I’m not sure what happened between 2021 and 2022, but I read only 10 books in 2021 (including books I read for the SCSP Parenting Book Club, as well as read-alouds to Ada), and I’ve read nearly 50 in 2022! I attribute a lot of this to following Janssen Bradshaw on Instagram — @everydayreading is one of my favorite accounts to follow (and not just for her book recommendations)!
I rate and review almost every book I read over on Goodreads, but I also wanted to make an easy-reference blog post of all the books I read this year.
I’ve broken them down by category and shared all my ratings for each book. My rating system isn’t super scientific, but basically a book gets 3 stars if it was okay, 4 stars if I liked it, and 5 stars if I loved it. Books that get 1 or 2 stars don’t exist, because I’d just quit those books (there is one book on the list that got 2.5 stars, and that’s because I SHOULD have quit it, I just kept holding out that something would make me like it more 🤣).
Things like writing style, word usage, and themes definitely factor into my ratings — if the book is a great topic but the writing style isn’t my favorite, I’ll dock it. If a book’s theme or characters are overly simplistic, I’ll dock it. Sometimes I have a really clear reason why a book gets 5 stars, and other times I just know I really liked it 🤷🏼♀️ So take that for what you will! 😊 Mostly, I recommend reading the 5-star books 😁
If I book is steamier than I would feel comfortable recommending, it has a 🔥 rating - 1 fire is a little steamier than I feel comfortable recommending, 3 fires is WAY steamier.
Fiction
Read-Alouds
Sideways Stories from Wayside School - 3 stars
Ways to Make Sunshine (Ryan Hart #1) - 4 stars
Ways to Grow Love (Ryan Hart #2) - 5 stars
Just Right Jillian - 5 stars
A Place to Hang the Moon - 5 stars
Esperanza Rising - 5 stars
New from Here - 5 stars
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale - 4 stars
The Last Mapmaker - 4 stars
Kiki’s Delivery Service - 4 stars
Ways to Share Joy (Ryan Hart #3) - 4 stars
The Birchbark House (book #1) - 4 stars
Return to Christmas - 3 stars
Chick Lit
My Lady Jane - 4 stars
American Royals - 3 stars
Float Plan - 5 stars
Jo & Laurie - 4 stars
Majesty (American Royals #2) - 4 stars
Now That I’ve Found You - 4 stars
Better Than the Movies - 4 stars
Wes & Liz’s College Road Trip - 4 stars
Things You Save in a Fire - 4.5 stars
Rivals (American Royals #3) - 3 stars
Book Lovers - 5 stars 🔥
Things We Never Got Over - 3 stars 🔥🔥🔥
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler - 4 stars
The Do-Over - 4 stars
Historical Fiction
What the Wind Knows - 4 stars
Murder? Mystery?
Finlay Donovan is Killing It - 4 stars
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead - 4 stars
Where the Crawdads Sing - 4 stars
The Lincoln Lawyer - 4 stars
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder - 5 stars
Other
1984 - 2.5 stars
The Brighter the Light - 3 stars
Non-Fiction
Parenting
Hunt, Gather, Parent - 5 stars
Hands Free Mama - 4 stars
The Brave Learner - 4 stars
How to Raise an Adult - 3 stars
Simplicity Parenting - 3 stars
The Read-Aloud Family - 4 stars
ScreamFree Parenting - 4 stars
Raising Antiracist Children - 4 stars
Memory Making Mom - 4 stars
Other
24/6: Giving Up Screens One Day a Week - 4 stars
The Power of Fun - 3 stars
This is Where You Belong - 3 stars
Dragon Hoops - 4 stars