Exciting Books for 2022

Happy New Year! Please join me in ignoring all of the nonsense, and allow me to recommend some books for your 2022 reading pleasure.

The Ones I’ve Already Read

The Fell, by Sarah Moss (FSG) – March 2022

This is already out in Moss’s native UK, but here in the US we have to hang on until spring. Now, I worship Moss’s 2018 novel Ghost Wall, and I’ll basically read anything she writes. I enjoyed The Fell, but it also reminded me of unique British behaviors which I’d rather forget. It’s also about COVID, so if that’s something you’re hoping to avoid in fiction, you may want to give this one a swerve. But like I said, it’s Moss, so you know you’re in for a treat.

Hide, by Kiersten White (Del Rey Books) – May 2022

Only three days into 2022 and I’ve already found a strong contender for best “fun” horror novel of the year. Fourteen people are invited to compete in a game of hide and seek in an abandoned theme park, with a cash prize. Think Squid Game, Battle Royale. It’s fantastic, and I’m so excited I got to read this one early.

Our Wives Under the Sea, by Julia Armfield (Flatiron) – July 2022

Yes, I’m still banging on about this book. I loved Armfield’s collection Salt Slow, but this novel is something else. It’s gorgeous, terrifying, addictive, and if you have to sell your granny to get a copy, I suggest you go right ahead.

All The White Spaces, by Ally Wilkes (Atria/Emily Bestler Books) – March 2022

Popped my review of this up before Christmas, but to recap, it’s about an Antarctic expedition that goes incredibly wrong, and there’s a supernatural element. But it’s also such a deeply human story. I recommend pairing this book with a chunky blanket, a big mug of tea, and someone whose arm you can grab when things get scary.

Very Cold People, by Sarah Manguso (Hogarth) – February 2022

This one has been a long time coming; I read this back in September 2021. Very Cold People is a wonderfully-crafted collection of vignettes, as our central character Ruthie shares the ghastliness of her adolescence. The prose is simple, and incredibly arresting. For fans of Barbara Comyns.

Other Things I Enjoyed:

• Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, by Kim Fu (Tin House Books) – February 2022 – Full of warm, enchanting stories, reflective of our rapidly-changing world. 
• Defenestrate, by Renee Branum (Bloomsbury) – January 2022 – This is an incredibly compelling story about so many things; family, codependence, self-fulfilling prophecies, silent film star Buster Keaton. 
• The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan (Simon Schuster) – January 2022 – A stressed mother leaves her infant home alone, and has to be “retrained” by a weird parenting academy.

On My TBR

• Sundial, by Catriona Ward (Tor Nightfire) – March 2022
• The Book of the Most Precious Substance, by Sara Gran (Dreamland Books) – February 2022
• In Defense of Witches, by Mona Chollet (St. Martin’s Press) – March 2022
• Maria, Maria, by Marytza K. Rubio (W. W. Norton and Company) – April 2022
• Garden of Earthly Bodies, by Sally Oliver (The Overlook Press) – June 2022

What did I miss? Find me on Goodreads, Twitter, or comment with your recommendations! Happy new year of reading!