And the Winner Is... Top 5 Reads of 2022
2022 was a unique year in reading. I read too many books that flirted with nihilism; to compensate, I read a bit of young adult fiction and an inordinate amount of Agatha Christie. It was my first year tracking the books I completed, 63 in total including Shakespeare plays, Enlightenment philosophers, the Harry Potter series, and even a cookbook. I also reread all my favorite books: Brideshead Revisited, The Power and the Glory, Till We Have Faces, and Laurus. Endeavoring to rank them would be like attempting to choose my favorite child. So, rather than listing my favorite books, I chose the top five books that impacted me spiritually and intellectually in 2022.
Honorable Mentions
First, here are some light and easy reads that I heartily recommend.
Best YA/Family Read aloud – A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
Best Practical Pick – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
Best Genre Read – The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
Best Comfort Read – The Hawk and the Dove by Penelope Wilcock
Best Audiobook – The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis, Narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt
Top 5
5. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
I read Chaim Potok’s masterpiece along with the Close Reads Podcast, where I have discovered many great books that I might not otherwise have read. This is the story of a boy who is a gifted artist and a Hasidic Jew – a culture that forbids representative art. The narrative follows Asher’s journey, first repressing, then embracing his gift, and wondering if there can be a reconciliation between his calling and his community. As a mother, it was challenging (and painful) to see through the eyes of a precious yet difficult child who longs for a parent to give guidance and name truth. I am fascinated with considerations of the intersection of the transcendentals (truth, goodness, and beauty), and this novel gave me much food for thought. It was the most delightful read of the year but was not as personally transformative as my other choices.
4. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
I have always been intimidated by Faulkner, expecting his writing to be incoherent. My husband, Jay, loves Faulkner and described him as a writer who writes the wordless things. And he does. As I Lay Dying is the story of the death and burial of Addie Bundren expressed through multiple perspectives, including her own. Faulkner perfectly captures the disorienting nature of grief through strange expressions like the once-sentence chapter that reads: “My mother is a horse.” Because I read it less than a year after my father’s death, his writing made my grief feel less lonely.
Usually, I do not know for sure how much I will love a book until the end. I tend to race through the first read of a book. This, however, was a sublime reading experience. I did not care what happened, I just wanted to listen to Faulkner write. I savored it. I took it to the woods with me on my weekly nature walk with the kids. As they played in the creek, I sat on the bank and read slowly. As soon as I finished, I read it again. It is a breathtaking book that rewards rereading and is objectively one of the best books of the last hundred years.
3. Know the Faith: A Handbook for Orthodox Christians and Inquirers by Rev. Michael Shanbour
I became interested in learning more about Eastern Orthodoxy after attending the Circe Institute National Conference and hearing several speakers from the Orthodox tradition. In this book, Rev. Michael Shanbour examines the differences between Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox views on important doctrinal issues, focusing on those of particular interest to western Christians. Realizing that Protestants require scriptural evidence, he grounds his arguments in scripture supplementing them with less familiar passages from the teachings of the church fathers. He tackles justification, icons, and intercessions to the saints to name a few. His articulate and compelling chapters on grace and the church helped give me a new perspective on a lifetime of belief. For example, he argues that the church is tangible, existing in time and space. He writes,
In recent times various theories have been proposed to claim the existence of an abstract unity among various Christian bodies, despite a divergence of faith. By adding together various separated bodies, it is imagined, the fullness of the Church is found. Such theories are not acceptable to the mind of the Orthodox Church, which understands that the source of the Church’s fullness is God Himself.
His representation of Protestantism is fair but not generous; there is a slightly negative tone toward Western Christianity. Overall, I found his book deeply challenging to my faith.
2. Purgatory by Dante Alighieri
I read The Divine Comedy this year for graduate school. While doing some preparatory research, I found a book by Rod Dreher called How Dante Can Save Your Life. According to the book’s description, the first Canto of The Inferno changed his life. I do not have an opinion on Dreher since I have not read his books, but it seems like a lot of pressure to put on a few lines of poetry. Truthfully, Inferno was not my cup of tea. Purgatory, on the other hand, was breathtaking. You can read more here about my reflection on Purgatory.
1. Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
Like all my favorite books, as soon as I finish Lewis’s masterpiece I think, “Now I must read it again so that I can understand it.” The subtitle is A Myth Retold; the book is Lewis’s reimagining of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. This myth is set within the larger narrative, the protagonist Orual’s complaint against the gods. It is the story of a struggle with God’s hiddenness. She writes,
I will write in this book what no one who has happiness would dare to write. I will accuse the gods, especially the god who lives on the Grey Mountain. That is, I will tell all he has done to me from the very beginning, as if I were making my complaint of him before a judge. But there is no judge between gods and me, and the god of the mountain will not answer me.
Rereading this book was a satisfying ending to a tough year of my own struggle with God’s hiddenness. Through the journey of Orual's vibrant character development, I was moved to declare with Job, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.”1
Over the next few months, I will be finishing up my coursework for graduate school. I am looking forward to more flexibility in my reading and finally making it through the patient (dusty) pile of books by my bed. Up next is a short list of reads for 2023. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and happy reading!
Job 42:5, NKJV
Finally, someone else who lists has read The Hawk and the Dove! I have loved this book (and others in the series) for many years. It is a soul soothing book. I encourage others to read and be satisfied.