I didn’t have a specific reading goal this year, but had I, I would’ve missed it. Turns out the more kids you have the less time you have to read. Weird! (And based on this list, apparently the worse the quality of book.) There weren’t many books I loved but certainly a few I loathed, and many I appreciated but don’t need to read again.

Loved: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Anne of Avonlea, Not All Diamonds and Rose (I apologize for nothing)

Hated: Animal, The Paper Palace

Worth Reading: A Little Life, Hamnet, The Lincoln Highway, The Five Wounds

Brief recap: I spent all of 2022 pregnant or with an infant, while my husband spent most of the year in school/training out of state. I really leaned into audiobooks this year because I’m simply too tired to keep my eyes open. I also read less with my big kids than in previous years. As my oldest two kids get, well, older, they are more interested in independent reading. There’s also the reality that sports eat into their evenings now, and that putting an infant and toddler to bed takes up – inexplicably – hours of the day. There’s just less time. My 8-year-old and I can rarely agree on a book to read. He’s free to read all the graphic novels he likes on his own time, but not for our “together” reading time. I’m open to suggestions that we might both tolerate if you have any! My 11-year-old is often too immersed in her own series to break for reading with me. It’s definitely been a transition year for our read aloud time, but I’m sure soon enough I’ll be picking up new books with the little ones.

TL;DR: Lots of crappy audiobooks, less children’s literature. Enjoy. And as always, send me your recommendations!

1) Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney: I think I read once that Rooney is the voice of our generation. In which case – Ugh, what a damning indictment of our generation. Her characters are silly, shallow narcissists. I vaguely remember feeling the same way reading Normal People, so I suppose Rooney is just not for me.

2) The Maidens (audiobook) by Alex Michaelides: This felt like an episode of Endeavour – just swap out Oxford for Cambridge and make the detective a female. I’d rather watch the show.

3) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara: Wow. This book is a journey. A beautiful, torturous, gut-wrenching journey. Very difficult to read but worth it. I thought about this book for a long time.

4) Animal (audiobook) by Lisa Taddeo: Hated it. Probably my most hated book of the year. Taddeo is a talented writer, but the content is so graphic and twisted that it was simply too much. Admittedly, not a great book to read while pregnant.

5) Finlay Donovan is Killing It (audiobook) by Elle Cosimano: A suburban mom accidentally becomes a hit woman. So ridiculous and over-the-top that it was actually fun and entertaining.

6) Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein: A fun read with my elementary schooler. The eccentric Mr. Lemoncello gives a Willy Wonka vibe (minus the disappearing/maybe dead kids.) I appreciate how Grabenstein makes reading appealing to a younger generation immersed in tech and gaming.

7) Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (audiobook) by Leah Remini: The most in-depth account of scientology that was shocking but not that surprising.

8) The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Loved this. A quick, witty read. A delightful ending.

9) Lucky (audiobook) by Marissa Stapley: Unremarkable and unmemorable.

10) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling: What’s there to say? I’ve known these characters for over 20 years, and no matter how many times I’ve read this, it’s always bittersweet when it ends. And I always marvel at how wildly different the seventh book feels from the first – it hits different when you’re reading them with your kids as they grow up, too.

11) Little Secrets (audiobook) by Jennifer Hillier: Took me awhile to remember what this even was. I think it’s a thriller involving a kidnapped child, so… maybe skip it if that’s not your thing.

12) Taste: My Life Through Food (audiobook) by Stanley Tucci: Delightful, as I imagine any book narrated by Stanley Tucci would be.

13) Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo: Kate DiCamillo is the children’s lit queen! A lovely story enjoyable for both James and me.

14) Hamnet by Maggie O’farrell: Beautifully written, though it pains me to say it – a little boring. I wanted to love it! I did! That being said, there are some very poignant scenes, and the last few pages in particular were remarkable.

15) The Paris Apartment (audiobook) by Lucy Foley: A not-bad thriller. Foley’s books reliable for a solid and entertaining read, if not great literature.

16) One Italian Summer (audiobook) by Rebecca Serle: This book got a lot of buzz, and I thought it was fine! I thought In Five Years was better, but I will read almost anything if it takes place in Italy.

17) The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton:  I… did not love this. I know everyone else did. Sorry?

18) Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery: Perfection. No notes.

19) Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein: Second in the Lemoncello series. Kid-friendly and parent-friendly.

20) The Wild Robot by Peter Brown: This got dark for a children’s book! Technically I didn’t finish this – though I intend to – because James read ahead of me. But that alone, and that he was excited for the sequel – is a good review.

21) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume: This feels a tad dated but I will always love Judy Blume, and this is perfect third grade (or fourth!) boy material.

22) Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: Elisabeth and I read a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories together and she loved trying to solve the mysteries. Perhaps because contemporary mysteries are so fast paced with off-the-wall plots, these stories felt staid. But still worth reading! Read the classics!

23) Not All Diamonds and Rose: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It by Dave Quinn: This book – an oral history of the various Real Housewives franchises – was trash. I loved it. I wanted more.  There is room in your life for both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Real Housewives. It’s called balance.

24) Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti: I thought this was going to be a tragicomedy but it was neither tragic (the dying character was pretty unsympathetic) nor funny (everyone was so dull!). Skip.

25) Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: Another memoir told through food! I’m in!

26) The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller: Awful. Every character is terrible. Nothing redemptive in the story. No closure. One of my most hated books this year.

27) The Maid by Nita Prose: Fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

28) This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub: Not what I was expecting from Straub, but highly enjoyable!

29) Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister: Solid thriller.

30) The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: Towles is obviously a very talented writer, but this was a little slow and a lot too long. I overall enjoyed it but need to talk to someone about the ending.

31) The Club by Ellery Lloyd (audiobook): Another okay thriller. Just fine.

32) Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (audiobook) by Elle Cosimano: The first Finaly Donovan was just enough ridiculous. This one was over-the-top ridiculous. I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series.

33) The House of Gucci: A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed (audiobook) by Sara Gay Forden: The intrigue, the family drama, the fashion – loved it. The detailed business history – a little dull.

34) Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner (audiobook): I’ve seen Weiner’s books around for years and was never interested but thought they might fit the bill for two-months postpartum audiobook listening. I had no idea that this was about a murder, but it came off as campy. Murder – but make it fun! No clue if that was the tone she was going for, but it wasn’t terrible for a postpartum summer read.

35) That Summer by Jennifer Weiner (audiobook): I was expecting something similar to Big Summer but this was darker and kind of boring. Didn’t love it.

36) The Summer Place by Jennifer Weinter (audiobook): This concluded my experiment with Jennifer Weiner. What even is this book? Pandemic, adultery, death, closeted gay relative, questionable paternity, and possibly a little incest? Like WHAT. And SPOILER but I have to: THE CLOSETED GAY UNCLE ENDS UP IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NIECE’S EX-FIANCE WHO WAS MAYBE HER HALF-BROTHER?!?! Totally unhinged, all of it.

37) Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen (audiobook): Meh.

38) Cover Story by Susan Rigotti (audiobook): Blatant rip-off of the Anna Delvery/Sorokin story, and a lot less interesting.

39) More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Guttierrez (audiobook): Eh, it was entertaining but not riveting. I think the protagonist – a woman leading a double life who ruins two families – was supposed to come off as sympathetic, but I wasn’t buying that.

40) Meet Me in London by Georgia Toffolo (audiobook): I will listen to rom-coms if they take place at Christmas in London. And yet. This was lackluster, even for the genre.

42) Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday: This was more charming than Meet Me in London. But remember, my bar for holiday books is very low.

41) The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade: This was beautiful. A little slow at first, but the characters were all genuinely good, despite their many flaws. It was nice to read a book with characters I was actually rooting for.