The 50 books I read in 2022, and which ones I loved the most.

As we cross into 2023, we may feel the urge to make goals and resolutions that we hope will improve who we are and how we live. We feel responsibility, and even guilt, for breaking past resolutions. Over-ambition, apathy, and adversity leave a chasm between our intentions, actions, and achievements. But I think taking pride in what we did accomplish is just as essential as self-critique.

And, in this vein, I’m thrilled to share with you that I read 50 books in 2022! These covered the full spectrum of genres, from frivolously entertaining to seriously mind-blowing. Here they are, with my favorites highlighted in bold —

1. Shortcomings (Tomine, 2007)
2. Blindness (Saramago, 1995) — Imagine an epidemic in which people inexplicably go blind. How would we and our leaders respond? This Nobel-winning novel takes on new meaning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
3. Snow (Pamuk, 2002)
4. When Bad Things Happen to Good People (Kushner, 1981)
5. Nicely Said (Fenton & Lee, 2014)
6. Beastie Boys Book (Diamond & Horovitz, 2018) — This book is so much more than a tell-all about the Beastie Boys. It’s a firsthand account of what it was like to grow up in 1970s and 80s New York City, with Atari arcades, electic blackouts, and the rawest, funkiest hip hop.
7. Seeing (Saramago, 2004)
8. The Sino-Japanese War and the Birth of Japanese Nationalism (Saya, 2011)
9. The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China (Silbey, 2013)
10. The Nightingale (Hannah, 2015)
11. Equity in Science (Posselt, 2020)
12. Revolutionaries, Monarchists, and Chinatowns: Chinese Politics in the Americas and the 1911 Revolution (Armentrout Ma, 1990)
13. Open Your Eyes and Sore: Cuban Women Write Now (Alonso, 2003)
14. Saga, vol #1 (Staples, 2012) — A man and woman from two warring planets illegally conceive an intergalactic, bi-racial baby. They become renegades on the run in this gripping graphic novel.
15. Caste: Origins of Our Discontents (Wilkerson, 2020)
16. Sun Yat-sen (Bergère, 2000)
17. News Is My Job (Booker, 1940)
18. The Crown Ain’t Worth Much (Abdurraqib, 2016)
19. The Unfinished Revolution: Sun Yat-Sen and the Struggle for Modern China (Kayloe, 2017)
20. A Bitter Revolution (Mitter, 2005) — Historian Rana Mitter tells us about how the 1919 May 4th Movement profoundly changed the course of 20th century China. This student-led protest, opposing the Japanese takeover of former German colonies in China, transformed Chinese culture and politics in the 1920s and 30s. And the May 4th Movement shaped the thinking of a young librarian and protest leader, Mao Zedong.
21. Where the Crawdads Sing (Owens, 2018)
22. The Heart’s Invisible Furies (Boyne, 2017)
23. The Rape Of Nanking (Chang, Iris, 1997)
24. The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Chang Before and Beyond the Rape of Nanking (Chang, Ling Ling, 2011) — This poignant memoir recalls the life of Iris Chang, the extraordinary researcher and author who wrote the Rape of Nanking about Japanese atrocities in China’s capital during WWII. Iris had much more to say, but she sadly died too young.
25. Moa: The Unknown Story (Jung Chang & Halliday, 2005)
26. Concrete Rose (Thomas, 2021)
27. An Indigenous History of the United States (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014)
28. A Man Called Ove (Backman, 2012)
29. Forgotten Ally (Mitter, 2013)
30. Finding Iris Chang (Kamen, 2007)
31. The Tragedy of Liberation (Dikötter, 2013)
32. The Chinese in America (Chang, Iris, 2003) – This is the last, and in my opinion, best book written by Iris Chang. She narrates the experiences of Chinese immigrants and their descendants in the U.S., in a history spanning over 150 years and three waves of migration.
33. Mao’s Great Famine (Dikötter, 2010)
34. Gravel Heart (Gurnah, 2017)
35. Formosa Betrayed (Kerr, 1965)
36. The World Turned Upside Down (Yang, 2021)
37. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China (Vogel, 2011)
38. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Zevin, 2022) – If you are looking for a novel that combines romance, tragedy, and video games, check out this book history. You’ll lose yourself a storyline that’s clever and unpredictable. I’ll never look at video game creators the same way.
39. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations (Jacob, 2019)
40. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harari, 2011)
41. The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (Reyes, 2022) – Don’t let the title fool you — this story is refreshingly intimate, earnest, and wholesome. It follows the lives and angst of teenagers who come to embrace their true identities, as they grapple with inner self-doubts, and overcome the prejudice of adults and classmates.
42. All My Rage (Tahir, 2022) – Another original, well-considered novel for young adults. This page-turner centers around Salahudin and Noor, two best friends, who band together to survive neglect and abuse at home, on top of ignorance and discrimination in their community. The title befits the story indeed.
43. The China Mirage (Bradley, 2016)
44. The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury, 1950)
45. Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China (Osnos, 2014)
46. Half of a Yellow Sun (Adichie, 2006) – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of my all-time favorite authors, and her breakout novel did not disappoint. She tells us about the lives of a well-off Igbo household during the Nigerian civil war, when violence, poverty, and starvation ravaged cities and countryside.
47. Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China (Ash, 2017)
48. The Body Keeps the Score (van der Kolk, 2014) – This book is packed with research, history, and controversy. The author argues that psychology relies too heavily on prescription drugs, which are risky, expensive, and mostly ineffective, in resolving the underlying trauma and emotional pain of patients. Backed by neuroscience and patient stories, this work is a 21st century Silent Spring.
49. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Liu, 2016)
50. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Angelou, 1969) – Maya Angelou’s autobiography takes us through her turbulent childhood, with vivid imagery and simile, timeless wisdom, plain-spoken prose, and a smidgen of nostalgia. She loved reading Shakespeare as a kid, and her writing was about that good.