Everyone and their mother on Booktube are doing this tag talking about the books they've read so far in 2022. I wanted to join the trend, but I am reviving the blog to do it (mostly as a note to myself) because 1) I am camera shy and 2) I am lazy and even if I film something I will not edit it - just the thoughts of seeing and hearing myself while I edit terrifies me. Anyway, I just want to see where I am with my reading this year, how I feel about the books I've read so far and so on.
But first... some stats - thanks to Storygraph (I use both Storygraph and Goodreads - and a separate personal Google Sheet - to track my books because I like the stats from Storygraph, but I prefer Goodreads in terms of book details and reviews).
So far I've read 81 books, but 24 of these are manga volumes, 10 are graphic novels, and 6 are picture books for kids. That means I only read 41 proper books and my average rating overall is 3.5 stars which accurately describes my reading so far... pretty average. It was a pretty average year overall, but I am trying to change that - mental wise and reading wise.
Mood-wise, my most read books were lighthearted and emotional, which makes sense if you look at the number of mangas I've read. I definitely needed comfort books so far this year. Pacing wise 44% of the books were medium, 29% fast and 27% slow. Most of the books were under 300 pages, and only 2% over 500 pages (House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, probably). Only 14% of the books read are non-fiction and I need to change that - my goal is to have 25% non-fiction overall. And my most read genre is - surprise, surprise - romance, followed by Contemporary and Young Adult. This is very unlike me, but it's just another reflection of how hard this year was so far, hence why I needed more light romance books. 57% of the books I read in print, 35% digital and 9% audio - and I am really happy with this as my goal is to read at least 50% print.
A few other stats I track that are not featured on Storygraph (yes, I really like graphs and stats): 42% of the books were published in the 2010s, 29.6% in the 2020s, 22.2% in the 2000s, and the rest in the 90s, but I also have a book from the 20s - Adam și Eva by Liviu Rebreanu, 40s - The Lottery, short story by Shirley Jackson, and 80s - Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou. 76.5% of the authors I read are women, and 38.3% of the authors I read are not white, and most authors are from Japan - 30.9%, 23.5% from UK, 16% from US (which is great, one of my goals was to read authors from different countries as US authors kinda took over my reading in the past years - an influence of social media and Booktube, of course), only 2.5% are from Romania and 3.7% from Moldova, which means I still need to work on my goal to read more Romanian authors. Other countries are France (mostly comics), South Korea, Canada (mostly spicy novels) and Vietnam, featuring only one book/author we have China, India, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Germany. I am really happy with this, even though Japan is on top just because of the manga.
And now...*drumrolls* the actual tag:
1. Best book read so far this year?
Anxious People by Frederik Backman. This is a funny surprising heartwarming read written by the brilliant Frederik Backman who was capable of creating so many complex and amazing characters in this novel, plus his style is so beautiful that I almost highlighted full pages. This author is capable of making me empathize with all of his characters. This book is funny but deep at the same time (not that the two are mutually exclusive, I just don't really read funny books, so it's me, just me), it's simply spectacular and filled my heart with joy and compassion. It's like a hug. But at the same time it's a mystery and a crime book of sorts. Basically an open house viewing turns into a hostage situation after a bank robbery gone wrong. Throughout the book we follow the police investigation and the lives of our hostages after the event. It's brilliant. Just read it! (And skip the TV series, it's completely missing the elements that make this book so good.)
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami. Although I did not give this book 5 stars (there was a misgendering incident that made me uncomfortable that I felt came from the author's own bias, not from the character), this book is great and amazing. It is intimate and challenging, and it offers a great image of the Japanese society and especially its views on women. The book is split into two parts (because originally the first part was published separately as a novella, then the author further developed the story years later - and you can feel that as you read it): the first part follows Natsu, her niece and Natsu's older sister. Midoriko, the niece, stopped talking suddenly (not a medical reason, she still talks at school). We witness conversations between Natsu and her sister, and also parts of Midoriko's diary where she is trying to understand her changing body (she's a teenager). In the second part of the book, ten year later, we follow Natsu and her struggles with aging. There is more, of course, but no spoilers. The novel focuses a lot on womanhood and motherhood, including the struggles women face in contemporary Japanese society. Amazing read.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. This was a surprising read, mostly because for the first 50-70% of the book I had no idea what I was reading, but at the same time I was invested in this book and fascinated by Clarke's writing. And this is the reason why I won't go into details when it comes to Piranesi. It's beautiful and worth it. (And it's a short book, under 250 pages.)
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. An even shorter book, a 10-pages short story actually, but so good that I have to mention it (plus I actually have it as a "book" on my shelves). The Lottery is a piece of literary history that everyone must read. It is shocking - maybe not as shocking now as it was back in the 1948. It is the inspiration and the base for many amazing modern stories. It was published in The New Yorker and you can still read it online! Short and effective. And I am not going to spoil one bit of it!
And this is not all - I really couldn't choose just one book and even though I said mediocre reading year so far, I have no idea how I will make a Top Ten in 2022 (like I did in 2021, and 2020).
Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman. Featuring only 2 volumes in the picture, I actually loved and rated 5 stars all the 4 volumes that are published so far. This series is pure joy. Wholesome! It's about Charlie who befriends rugby player Nick and falls for him, but has no idea if Nick is even into boys. It's not just about romance and high school, it's about discovering your sexuality, being confused, being a teenager, and above all else, it's about friendship! This series is adorable and the Netflix adaptation is PERFECTION!
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Last, but not least, another book that I did not mark as a 5 star read, but that it's still good and worth mentioning. It gave me nightmares. NightmareS! Plural! I will never read it again, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. I recommend only reading it in print because it's an experimental book told in footnotes and what-not. I borrowed it from a friend - it's a massive tome and it's... well, this TikTok explains it the best. There is a house and a documentary about the house and an old man's book about the documentary about the house and there is our main character, Johnny, who finds the old man's book about the documentary about the house and tries to publish it and... it's a wild ride. Funny thing, I read it at the same time when I was reading Piranesi and they share elements but don't actually have anything in common. Just a fun personal tidbit.
Only the first question of the tag and I already wrote a novel - 12 more questions to go.
2. Best sequel read so far this year?
I don't really read series that much... and I could say Heartstopper, volume 2, of course, but surprisingly I have an answer for this one:
The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2) by Julia Quinn. If we want to go into details and complain about this book, there's plenty, but at the same time I love Kate & Anthony and I can get over the weird and silly bee thing, or the fact that this uses the same tactic as the first book for the marriage. It's an enemies to lovers recency romance, a bit of a slow-burn, a bit of witty remarks, a great relationship between sisters - and then you can watch the nice Netflix adaption who tried to do the wedding differently (unlike Quinn), but ended up ruining my favourite part of the novel, the relationship between Kate and her family - although I get it, Edwina is a teenager basically, she has every right to react like that. I still think they went to far and that there were better ways to rewrite Quinn's ending.
3. New releases you want to read?
I don't really keep up with new releases, but...
Book Lovers by Emily Henry. This book is everywhere! It seems like everyone on Booktube and Booktok read it already and everyone loves it! I read Beach Read by Emily Henry last year and it was nice, nothing amazing, but a fun summer read nonetheless. The author also wrote People We Meet on Vacation, a book with positive reviews overall - Henry definitely likes vacations and I cannot blame her for that. Anyway, I don't know much about Book Lovers other than the fact that our protagonists work in publishing and they don't really like each other, at least in the first part of the book. And they are on vacation, of course!
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami. Technically not a new release, but it recently got translated in Romanian (this year I think/hope) and I prefer to read Japanese lit in Romanian. I don't know anything about it, but if Kawakami wrote it, I want to read it!
4. Most anticipated still to be released books?
As I was saying... I don't follow new releases, but surprisingly I do have two books I am excited for that are released this month (does it count? I mean, they are not out yet, but they will be released in July 2022):
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata. I received this book for review, as with all the other Sayaka Murata books that I've read so far: Convenience Store Woman - which I also have in physical format, in Romanian, and Earthlings, and both books are 5-star reads. So I was really excited when I got this book in January this year - the release date in July 5 so I still have time to read it and review it and celebrate its release date! This is her first short story collection translated and I am excited. I expect it to be just as amazing and challenging as her other books, especially Earthlings.
The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs #2) by Lisa Jewell. This book I pre-ordered as soon as I finished The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell - summer last year. It's a mystery thriller by one of my most read mystery thriller authors. Both books can be read as stand-alone as far as I know, but why would you? In The Family Upstairs we follow Libby Jones who on her 25th birthday receives a letter she's been waiting for her entire life. Twenty five years ago police discovered baby Libby crying in a mansion alongside three dead bodies. Now Libby gets to learn her life story, but also maybe more than that. I am trying to be as cryptic as possible, but it's a fun suspenseful psychological thriller in Lisa Jewell fashion - with more layers than an onion.
5. Biggest disappointment?
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Let me start by saying this is not a bad book. I read books I rated a lot lower than Pachinko (I gave it 3 stars), but I had higher expectations from Pachinko and unfortunately it did not meet them. It actually put me in a reading slump and it was the first book club book (for the IRL book club) that I did not finish before our meeting - which says a lot about the overachiever that I usually am. From what I discussed with the girls at the book club and from online reviews, most people really enjoyed learning the history presented in this book - but I was kinda already familiar with it, so I did not even get that from this book. I couldn't connect with the characters or any of the story lines. The novel follows a family through four generations and alongside their story we get glimpses of Korea's history under Japanese rule, especially how they treated Koreans in Japan, and WWII and after.
6. Biggest surprise?
Vara în care mama a avut ochii verzi by Tatiana Țîbuleac. This book is the kind of story I like to explore and the way Tatiana wrote it I could easily envision it as a film. Tatiana Țîbuleac is from Moldova, but surprisingly her books are very well received in South America and France (she actually lives in France now I reckon), even more than in Romania or Moldova. Her books are devastating and so beautifully sad, but especially Vara... It tells the story of a mother and her son and their last summer-long vacation in the countryside in France. It's about their relationship, their traumas, love and suffering, and the little moments in summer when time sometimes stays still. It's a gorgeous book with a beautifully crafted writing.
7. New favourite author?
Beyond a shadow of doubt, Tatiana Țîbuleac. I will read anything this woman will write from now on - and I already wrote everything she published for now: Vara... (discussed above), Grădina de sticlă - about an orphan adopted by a strict woman who collects and sells glass bottles, a book about learning from the women around us, about childhood and growing up, about our inner demons, and also a book with a historical context that helped me better understand Romania and Moldova under the Communist regime, and Fabule Moderne, a short story collection with very short tidbits from Tatiana's mind and soul.
Another author that I really enjoyed a lot so far is Alice Oseman, author of Heartstopper. I already got all of her books and I am currently reading Solitaire and truly enjoying it so far. Heartstopper is her only graphic novel, so the rest are good old prose. Solitaire is a YA book following Charlie's sister (from Heartstopper), Tori. Solitaire is her first novel and after writing it she decided to explore Charlie's story as well - from what I know so far I think Solitaire is set after the events in Heartstopper. Exploring Oseman's universes is amazing - I especially love how authentically she writes teenagers and friendships.
And a close favourite, but I only read one book (although I have two more of his books on my shelves) is Frederik Backman. His writing style and all the fuzzy feelings I got from Anxious People are enough to declare him a new favourite author.
8. New fictional crush?
I don't really get crushes... I think when reading I look more for characters to identify with and less for fictional partners, but I really have a thing for Dean DiLaurentis and his bad reputation from The Score (Off-Campus #3) by Elle Kennedy - and it is a spicy spicy book. He is a new crush, but this year I reread the manga series Tramps Like Us/Kimi wa Petto by Yayoi Ogawa and it rekindled my passion for both Sumire and Momo.
9. New favourite character?
Starting now my answers will be very repetitive -it probably started with the favourite authors.
No surprise here, but my new favourite character is Nick from Heartstopper (and probably Charlie too). All that confusion and the way he learned about bisexuality hit close to home.
10. A book that made you cry?
HEARTSTOPPER! And Anxious People.
11. A book that made you happy?
Well.. read the answer above: Heartstopper and Anxious People.
12. Most beautiful book bought?
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, an old favourite of mine that I now own in this gorgeous cover.
Also worth mentioning is my new Kindle cover. I had my Kindle for a while now and it had a simple black cover that was put to good use, so when I saw this cover (that reminds me a bit of The Little Prince for some reason, although it's not related) I had a 7 Rings by Arianda Grande moment: I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.
Special mention to Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. Not just for the cover (although great cover), but for all the gorgeous illustrations inside the book! I usually demand my cookbooks to have beautiful photographs, but Nosrat's book is more of a cooking course with recipes on the side and the illustrations are great and educative as well - and so much more effective than photographs.
13. What do you want to read before 2022 ends?
Question is... what don't I want to read? I pretty much want to read everything - especially my physical books TBR and I tried to limit myself to only a few books but this happened:
Here is my bookish leaning tower. I will not go into details because this is an already super long post. I hope to read at least half of them by the end of 2022, but as usual, I am shooting for the moon and plan to read ALL of them! And there's so much more I want to read. So I better stop typing now and get back to reading.
If you ever read this post, please tell me on Instagram (if not, I am happy to write just for myself anyway).