Tag: personal

It’s time for what’s become an annual tradition for me–recapping my year in reading! For 2023, I read 50 books. That’s in addition to the 8 manuscripts and 1 journal article I edited. (I also picked up a freelance writing gig this year.) That’s two years in a row that I’ve read at least 50 books!

It always amuses me to look back on what captured my interest in any given year since I’m given to binge-reading about a wide range of topics. This year, I revisited topics of perennial fascination to me (historical fiction about entertainingly dastardly historical mayhem; nonfiction about true crime, Arctic adventure and misadventure, Native American history, and Titanic) and some newer topics for me (Elizabethan England). I also reread a couple of book I’ve particularly enjoyed (A Night to Remember and Killers of the Flower Moon), read new books from long-time favorite authors (Jeff Guinn and David Grann), and discovered a new favorite series (The Accursed Kings, also the aforementioned entertainingly dastardly historical mayhem).

Here are some of the books and series I found especially interesting, enjoyable, excellent, and/or thought-provoking. I also included some of the books I wanted to read and didn’t get around to–there’s never enough time for all the books I want to read!–and a few I’m already looking forward to next year.

For the past couple of years, I’ve ended the year with a reflection on and recap of my reading over the course of the year, and I wanted to continue the tradition to close out 2022.

I read 53 books for fun in 2022 and another 9 manuscripts, as well as several shorter projects, for work.

I tend to average about 30-40 books a year now–the years of devouring 100+ books a year haven’t happened since I was a teenager–and back in January, I assumed I’d maintain a similar pace for this year. Reading about a book a week was a pleasant surprise and one I’m not opposed to repeating next year if I can.

I tend to delve into deep-dive reading binges when something captures my attention, whether they’re nonfiction subjects or fictional series or multiple works from the same author. This year, I read a lot about topics that I always find myself drawn back to (true crime, World War II, the Holocaust, art history) and explored some new-to-me interests (1960s NASA and mountaineering disaster). I also got back into murder mysteries and enjoyed series that ranged in setting from fin-de-siècle Vienna to modern Quebec to the contemporary American Southwest. I love a good atmospheric mystery!

In any event, here are some of the books and series I found especially interesting, enjoyable, excellent, and/or thought-provoking. I also included some of the books I wanted to read and didn’t get around to (story of my life) and a few I’m already looking forward to next year.

What were you reading in 2022? What did you want to read and not get around to this year? What are you already looking forward to next year? Tell me! As you may have noticed, I love to talk about books. 🙂

I always get reflective about my year in reading in late December, and I thought it might be a nice change of pace to take a brief break from the “What Is Editing” series to share some of what I’ve been reading this year.

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