2022: A year in books
Here are the books I finished reading in 2022. I didn’t set myself a goal, it’s not helpful for me. Instead I prefer to aim to read a little every day. The final count of 18 feels about average for me over the course of a year.
Of these titles, the standouts were:
- The Name of the Wind
- Treacle Walker
- The Vanishing Half
- Spring Cannot be Cancelled
- Great Circle
Joker, 2019 - ★★★
I don’t know what to make of Joker. It made me feel supremely uncomfortable and I don’t know if that’s a result of its brilliance or because it vastly missed the mark. What I do know is Joaquin Phoenix is always intriguing.
This rating could have been a 2 and could have been a 4, so I split the difference.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, 2022 - ★★★★
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film and glad I left my judgments aside when invited to see it.
Finished reading in 2022: Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake 📚
Finishing up the Gormenghast trilogy. I was really surprised just how much I enjoyed it and how long the characters have stayed with me. Really want to re-watch the BBC TV adaptation.
Finished reading in 2022: The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz 📚
Finished reading in 2022: Roseanna (The Martin Beck series, Book 1) by Maj Sjöwall 📚
It’s difficult to tell whether the functional language of this was due to the author’s style or the translation to English. Either way, I found it’s starkness compelling and a good addition to the atmosphere of the story.
Finished reading in 2022: Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver 📚
I’ve read a couple of other books by Kingsolver which, while I enjoyed I found overly descriptive. This was both an easy and enjoyable read.
Making Yorkshire puddings tonight with a new recipe and a new tin. What could possibly go wrong 🤞
Finished reading: Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Level 6 by John le Carré 📚
This might have been my first le Carré but it won’t be my last.
Wondered why I was seeing a flurry of finished book posts. Thought it might be that reading is a microbloggers main activity during twixtmas, but now reassessing as I realise there’s books I need to log in order to add them to my 2022 reading list 😆
Finished reading: The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed 📚
Read this on my summer holiday. Thought it was excellent, more so because I knew nothing about it before reading so had a surprise towards the end.
2022: A year in the park
I took 12 photos from the same spot in a local park this year. One for every month of the year, just to see how things changed over time.
What surprised me is how little these pictures really differ, and those differences are mostly down to the weather and time of day the picture was taken.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Currently reading: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 📚
I’m always mildly disappointed when the covers available in Epilogue don’t match the edition that I’m reading 😢
📺 Just finished watching 1899. It started out as compelling viewing but just after halfway it started to get more and more ridiculous. Kinda frustrating really
Left the house for the first time since Sunday and the light was beautiful
I make a commitment for seven months of the year to dedicate my Saturdays to playing hockey. When we get a rare one off (like today) I don’t know what to do with myself.