Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. It’s the first Tuesday of 2023 so that’s the perfect time to take a look back at what we read in 2022 and share our favourites of the year. These are in no particular order but they are all books that I gave 5 stars this year and really enjoyed for different reasons. If I wrote one, I’ll link to my review of these books.
Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan
I love Mad Max: Fury Road so a book about how that amazing film was made was always going to be on my radar. I really loved this book and read it in two sittings. It’s so interesting and in-depth about filmmaking and how the production of Fury Road was unlike the productions many of the people interviewed had ever been a part of. If you’re interested in filmmaking at all, I’d recommend this book because it’s just fascinating and a really engaging read.
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
I love the world in the Gentlemen Bastards series and Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen are the bestest best friends I’ve read in forever. The audiobooks in this series are excellent too
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
The audiobook for this was great and it was fun having an historical and scientific twist on something as fantastical as dragons. I would like to carry on with the series but as I’m putting together my 2023 reading goals, I have a fair few series on the go so not sure when I’d actually get to it.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
I’m always slightly hesitant about reading a prequel to a book I loved a lot but I shouldn’t have doubted Angie Thomas. Concrete Rose is a great backstory to Starr’s father and the world he grew up in and then moved away from in order to do the best for his children.
An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie
I finished my Read the World Project this year and this was my favourite book I read for that project this year. How determined Kpomassie was to travel from Togo to Greenland, crossing Europe and taking just about every form of transportation, is to be admired, and then how he writes about the culture clashes and the things he learnt from his time in Greenland was so interesting.
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
Portrait of a Thief is full of the heist tropes I love (and has many Fast and Furious references), great characters, and is all about culture, art and belonging. I really liked how it talked about how museums in the West get the art that’s in them and who the art really belongs to.
Slade House by David Mitchell
I’m a wuss but I do like a spooky ghost story and how this one is a series of short stories across the decades about one house was really creepy and clever.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven was so good! A grown-up magical story which includes intersectional feminism and complicated friendship dynamics. Loved every character point of view and there were some twists and turns I did not expect.
Himself by Jess Kidd
Himself was one of the first books I read in 2022 and it’s stuck with me all year. It’s a small-town ghost story/mystery that’s very atmospheric and magical but it also manages to have a pretty wry sense of humour too.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Listening to the audiobook narrated by author Reni Eddo-Lodge made Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race all the more impactful. It put into words some of the things I’d been thinking or heard bits about before and just made the puzzle pieces fit together in my brain.
Have you read any of these books? What were your favourite books you read in 2022?
Elena Square Eyes 
I enjoyed A Natural History of Dragons but I still haven’t got round to continuing the series. Her Majesty’s Royal Coven was great and I insta-ordered the sequel when it was announced.
I got the audiobook of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven from the library and loved it, kinda want to carry on the series that way.
I’m glad you liked Concrete Rose so much!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-books-of-2022/
It was so good 🙂
Looks like you had some great books to read and love this year!
I did thanks! 🙂
You’ve got a nice mix of books as your faves! I enjoyed reading Himself.
Perks of being an eclectic reader 🙂 Himself was a recommendation from a friend and I’m really glad I liked it.
Looks like a great list of books!
Thanks! 🙂
I loved Red Seas Under Red Skies, and have the next book on my shelf! And Concrete Rose is on my TBR for this year. Looks like you had a great reading year in 2022!
Thanks! I’ve got the audiobook of The Republic of Thieves ready and waiting for me too.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven is on my TBR, and I hope to get to it soon.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/my-ten-favorite-books-of-2022/
Hope you enjoy it when you get to it! 🙂
I definitely need to read Concrete Rose.
I’m always hesitant about prequels but it really worked for me.
I read Portrait of A Thief this year too, but it didn’t make my favourites list.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/01/03/top-ten-tuesday-401/
It’s hard to choose just ten favourites sometimes.
Definitely!
I struggled a little with Concrete Rose, but still liked it quite a bit. But nothing can compare to The Hate U Give for me, I think. It was just SO phenomenal.
Oh yeah The Hate U Give is on a whole other level. I listened to the audiobook of Concrete Rose which I think helped.
I have Red Seas and African in Greenland on my TBR list already. I absolutely love, LOVE the read the world challenge but have wondered how to go about it. Duh, now that I see the goal can be to just read around the world and I don’t have to read it in a year, I’m totally in! I’ll start this year. The research to find books authored or set in some of those smaller countries must be challenging so I’ll be checking back here for ideas! Thanks for the visit.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
Good luck with it! There’s definitely a lot of research involved but it’s still fun and super interesting. I used a bunch of different websites to find writers and I linked to them in my challenge wrap up post, so I’m happy my blog can now be one of those helpful resources 🙂
Yes, the audiobooks for the Locke Lamora books are amazing! I’ve got a copy of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven sitting on my shelves and I can’t wait to read it!
Hope you enjoy it when you get to it! Think I’ll be starting the audiobook of The Republic of Thieves soon.
I have a copy of Slade House on my bookshelf, but I haven’t read it yet! Now I really want to. Will set it aside.
Happy New Year and thanks for the earlier visit!
Though I’d read a couple of David Mitchell books before, I hadn’t heard of Slade House so I’m glad a friend recommended it to me.
Hope you’ve had a good start to the year! 🙂
A Natural History of Dragons definitely looks like a series I would enjoy, so glad to see that book made your list 😀
It’s a really fun blend of history and fantasy and science 🙂
I haven’t read any of these. I’m glad you enjoyed them as much as you did, though. 😀
Thanks! 🙂
I put Portrait of a Thief on my TBR list when it first came out, but I didn’t see any bloggers review it, so I kind of forgot about it. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I should probably read it.
Thanks! Yeah it definitely seems to have been one of those books with a load of hype around it and then it disappeared. I did really enjoy it though and it had a bunch of tropes/themes that are like catnip to me.
I haven’t read any of these yet, but Concrete Rose is on my tbr! Happy reading in 2023!
Thanks! Concrete Rose was on my TBR for so long before I got to it 😀