Books
2023 has arrived and so then has my latest book review of my past year of reading! I finished my reading challenge and completed 65 books in 2022.
According to Goodreads, my Year in Books looked like:
22,435 pages read. Average book length was 334 pages. My average rating was 3.9 out of 5 stars. Because I love getting book recommendations, I always look forward to sharing my list of books and the star ratings. So here we go:
1. While We Were Dating (The Wedding Date, #6) by Jasmine Guillory – 3 stars
2. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas – 3 stars
3. Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams – 3 stars
4. Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousins – 3 stars
5. The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain – 4 stars
6. A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss – 3 stars
7. Always, in December by Emily Stone – 4 stars
8. The Half Sister by Sandie Jones – 3 stars
9. The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones – 4 stars
10. Finding Cinderella (Hopeless, #2.5) by Colleen Hoover – 3 stars
11. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman – 4 stars
12. The Switch by Beth O’Leary – 4 stars
13. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – 4 stars
14. Will by Will Smith – 5 stars
15. Going There by Katie Couric – 5 stars
16. I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban – by Malala Yousafzai – 4 stars
17. The First Mistake by Sandie Jones – 4 stars
18. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear – 4 stars
19. Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird – 4 stars
20. The Five People You Meet in Heaven (The Five People You Meet in Heaven, #1) by Mitch Albom – 4 stars
21. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel – 5 stars
22. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult – 4 stars
23. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty – 3 stars
24. Summer of '79: A Summer of '69 Story by Elin Hilderbrand – 4 stars
25. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth – 3 stars
26. One Night on the Island by Josie Silver – 3 stars
27. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink – 4 stars*
28. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel – 5 stars
29. The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1) by Lisa Jewell – 4 stars
30. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle – 5 stars
31. Book Lovers by Emily Henry – 4 stars
32. Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin – 4 stars
33. Thirty Million Words: Building a Child's Brain by Diana Suskind – 4 stars
34. With Love from London by Sarah Jio – 4 stars
35. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth – 3.5 stars
36. What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline – 4 stars
37. By the Book (Meant to Be, #2) by Jasmine Guillory – 3.5 stars
38. Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover – 4 stars
39. The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand – 4 stars
40. The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery – 3 stars
41. Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins – 4 stars
42. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune – 4 stars
43. The Lying Club by Annie Ward – 3 stars
44. Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon – 3 stars
45. One Two Three by Laurie Frankel – 4.5 stars
46. People Fuel: How Energy from Relationships Transforms Life, Love, and Leadership – by John Townsend – 4 stars*
47. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek – 5 stars*
48. The Blame Game by Sandie Jones – 4 stars
49. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid – 5 stars
50. The Beach Trap by Ali Brady – 3 stars
51. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan – 5 stars
52. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger – 4 stars
53. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – 5 stars
54. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell – 4 stars
55. It Starts with Us (It Ends with Us, #2) by Colleen Hoover – 4 stars
56. Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez – 3 stars
57. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama – 4.5 stars
58. We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu – 5 stars
59. Song of the Stars, A Christmas Story by Sally Lloyd-Jones - 5 stars
60. My Christmas Wish for You by Lisa Swerling andRalph Lazar – 5 stars
61. Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family through Foster Care
by Tori Hope Petersen – 3 stars
62. Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes – 2 stars
63. Because of Bethlehem: Every Day a Christmas, Every Heart a Manger by Max Lucado – 5 stars
64. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry – 4 stars
65. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? By Julie Smith – 5 stars*
Before I name my favorite books of 2022, I came up with some highlights.
- Elin Hilderbrand still continues to deliver. I’ve now read 23 of her books set in Nantucket and am dreaming of a trip to the island because of her books. In the Fall at the Las Vegas Book Fair, I had the great pleasure of meeting Elin in person with my bestie, Monica, who has read her books too and is hooked on the Nantucket dream with me. So memorable.
- Taylor Jenkins Reid keeps delivering 5 star reads for me. She may have to make it to a favorite author list at this rate.
- While I’m still a hopeless romantic overall – I still love me a great rom com, a WWII book will always have a special place with me. Perhaps it’s the connection to the war where my maternal grandparents served. And always, always, it’s the stories of the heroism of so many people during that time – not just those who were active duty, but even civilians and family members who found ways to help others.
- I hardly re-read a book cover to cover but I do every Christmas with Because of Bethlehem. For fellow Christmas fans, it’s a wonderful faith-based book on the true meaning of Christmas that keeps me inspired in the hectic but beautiful season.
- And a final highlight… Leadership books have rocked my world this year. They’ve helped me grow as a leader, a parent, a partner, a friend. They helped me develop my first ever keynote speech that I gave in September 2022 at a statewide conference. I’ve revised power points, and trainings, staff check-ins, and professional development curricula because of these books and I’ve taken their lessons national, not just local. I’m grateful for leaders who write books that stick with me and am grateful when I can pass their material forward, hoping to impact others’ own leadership journeys along the way. If things keep moving this way, I may end up devoting a different section of my blog to leadership lessons and books, but for now, I also placed an asterisk by all the books that I felt left a lasting impression on me as a leader, for my fellow leaders to easily find.
Now without further ado, my top 4 books of 2022. I could not just pick 3 this year. What we have is a standout leadership book and 3 favorite fiction books, all who got 5/5 stars or maybe even 6 out of 5 stars if I’m honest.
#4: Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
From the Goodreads summary: Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story--the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life.
I usually only choose 3 favorite books a year, but I was compelled to include this one - a fourth top favorite – for my fellow rom com fans! I am smiling writing this review thinking about the adorable romance of this book. I can’t even include quotes from the book because they’d all be spoilers about how sweet the characters are with each other. I remember crying, reaching for my heart, and even pausing to take it all in at various times. I do warn that I am a hopeless romantic (formerly behind a bunch of armor) and so I fell for the storyline, and I simply adore the love that abounded in the book. If you’re in love, or searching for that feeling, this book will do it for you. I know I love a book when I miss the characters the moment I turn the final page. I know - clearly I am still gushing! This book easily earned a top seat this year.
In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime—from the New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising.
This is a different book by TJR from the light comedy that she won me over with years ago, and I am here for it! The detailed writing about the tennis star and her career had me hooked from the start. So, if you read the summary and think, “Eh – a comeback athlete’s story, I’m not really into that,” you will be wrong. It’s so much more than that. To be fair, I did grow up watching tennis often with my grandparents (who loved and played tennis themselves, but sadly I did not get that gene). So, following the details of her matches was exciting. I have read reviews of people who know nothing about tennis though who also loved it. There was just magic in reading about the fire of the lead character and how she finds her way, along with the relationships formed throughout the book as well. The competition is palpable, you can vividly imagine it as you read. When I wasn’t reading it, I found myself thinking about where I left off and was always excited to get back to the book, almost like I was turning on the tv to find out who was winning now! As vivid as the competition though, was also the love in the book between characters – and not just the romantic storyline because of course, there is one – but the love between father and daughter, coach and student. The story was vulnerable and emotional throughout and I loved every page.
‘“Yeah, but then I hit it into the net half the time.” “Because you are not yet who you will one day be.” I looked up at him, my guarded heart opening ever so slightly. “Every match you play, you are one match closer to becoming the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen. You were not born that person. You were born to become that person. And that is why you must beat yourself every time you get on the court. Not so that you beat the other person.”
#2: Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this unforgettable historical novel from the international bestselling author of the “epic and heart-wrenching World War II tale” (Alyson Noel, #1 New York Times bestselling author) The Winemaker’s Wife.
The way I cried at this book will always stay with me. I was moved by the heroism, the struggle, the loss, the romance, the shocking story based on real life events of a female lead character using her talents to help children during the war. Also, the story highlighted the beauty of books (my obvious favorite thing) as you can read in these beautiful quotes:
“Once you’ve fallen in love with books, their presence can make you feel at home anywhere, even in places where you shouldn’t belong.”
“Those ‘who realize that books are magic… will have the brightest lives.’”
This story gripped me because of the way the lead character found her purpose. Once that was defined for her, there was no stopping her from making impact during the war. The fact that this was based on actual events had me captivated to think more about what it must have been like during that era to watch your country become war torn, and then to find a way to help behind the scenes in covert operations as a young woman. That was so inspiring. I knew while reading it, and early in the story, that it was going to be a contender for a favorite book this year. After reading 65 books, it remained that way. I’ll never forget a book that has me crying in the middle of the night and I realize now that came from the fact that the character connected with my most important values of leadership and impact. Some quotes from the book that spoke to purpose and impact for me:
“I mean that I would rather die knowing I tried to do the right thing than live knowing I had turned my back.”
“Life turns on the decisions we make, the single moments that transform everything.”
“It was a reminder that it didn’t matter where someone had come from; virtue could live within everyone.”
“The greatest deeds in life require us to rise above our fear.”
“But we aren’t defined by the names we carry or the religion we practice, or the nation whose flag flies over our heads. I know that now. We’re defined by who we are in our hearts, who we choose to be on this earth.”
#1: Start with Why by Simon Sinek
A leadership book tops the list for a second year running! I excitedly tell you that I was feverishly writing notes in the margins and in a notebook while reading each page, to immediately implement the nuggets from this book in my work. This year at work, we are focusing on organizational culture and staff satisfaction and retention. This book was about the importance of keeping focused on WHY organizations do what they do, and the personal purpose we each carry that define fit and alignment to a cause. Being intentional about these concepts can lead successful teams to carry out a mission with commitment. The book inspired me to define my own purpose, it connected with my personal values of leadership and success through impact. This book also had me presenting to various groups about finding meaning in the workplace which ultimately pays dividends to those we are impacting through our work (our clients). Simon Sinek and his mic drops have become my favorite, right up there with Brene Brown. Highly recommend to any leader when developing content to keep your company or organization purpose-driven, and to anyone who needs the reminder that we each serve a purpose and finding it within ourselves can determine how we should spend our time creating a meaningful life.
“Great leaders and great organizations are good at seeing what most of us can’t see. They are good at giving us things we would never think of asking for. Great leaders are those who trust their gut. They are those who understand the art before the science. They win hearts before minds. They are the ones who start with WHY.”
That is it! That wraps up my Big Book Review of 2022. The year started off slow with several just average books but when I look back at the whole list, I’m excited by where books took me this year. After all, “Books take you some place when you have to stay where you are.”
Happy reading, everyone, and here’s to a memorable 2023 filled with pages that will stay with you for years to come.
For past Big Book reviews, you can click here: 2017, 2018, and 2019, and 2020, and 2021. You can follow me on Goodreads here.
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