Most of this issue is a review of 2022. We each chose our favorite reads from the year and also tallied up how we did on actually reading the books we said we were looking forward to. (Some of us have a bit of catching up to do…) Not to worry, though, we have some big plans for the year ahead, as well. We are working towards having a merch store and perhaps starting a podcast, as well. In the meantime, we have a favor to ask. When we started the newsletter a year ago, we had, what we felt, was a strong, positive response. Since then, however, we have only gained a handful more subscribers. So, can you help us spread the word? Let all of your friends/coworkers/acquaintances who like to read/can recognize a book know about the newsletter. We currently have 56 subscribers and would like to get up to 75 by next month’s issue. Also, if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining us as a writer, even just for a guest spot, please send us an email at thewellroundedreader@gmail.com Also send any feedback or suggestions for future topics here, as well.
We hope everyone is well. Be good to each other.
Clarice, Rhys, and Jennifer
This is a list of books that I read in 2022 that stayed with me the longest—books that I thought about even months after I finished reading them. cp
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
I am not usually a science fiction reader, but I had heard so many good things about this novel that I had to give it a try. I think the PR around this book when it came out was a bit misleading. It was billed as a “romance in space,” and although that technically is correct, that really only scratches the surface. Without giving too much away, I can say that it’s a book that calls into question the morality of acting for the greater good, the idea of what it means to be human, and the kind of existential dread that can only come from a story about the pure isolation of traveling through space. The novel begins with Ambrose, one of two teen representatives from the two remaining countries on Earth, waking aboard a ship called the Coordinated Endeavor. He has no memory of the launch, but he does recall that he has been sent to rescue the first settler on Titan, who is also his sister. Kodiak, his shipmate, initially isolates himself on his own side of the ship, but eventually both boys realize that not all is as it seems aboard their ship, and they must work together to unravel the mystery and survive. While this is technically a YA book, it’s definitely a read for all ages.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
I’m a bit late to the party (no pun intended) when it comes to Lucy Foley, but I must say this was one of my favorite books that I listened to this past year. With the multiple perspectives and a full cast of narrators, it really came alive as an audiobook, and I think it made the mystery even more absorbing. The story takes place on an island off the coast of Ireland, where a group has gathered for a destination wedding. The novel follows the events leading up to the wedding as tensions rise among the guests and secrets are revealed, culminating in a “whodunit” mystery that will keep you on your toes until the end. The plot is intricate, the characters well-developed, and the whole novel is paced perfectly.
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
As you all know, I read a ton of romance novels of all types. Beth O’Leary continues to write some of my favorite ones, and The No-Show is my favorite so far. I wrote about this book briefly in Issue 3 of The Well-Rounded Reader last year in the “Books We’re Looking Forward To” section. As a refresher, the book follows the perspectives of three women who all have one thing in common: they have all been stood up by the same man on Valentine’s Day (one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for an evening party). The narrative that weaves around the three very different women is well-crafted, and one that I have thought about often over the last year.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
As someone who loves playing video games, I had very high hopes for this book about two brilliant video game designers who rocket to fame in the mid nineties. Gabrielle Zevin is originally a YA author, and she wrote a stunning YA dystopian novel called All These Things I’ve Done (the first in a trilogy), which features a future world where chocolate is illegal. Outshined, perhaps, by other dystopians that came out around the same time (Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins), I still believe her brilliant, thoughtful novel stood out among the rest. Zevin has only grown as a novelist since. Spanning multiple decades, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow follows the story of Sam Masur and Sadie Green, two friends who become collaborators and business partners in the world of video game design. The novel is about the complicated love between two friends, but it’s also very much a thoughtful, immersive story about video games, and not in a way that makes it seem like an afterthought or a casual setting for the story. Gabrielle Zevin either loves video games, has designed games herself, or possibly both, because her devotion to the medium is obvious on the page. The novel has become my new go-to recommendation for friends with similar interests.
In 2022, I reached my goal of reading 120 books! Here are some highlights from books that I haven’t reviewed in our newsletter before. rr
The Employees by Olga Ravn
This is an extremely strange book and one of my favorite books of all time after I read it last spring. It’s hard to describe without giving too much away, but the story is told through a series of witness accounts of employees who live and work on a company spaceship. At some point, the ship brought aboard The Objects from the planet below - what The Objects exactly are, we never quite know; the descriptions of them are enticing and horrifying, each statement giver having a different perspective on them. Something about The Objects, however, changed the passengers on the ship, leading to a shift in workplace dynamics and an incident that prompted these witness accounts. I loved the different points of view that we as readers got through the format of this novella - it both obfuscates the inciting incidents, while also giving a closer account of the atmosphere aboard the ship. The exploration of the dehumanization of the workplace, of what it means to be human, and even the purpose of existence. It’s a unique experience to read this little 130-page book, and I’d even like to experience it again sometime soon.
Monarch by Candice Wuehle
This is another very weird book and I’m wondering if I should even bother to put that disclaimer in front of any of my reviews anymore - maybe that should be the default assumption when I bring a book up. Nevertheless, Monarch is a surreal work of fiction that isn’t quite thriller, isn’t quite literary, isn’t quite true-to-life, but somehow works. It’s the story of Jessica Clink, former child beauty queen, who finds out that she was also the subject of an offshoot of Project MKUltra known as MONARCH. Nothing in Jessica’s life is what it seems - not her time as a child beauty queen, not her parents, and especially not herself. This is an exploration of self, of human consciousness, of trauma, and feminism. It also has a very scary Barbie face on the cover. It’s strange and I’ve seen it compared to both Mona Awad’s and Chuck Palahniuk’s works if that gives you any idea of the atmosphere. It’s weird. I enjoyed it a lot.
Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson
Does anyone else remember seeing Go Ask Alice everywhere in the young adult book section growing up? Although I never read it, as a teenager in the late 2000s - early 2010s, I was constantly surrounded by recommendations to read this title. There were many times where I would pick it off the shelf while I was at Borders (RIP), confused as to whether it was a true story or a fictional one. And it turns out that this is a bigger question than I ever realized. Unmask Alice is the truth behind Go Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal, both the works of a woman named Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist. Emerson peels back the many layers surrounding the publications of both “journals”, exploring their links to the War on Drugs, Satanic Panic, and the real people buried beneath Sparks’ lies. This is a very well done investigation, but I do want to warn that it does thoroughly cover some difficult subjects like drug abuse and several real life suicides - including a detailed account of the real Jay’s suicide. I think that it’s important that his real story and life be shared with the world, but teen suicide can be an extremely triggering subject.
Crowded vol. 1 - 3 by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Triona Farrell, Cardinal Rae, and Diana Sousa
In 2023, we crowdfund new business ventures, creative endeavors, even healthcare - and in the graphic novel series, Crowded, assassinations are also crowdfunded through Reapr campaigns. These campaigns are publicly funded and completely legal - as long as the target is killed within the 30 days. If they survive, they’re free from any other Reapr campaign as well. Charlie Ellison, hustler and victim of the gig economy, wakes up one day to find herself the latest center of a Reapr campaign with a million dollars on her head. Desperate, she hires the lowest rated bodyguard on the Dfend app, Vita, to try and keep her alive for the remainder of the campaign, all while they try and figure out who wants Charlie dead and why. This is a super fun and hilarious comic with memorable, flawed characters. Charlie? She’s possibly one of the most annoying, self-sabotaging protagonists I have ever read, and yet I still kept rooting for her. Vita is a mess, but she’s endearing and truly cares about doing the right thing. It’s absurd but these comics also manage to have some great commentary on the modern world while being laugh out loud funny.
Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
Alice Wong is a Chinese-American disabled activist as well as the founder and director of the Disability Visibility project, and although she’s published many different pieces throughout her life, Year of the Tiger is her first full-length solo book. It is a memoir told through a “collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more” - a genre-bending experience that is separated into several parts: Origins, Activism, Access, Culture, Storytelling, Pandemic, and Future. I first learned of Alice Wong through the Disability Visibility project, which published Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century in 2020. I read the collection that year, gave it 5 stars, and had to pick up Wong’s memoir once it came out - and I don’t regret it. This is a great, heartfelt work and I really recommend it to everyone, particularly the portion focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic.
While I read some really good fiction in 2022, it has been the nonfiction books that have stayed with me the most. These are the five I enjoyed the most. jl
The Hardest Job in the World: the American Presidency by John Dickerson
John Dickerson is a reporter for CBS news and has worked for Time Magazine and Slate. He is a regular on the Slate Political Gabfest, a weekly podcast, which is how I initially came to know him. This, his third book, is a history of the American Presidency, and a delight to read. His previous book, Whistlestop: Mr Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaigns was just as good. I recommend both in audio as Mr. Dickerson narrates them himself.
99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt
Based on another podcast, 99% Invisible (or 99PI), this book explains little things in the world around you, like the stamps on sidewalks that tell you who made them or why cemeteries are designed the way they are. It is a fascinating book! The audio is great because Mars provides the narrations BUT the physical book has a lot of photographs - I recommend having both. If you’ve listened to the podcast, this is NOT a repeat of things you’ve already heard before. Even if they did cover the topic on the podcast, they did additional research for the book.
Joyful: the Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
This is another book about the design of everyday things, but is more focused on your immediate surroundings rather than societal infrastructure. Lee started as a design student but became fascinated on how the design of objects can make people feel. The book has scientific explanations about why this is and also a bit of a self-help vibe as she discusses ways you can use these concepts to impact your own life/mental health. Ingrid Fetell Lee does not have a podcast (yet?) but she does have an amazing Instagram account and lovely blog, both of which I highly recommend.
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
You may have heard about this one already - it appeared on Barack Obama’s list of books read in 2019. My husband and I both enjoyed it greatly. The general idea is that you should slow down, get off your phone, and pay more attention to nature. There’s more to it than what I’ve just given you, but that should tell you if you’re interested or not.
The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective: Secrets and Lies in the Golden Age of Crime by Susannah Stapleton
This was a gift to me from my husband. I have no idea how he came across it but I am so glad that he did. This book was a fascinating look at a real life private detective operating in London at about the same time that Agatha Christie began writing her mystery novels. Maud West was a master of self-promotion but also a complete enigma, it turns out. This was a total page turner!
CP
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin ★★★★☆
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala ★★★★☆
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★★
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez ★★★★☆
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston ★★★★☆
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary ★★★★☆
Everything for You by Chloe Liese ★★★★☆
Book Lovers ★★★★★
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood ★★★★☆
Heat Wave by TJ Klune ★★★★☆
Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus ★★★★☆
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes ★★★★☆
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ★★★★☆
Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco ★★★★☆
Amari and the Great Game by BB Alston ★★★★★
Well Traveled by Jen Deluca ★★★★☆
RR
I’m still waiting for the publication dates of many of the books I said I was looking forward to! But here are a few that are out now:
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir ★★★★★
Leech by Hiron Ennes ★★★★★?
Right now I’m about 100 pages into the book and I think it might be joining my favorites shelf soon. Between the non-human main character, explorations of identity, and the bizarre and sinister world, I’ve been hooked.
Thieves by Lucie Bryon ?
I am currently awaiting the copy I placed on hold at the library so I can read this one. Fingers crossed for soon!
Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong ?
A library copy of this one is sitting on my nightstand - hopefully I’ll get a chance to pick it up after I finish Leech.
JL
I mentioned 23 books that I was looking forward to in 2022. Of those, I have read 11:
The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian ★★★★☆
Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall ★★★★☆
The Devil’s Music by Nathan Page ★★★★☆
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk ★★☆☆☆
The Chapel in the Woods by Dolores Gordon-Smith ★★★☆
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James ★★★★★
The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi ★★★★★
A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber ★★★★☆
Behind the Scenes with Burt by Georgia Dunn ★★★★☆
Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen ★★★★☆
The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson ★★★★☆
One more, A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear, is my current audiobook and promises to be a 4 or 5 star book.