My Favourite Books of 2022 – Mystery & History

Since 2016, I’ve reviewed what I learned and enjoyed in my reading life. Additionally, I also have a annual challenge of tracking the diversity in authors in my pursuit of advocating for more diversity in publishing. In 2023, I’ve read around 17,000 pages (according to GoodReads) and 50 books. Here’s my favourite books of 2022!

Favourite Books of 2022

• Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
  • To use the common refrain, “this hit close to home” would be understatement. I’m pleased that there is a intelligent, nuanced, and feminine perspective of oilfield culture in Alberta, the boom years in the early 2000s, and transient work. I grew up in another oilfield heavy area in rural Alberta and related with much of the content in her graphic memoir.
• Women I Think About at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes by Mia Kankimäki, Douglas Robinson (Translator)
  • A historical and personal journey of women, art, and travel including Karen Blixen, Yayoi Kusama, and Italian Renaissance painters Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi. It also explores what path these women took that veered off the historical societal expectations of women.
• East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian recipes from Bangalore to Beijing by Meera Sodha
  • Amazing cookbook – vegetarian and vegan – it got me excited to make a meal. I found out I love and feel empowered in the kitchen with vegetarian cooking.
• Secrets of the Spakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World by Eliza Reid
  • In my humble opinion, Canada could look to Iceland for inspiration to increase its equity goals in societal systems.
• How to be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turner
  • Turns out, I’ve been holding on to some climate anxiety for at least 5 years. This book helped me out of that hole and has prompted my interest in generational time.
• Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade
  • Reading about artistic women who lived outside of society’s norms in the early 20th Century England was fascinating and refreshing. You will learn about the lives of and how their lives intersected with each other during pivotal times of their creative pursuits.
• River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard
  • Millard is my new favourite historian and this book was a triad of exploration, rivers and geography, and colonialism. Excellent read and it show the arrogance of colonialism in both personal and societal history without telling.
• Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch
  • Two years into my “get healthy” journey, I bought this workbook and I found it incredibly helpful. There were some really helpful exercises to tap back into awareness of my body and and personal hunger cues. There are also useful journaling exercising about body image and past habits. Worthwhile if you are interested in lifelong health.
• Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland
  • Excellent blend of anthropology, history, philosophy, and science behind why we drink and what it does for and against us as a species. I’ve been waiting a long time for a book to approach the topic in this way and it didn’t disappoint.
• Geneviève Castrée: The Complete Works
  • I waited a long time to have this in my library. Castrée’s only published book, Susceptible, is a special book to me. This book of her unpublished work is a treasure and her work is incredibly inspiring to me.
• Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes
  • I never could have predicted that I would delve into classics in my reading life. It’s been really fascinating and rewarding. I discovered Natalie Haynes on a podcast, she is a super speaker and I recommend this book to any feminist looking to learn about Greek mythology. It will elevate your intellectual life.

History and Connecting the Dots

Since studying history in university, every year I keep learning the importance of our past. I believe the common statement is true: how can you understand who you are if you don’t understand where you came from?

Each new generation will approach the stories of the past with a new lens stemming from their challenges and dreams for the future. And there is something new to learn each time. Truth and fact becomes richer and more complex. It becomes clear that our challenges are not binary and need to be approached from as many angles as we can.

History is the common thread throughout everything I read this year – both macro and micro. I’m fascinated by the books examining moments of great change – the people and politics of 1890s-1920s. Greek myth. Colonial exploration of the world. The invention and history of alcohol. Personal histories of childhood and healing.

History guides my hope and bewilderment as to where we are heading in the future – it’s complex and it’s all connected.

Diversity Report

I’m really happy with the diversity of my reading this year! It’s among the most diverse since 2016. Back then, I found reading outside of my experience was sometimes mentally tiring. But now, it’s not at all. In fact, I seek it out.

One pleasant surprise is a mystery series with Ava Lee, a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant and debt collector, written by Ian Hamilton. I was almost convinced that Ian Hamilton was a pseudonym because of his success in writing from a female perspective that doesn’t feel contrived and stereotypical. I’ve read two books and I’m learning a lot about China as well as international accounting crime. The series is fabulous and I highly recommend it. I would love to sit down with Ian Hamilton over some Chinese food and tea and hear all about how he developed Ava Lee as she’s a very compelling character.

I also discovered Val MacDermid this year, her mysteries are EXCELLENT.

Examining authors, topics, and geographic regions I read about this year, I feel that I got to “see” many different perspectives and experiences from around the world. For that, I’m grateful for every author I read this year. I think if I added diversity in topics and characters, it would be even higher.

• Black – 2
• Indigenous – 5
• Latinx – 0
• Middle Eastern – 0
• Asian – 5
• LGTBQ2S+ – 6
• White European – 27
• Total – 20/50

Reading Diversity Percentages

• 2022 – 40%
• 2021 – 36%
• 2020 – 37%
• 2019 – 25%
• 2018 – 22%
• 2017 – 65%
• 2016 – 22%

Reading Vibes for 2023

• Histories of Medicine and Health
• Reimagining the Future – Looking for hope and new possibilities among our biggest challenges for climate, human rights, and misinformation.
• Women and Art
• Learning New Pottery Skills – my creative life is shifting a bit – over the past year, it shifted away from drawing and over to pottery. I’m not going to try to force drawing over the next year but follow my pottery practice and where it intersects with drawing and story.