One of the things I used to look forward to on Christmas Day was Top of the Pops. I watched TOTP every week but Christmas Day TOTP was exciting because it was on in the middle of the day, and even though it was less good than a normal show, it was definitely something that I could circle in the Radio Times as being one of my programmes, and we only bought the Radio Times once a year. Plus, the bands usually wore Santa hats and the logo had a glittery snow effect on it. Like I said, less good than normal, but somehow, special.
Anyway, my Christmas Top Ten is a bit more like a modern chart, in that it has no direct relation to sales or popularity, and features stuff that is really old but happened to have a new life in 2022 because it was packaged nicely, but in the spirit of Santa hats and glittery snow effects, I’m going to give it to you anyway…
In no particular order here are 10 books I loved this year
(click any title to buy the book and support my independent bookshop)
1. Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Almost disappointing that my literary year peaked quite so early; this was the first book I read in 2022 and it was definitely one of my favourites. I ripped through it like a bag of Maltesers. This book did what Netflix’s Dahmer claimed it was going to do and then only did for one episode; shifted the focus of a serial killer story to the victims with grace and humility, and without denying readers any of the pace, intrigue and tension that we expect from this sort of crime story.
Here’s my Twitter review at the time of reading, click through to read the thread:
Another great (although this time, true) crime book I read in 2022 was We Keep The Dead Close by Becky Cooper (read my review here)
2. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
A mesmeric reading experience. I loved the unique set-up of this slim novel and the imagery has truly lurked in the depths of my subconscious since. There is a scene that was so frightening I had to narrow the book as I was reading, in case it stepped out of the sentence and walked towards me in real life. There is a love story that is fresh, and salty. I don’t know how to tell you how watery this book is, it is simply sodden with things you will remember forever.
Click through to read my review on Twitter.
Another watery story I enjoyed in 2022 was Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
3. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb
A family memoir so full of personality it felt more like being at a dinner table than reading a book. A joyful little book that made me think anew about the stories that live among us; the characters that do not need to be created. What it is to honour a life – what it is to live.
Click through to read my Twitter review thread.
Another interesting matriarch memoir I enjoyed in 2022 was Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died
4. They by Kay Dick
One of the three Faber Editions I’ve read this year and one of the three that I’d heartily recommend. I’ve picked this one because it’s completely haunting and terrifying, and I think it’s quite good to be haunted and terrified sometimes. Don’t you? I like books told in vignettes, I like vague narrators and loose ideas of settings and situations. They is an anonymous story and yet it is present, prescient and pertinent. A neat piece of writing that recalled to me lots of other things, and yet was like none of them at all. I don’t know why I didn’t review this one at the time, but I’m telling you now – They is a book that you should read.
Another vague dystopian novel I enjoyed in 2022 was Lydia Millet’s The Children’s Bible
5. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This book is on everyone’s list, isn’t it? If you’re the sort of person who actively avoids books that get too much hype then do yourself a favour and come down off your horse long enough to read this book. Just let yourself have this nice, kind, wonderful, thing. It’s 2022. You deserve it.
Here’s my thread, clicky clicky.
Another great expansive novel I enjoyed in 2022 was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
6. Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell
Here’s a delicious little slice of storytelling. Well, thirteen slices actually. Let this book softly rest in your arms, feel its warmth, this lithe body of work, delicate and gentle, until the little claws present themselves. Thirteen sharp stories that might leave scratch marks.
Click through to read the review! I don’t need to keep saying this, do I?
Another short story collection I really enjoyed in 2022 was Jem Calder’s Reward System
7. A Horse at Night - Amina Cain
Another one I didn’t review at the time despite tweeting about it fairly regularly while I was reading it. This is one of those books that I am just glad exists. It’s a love letter to writing and to reading. It’s both self-indulgent and generous. Cain offers us a window into her thought process as she analyses why she loves the things she reads, but offers no real advice or insight into how that be useful or relative to anyone else. It just is what it is. And what it is, is so lovely.
Another book about a writer I enjoyed in 2022 was Claire Pollard’s Delphi
8. The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
Bit of curveball here as this memoir in essays isn’t one I expected to enjoy quite as much as I did. Reading the book from cover to cover does feel slightly repetitive, in that the author learns the same things about herself a few times, but reading each piece as a standalone, feels like talking with a friend. It’s a perfect book to dip in and out of. Hauser’s writing is just great company and there were so many lines in this book that I took pictures of and sent to friends. There’s so much to like and enjoy in this book; it was just a pleasure, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
9. Alison by Lizzy Stewart
This gorgeous, gorgeous book is a must-buy. I want you to have this book on your shelves and look at it regularly. Like the Amina Cain book, this is a book I’m glad exists. It tells the quiet story of Alison, an artist, from her too-young marriage, to her escape to the city, her world-tilting affair with a celebrated painter and its aftermath. It’s a story of a life; a retrospective of a woman you come to care about so much you feel she must be real, you want to google her work and visit her exhibition. You also want to pick up a paintbrush, grab a pencil, draw something, paint something, write something, you’ll want to create. A book to treasure, a character to remember.
Click through to read my threadddddd
Another graphic novel I loved in 2022 was Kate Beaton’s DUCKS.
10. A Helping Hand by Celia Dale
I don’t know what all the Celia’s were up to in the 60’s but much in the vein of my other regular recommendation, Celia Fremlin, Celia Dale is serving up a deliciously dark tale of domestic disturbance. Excruciating characters going quietly about their awful business; it’s so vivid, so immediate and so toe-curlingly convincing you feel guilty by association.
Another re-issue I loved in 2022 was Emeric Pressburger’s The Glass Pearls, which I reviewed in a previous newsletter.
So there you have it; ten books, plus another sneaky ten, that I have hugely enjoyed this year. I haven’t included Rebecca, which was the only audiobook I listened to this year, because I wrote a whole newsletter about it last week, but I’ll mention again now that it is a masterpiece and if my list was in any sort of order, Rebecca would be at the top (closely followed by the Gabrielle Zevin).
Love this! Some of these are on my list too - Alison and Tomorrowx3 for sure. I really need to read Amina Cain's book x