Here’s a list of the books I read in 2022. I have lists for non-fiction, fiction, poetry, post-apocalyptic fiction, and how-to books.

Non-fiction

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount . This, by far, has been the most influential book of the last three years (it took that long to go through it, chapter by chapter, with a group of faithful friends). Aside from the Bible, this is definitely the most impactful Christian book I’ve ever read. I highly, highly recommend it! Also, I created a workshop that has booklets to work through this book, to take it even deeper. Slowing down and applying each chapter has taken this from a good book to the most impactful of my Christian life. Click here for the workshop and booklets.

This is my top favorite non-fiction for 2022.

I checked out 1000 Books to Read Before you Die from our library and loved the brief summaries of the books they consider life changing. (I won’t hold it against them that Studies in the Sermon on the Mount isn’t in there.) I loved flipping through it and referencing it, so I bought a used copy online to keep as a reference book.

I bought this short little book to read and think on. I read one section each morning, then repeated it a few times. It was part of my morning reading for quite a few months, and I will probably keep re-reading it every once in a while.

I’ve had A Gospel Primer for years and I keep re-reading it at the beginning of every year. It is set up so you can read it each day for one month. Lots of good truth to think on. I’ll be re-reading it for 2023 again. (Maybe this is the year I memorize the rest of the poem in the back?)

Meh. This book was not worth the price, probably not even the used price. There were definitely a few nuggets in here that were good, but nothing that you probably don’t already know. This one and the one below were good, but I would borrow them rather than buy them. Some interesting and helpful tips, but not worth the cost of the book.

This book was good. Lots of truth and insight in sharing the Gospel (and using apologetics) in a winsome and powerful way. I bought this and am keeping it because especially in the second half, there are tons of underlines to re-read.

The Well-Educated Mind is more of a reference book that I’m working through as part of my continuing education. I won’t be reading ALL of the books, but I will try to read a great majority of them.

Fiction

This was my first time reading any books by James Herriot (there’s a whole series to look forward to) and I just loved it! I’m really late to the game (I’m sure most of you have read it, right?) but man, am I glad I picked it up at the thrift store. The author was a veterinarian, who also happened to be an excellent writer. He brought the beauty of the country life together with the stress and work of a country veterinarian, and introduced me to some of my all-time favorite characters. I loved this cozy read!

This book was given to me by my neighbor because it was her late husband’s favorite book. It was a fun read because it gave me something to talk about with her, and reminded her of many stories of their own time in Arizona, and their many trips into Mexico. It was written in the 1970s so it was fun to go back to a much different time in life. No cell phones, poor roads, and very different border crossing and ways of living. Written with a great sense of humor too.

This book was also given to me by that same neighbor. I was reluctant at first, because I’m usually not crazy about New York Times Bestsellers, but this was such a good story! It kept me up way too late at night, and the mystery through the book was great. I shared it with my daughter-in-law who also read it and then together we took my neighbor out to see the movie while it was in theaters, which is probably my favorite memory of all the years of being their neighbors. She passed away in November so this book holds special meaning to me. (Warning, there is a bit of language and some sex scenes.)

Ahhh, this book. I read this over the 3 weeks I was down with “not-COVID” (I never tested positive, but man, I haven’t been sick for that long before). This book make that time bearable. My all-time favorite short story is by this author, so I decided to look up other books she’d written, and found this one for a good used price. I’m so glad I did! This was wonderfully written and the town and townspeople were wonderful to meet and languish on the couch with–they took great care of me. The story is one that you find yourself thinking about after you read the last page and wondering how the characters are doing.

This is my top favorite fiction book for 2022.

This is the first book I started as my Well-Educated Mind Continuing Education book. It’s massive, but not too terrible. I thought it was going to be a book that took itself too seriously, but it’s actually pretty funny! I’m almost done with it. Hoping I can make it through before the new year starts!

Post-apocalyptic fiction

This is probably my favorite fiction genre. I like to see how others learn to live after world altering events. One Year After is the sequel to One Second After and takes place one year after a massive EMP takes out the power grid in America. It’s not Christian, so there is quite a bit of gore and intensity, but it was a good sequel.

This is tied for my top pick of 2022.

This is the second in The Daughter of Babylon series by Christian author Jamie Lee Grey. It was also good, but I feel like it started dragging a bit and jumps around between story lines maybe a bit too much? But I love the story line, and the fact that book 4 takes place in Oregon, so I’ll continue with this series to know what happens next.

This is tied for my top pick of 2022.

This is another Christian author, Mark Goodwin, and while this first book in the new series was good, it was not as good as the Days of Noah series… but in all honesty that series started off a little bumpy too, but that series became un-put-down-able (and the author’s writing greatly improves!) So I’ll probably get the next one here too.

I found the second book in this series at a thrift store, so I looked up the first one and bought it used. The China Pandemic was written six years before COVID, and though the virus isn’t the same, it was an interesting read about earth with most of the population wiped out. It’s not a Christian book but is pretty clean except a small bit of language and a couple intense scenes. I still think Earth Abides is one of my top favorites in this genre, however.

Poetry

I confess, I don’t love poetry, so I’m trying to learn how to appreciate it more. I think it seems too abstract and confusing most of the time, and I have to guess at what it means. But there are definitely poets that I enjoy, and I think Anne Bradstreet is right up there with Robert Frost for me. (If you know of some good poets, send them my way!)

How-to and Reference

I’m just learning about seed saving, and checked out a slew of books from the library and narrowed it down to this one to buy. It’s simple, straight forward and taught me things I never knew! Very accessible and will be an invaluable reference.

This too is another good garden reference book, especially since the Pacific Northwest is evidently in a drought. It gives good information on soil care and plant spacing when water is scarce.

Another good reference book to build up soil, deter pests, and have a big harvest without chemicals and pesticides.

I have an old paperback copy of this cookbooks that is falling apart. It’s small, yellowed, and not very easy to use, but the recipes are simple and frugal. So I updated to this beautiful copy with lots of pictures and great recipes. My meal planning for January will make use of lots of recipes from here.

This is my top pick for cookbooks.

This is the “sequel” to the above cookbook, but features simple recipes arranged by the season, which makes it really great for gardeners or those who want to eat in season, frugally.

And continuing my frugal quest, I checked this book out from the library, and realized I would probably make every recipe in here. So I bought a used copy for my cookbook shelf. I also follow her blog, that has all kinds of great info on frugal living and meals.

What about you? Let me know the best books you read in 2022. If you have a blog, feel free to link it below. If you don’t, just list the book in the comments! Oh, and if you know of good poets, let me know!