The 5 Best Books I Read in 2022
Selections from last year's reading
2022 was an interesting year of reading for me. I went through periods where I read a lot, and then extended periods where I did not read much at all. With that being said, I read many good books. And some great ones. Here are five of the great ones.
5. The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson
This was a spur of the moment read for me. I was in a local shop that had a selection of used books and this one grabbed my attention. I had heard about it many times before, but I finally decided to check it out myself. And I am so happy I made that decision. It’s a nonfiction book that covers the events of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, juxtaposed with the mass killings of many women in the city at the same time. Larson primarily focuses on famed architect Daniel H. Burnham and one of the first famed serial killers, H.H. Holmes. The book is meticulously researched and an immensely enjoyable read. Larson weaves together a narrative that reads more like a novel than a work of nonfiction. However, if you’re expecting a juicy true crime novel, this isn’t where to look. Devil In The White City was published in 2003, years before the weird fetishization of true crime that runs amuck today. Obviously, we still learn much about the sadistic man that was H.H. Holmes and how he lured and killed his victims, but Larson does not revel in these details. The book is just as much about the World’s Fair and the men behind it. And to me, that was equally fascinating and kept me just as engaged. Even if you’re not a typical reader of nonfiction, I highly recommend this book.
4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Somehow, I had not read Fahrenheit 451 by Rad Bradbury until last year. I am so glad I rectified that glaring hole in my reading repertoire. I love classic dystopian literature; 1984 is excellent, and Brave New World is even better. So naturally, I loved this book as well. Bradbury’s writing wastes no time. He brings to life a world that feels so real, so grounded, and yet so foreign. Book banning is an ever present issue, which is why Fahrenheit 451 has never, and will never, leave the cultural consciousness. Along with 1984 and Brave New World, these fictional worlds have a hauntingly realistic quality to them. Almost as if they’re living, breathing things lurking in the shadows just around the corner, waiting to appear––fully realized. But outside of the real world implications the novel has, it is first and foremost a work of excellent fiction. The writing is tight and motivated. The characters are tragically beautiful. And the story comes full circle perfectly. I am looking forward to rereading it.
3. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I have read a lot of Neil Gaiman this year. He is my favorite living author, and one of the best living writers overall. And American Gods encapsulates why I hold that opinion. It is hard to explain the scope of this book with its insights on American culture, belief, and identity. The Old Gods of every mythology imaginable are slowly dying off, holding on to the last ounces of belief the world still has for them. We follow a man named Shadow, who, after being released from prison, is seemingly handpicked by Odin (going by the name of “Wednesday”) to be the Allfather’s righthand man. What ensues is an epic story spanning across much of the Midwest. I started reading American Gods during an incredibly difficult time in my life this year. And I finished it right before things got even worse. Gaiman’s novel provided much needed respite during a tumultuous period in my life, and helped me weather the storm that was yet to come.
2. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novels)
Though technically not a single book, I had to include Sandman in my list. DC published four new volumes of the series this year that collects the entirety of Gaiman’s seventy-five issue run. The scope of this series is almost unfathomable. It is a story about stories that spans centuries, following dozens of characters. It is deeply poetic and lyrical. And without a doubt it is Gaiman’s magnum opus.
The lead character, Morpheus––The Lord of Dreams––quickly became one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. I found myself relating to him in unexpected ways. He is a cosmic entity that is outside of humanity, and yet, his entire existence is predicated on humanity’s own existence. How could a character like that be relatable? Well, Gaiman finds ways to make something inherently inhuman, human.
The Sandman came at a much needed time in my life. I know I am being cryptic with referring to this “difficult period” multiple times now. But that’s a Substack post for another time, if ever. Anyway––during said difficult time––I started to read Sandman. And then I started to watch the new Netflix series as I was reading the comics. And to sum up what both the show and the graphic novels mean to me, I am going to share something I said about escapism earlier in the week on another platform: “escapism” is so much more than escape. Stories provide places of refuge. They are sustenance for the soul. And then afterwards we are better equipped to face reality. Escapism isn’t turning away from reality; it’s a forge for building the armor we need to face it.
Sandman provided an escape into a world of dreams.
1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I have never read something quite like Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’. Her writing is at once both modern and of another age. Perhaps most reminiscent of Dickens, whom Tartt touts as her major literary influence. The Secret History marks the conception of what we now know as Dark Academia, and Tartt is the matriarch.
The novel begins by telling us what is going to happen. The first person narrator, Richard Papen, tells us of the murder that has taken place, and then begins to retrace the steps that led to the killing. I greatly admire Tartt for not making the murder the crux of the book. If it was, this very easily could have turned into a shallow mystery novel. Instead, Tartt writes a book infused by academia and the beauty of greco-roman culture, but also its ugly underbelly.
Richard enters a world of pretentious Classics students at an exclusive college in Vermont. He is enthralled by his professor and is reluctantly taken in by his fellow students. What ensues is a descent into madness. Of beauty. Of terror. Richard is, by most standards, a fairly normal college student. There is no real reason to believe that he would end up an accessory to murder. But he does. He even has multiple opportunities to find an out, but chooses to stay within this illusory world.
The Secret History is beautiful. It captures what I love and hate about academia; the wonders of learning and intellectualism but also the tunnel vision it can create. These characters, so entranced by the past and cultures of antiquity, have no idea how to live in the current world they inhabit. Tartt crafted a modern tragedy that is worthy of the Theatre of Dionysus.