Among the books I read last year, I’ve chosen five favorites (listed in bold) that resonated with me the most. In reviewing my favorites I found that I gravitated toward female writers whose work grapples with and interrogates familial and romantic relationships, the creative process, and the ability to cope with and transcend trauma.

This is the first year I’ve looked for patterns in my reading habits and used them to understand my headspace during any given week. It’ll take me a while to evaluate what my reading choices mean, but for now I am happy to have more than Spotify Wrapped as a way to track and reflect on the previous year. Check back soon for in depth reviews of my favorite books of 2022.

FICTION

A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh

The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera

The Third Hotel by Laura Van den Berg

Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso

War by Candlelight by Daniel Alarcon

NON-FICTION/MEMOIR

Drifts by Kate Zambreno

Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon

Intimations by Zadie Smith

Future Sex by Emily Witt

The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang

Power to the People: the World of the Black Panthers

To Write as If Already Dead by Kate Zambreno

POETRY

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong