Books I've Read: Q2 2022
Morning reading on the couch at home with a nice pot of sencha. Lausanne, Switzerland. February 4, 2022.
A list of the books I read in the second quarter of 2022, in rough chronological order:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North
Shit Cassandra Saw, by Gwen E. Kirby
Miroir de Nos Peines, by Pierre Lemaitre (French language edition)
Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson
Comme un Coeur Posé sur la Mer, by Gabrielle Blanchout (French language edition)
Love Like That, by Emma Duffy-Comparone
Let’s Not Do That Again, by Grant Ginder
Joueuse, by Benoît Philippon (French language edition)
Don’t Know Tough, by Eli Cranor
Origami Blues, by Sarah Clain (French language edition)
Secret Identity, by Alex Segura
One-Shot Harry, by Gary Phillips
Whereabouts, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Confessions, by Kinae Minato
Country Hardball, by Steve Weddle
L.A. Weather, by María Amparo Escandón
Peindre la Pluie en Couleurs, by Aurélie Tramier (French language edition)
November Road, by Lou Berney
Reprieve, by James Han Mattson
Summer Sons, by Lee Mandelo
Demain, J’Arrête! by Gilles LeGardinier (French language edition)
Ramadan Ramsey, by Louis Edwards
Hermès Baby, by Louise De Bergh (French language edition)
Await Your Reply, by Dan Chaon
The Death of Vivek Oji, by Akwaeke Emezi
Poulets Grillées, by Sophie Hénaff (French language edition)
Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, by Mark Haber
The Eight Mountains, by Paolo Cognetti
An Olive Grove in Ends, by Moses McKenzie
This is How it Always Is, by Laurie Frankel
Jules, by Didier van Cauwelaert (French language edition)
Calypso, by David Sedaris
Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between, by Joseph Osmundson
Le Magasin des Jouets Cassés, by Julien Rampin (French language edition)
After the Lights Go Out, by John Vercher
Cult Classic, by Sloane Crosley
L’Héritage de Tata Lucie, by Philippe Saimbert (French language edition)
The Devil Himself, by Peter Farris
Last Summer on State Street, by Toya Wolfe
As in the past, I’ve bolded the books that really wowed me and that I would recommend highly.
For the bolding this quarter, I struggled even more than usual. Over the past three months, I read several collections of short stories (some highly connected and some not connected at all). In every single case, one or more of the stories in the collections completely stunned me—the type of wow that made me put the book down and just sit with it for a while.
However, when it comes to an entire story collection, I lean toward feeling like at least 80 percent of the book needs to have that level of impact for me to bold it as a favorite of the quarter; I waver as to whether this is a fair measuring stick.
All this to say that, as you check out my list, don’t assume that a short story collection that I didn’t bold didn’t have bold-worthy pieces—and often more than one. If you love short stories, I’d actually recommend every single one of the collections I read this quarter and listed above.
For a list of the books I read in the first quarter of this year, including the books I appreciated the most out of Q1 2022, you can find it via this link. I’ve published my Q2 2022 list as well! You can find my Q2 2022 reads and favorites here. And if you’d like to see how I wrapped up my 2022 reading year, you can check out my Q4 2022 list via this link.
For my final review of my 2022 reading year, including my list of the best of the best of all my favorite years from the year, click here.
And to learn which books I read in 2021 that I considered the best of the best (along with links to all the other books I read and recommended last year), click here.
I’ve you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have recommendations for what I should read? Let’s hear them!