Christmas period because it allows me to cosy up and devour books.
Link to the books mentioned https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022/71950525
Happy reading!
With love and Dua’s,
Fiz @Every Page She Turns.
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