Favorite reads of 2022

A good year.  43 books recorded, and only 1 put down without finishing.  A lot of very recent books.  Some brief thoughts:

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson (2010).  During the 20th century, 6 million black Americans moved out of the South in search of a better life.  Wilkerson focuses on the stories of three individuals to provide narratives to follow, and expertly distills her interviews with 1,200 people into sections that place these three stories into the context of the greater migration.

The Midnight Bargain, by C.L. Polk (2020).  I enjoyed how magic worked in this world, and how it highlighted the kinds of sacrifices women are expected to make, and how men often quail when asked to make the same sacrifices.

The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey (2021).  After reading this, I had kinda expected it to be on the Hugo or Nebula shortlist for best novel.  It's a very effective near future novel because you can see something like it happening.

The Prophets, by Robert Jones, Jr.  (2021).  This was painful to read, but well worth it.

The Language of Thorns, by Leigh Bardugo (2017).  A wonderful set of short stories that are tales from Bardugo's Grishaverse.  Like Tales of Beedle the Bard, but better.

A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark (2021).  Now we get to the 2022 Hugo finalists.  I had really enjoyed the Haunting of Tram Car 015, also set in the world, and it was fun to return to that setting.

Light from Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki (2021).  I think this was my favorite read this year.  It shouldn't work; it breaks too many rules of SFF storytelling, but everything comes together, and it's funny and sad and serious and silly and trying to be everything all at once and succeeding. 

She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan (2021).  Or... She Who Became the Son?  I liked this a lot.  Lots of juicy themes about ambition and what various characters are willing to do to get their desires.  Shades of the Empress of Salt & Fortune (locale + revenge) and The Black Sun (on the theme of one's destiny).  It's very light historical fantasy -- I was expecting a little more fantastical elements and more literal "becoming the sun", but the political maneuverings are the star of the novel.

A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine (2021).  The Hugo award-winning sequel to her Hugo award-winning A Memory Called Empire.  In the two years since reading the first book, I had forgotten how much I'd missed Three Seagrass.

Binti: The Complete Trilogy, by Nnedi Okorafor (2019).  I actually read the Binti novella some time ago, but it wasn't until 2022 that I finished the other two novellas.  I love Binti as a character because she feels very real and yet not quite like anyone else.  

If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin (1974).  By far the oldest book on the list, it was interesting to compare and contrast how styles of writing have changed in 50 years.  When Baldwin is writing about what his characters and saying, doing, and feeling, it's excellent.  There are a few times when he goes off talking very generally what it's like to be a woman or on the nature of things and I'm rolling my eyes, but I need to read some more Baldwin.  And I'm interested in the recent film adaptation.

Spear, by Nicola Griffith (2022).  I first read Slow River in 2003, and then the Aud Torvingen series and Ammonite.  I've been putting off reading Hild because it's a tome.  Spear is so wonderfully done that it makes me want to start Hild.  I'm a little worried that part of what I like about Spear is that it's a very efficient story, clocking in < 200 pages, and I'll get mired in Hild, but... it's time.

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, by Zoe Thorogood (2022)  My big present this year was a new 10" tablet.  This was my first read through Hoopla on it, and there is an excellent use of variations in style, framing, page layouts, and storytelling.  I'm reminded a little of Hyperbole and a Half, but with much richer artwork.  It's a comic book and the interface is perfect for this, so I'll be doing it a lot more in 2023.