Reading Wrap Up | Books I Read in Q4 2022
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely ending to 2022 and beginning to 2023!
I did my absolute best to complete my 2022 reading challenge goal of 24 books. Which I did complete! (Kinda…) Ok, so technically I finished my last book on January 1st, but there was only one dang chapter I had left to read, so I’m totally counting it for 2022! 🙂
I’ve decided to keep the same reading goal for 2023 – 24 books. I’m hoping to meet (& maybe even exceed) my goal this year! *crossing fingers*
But, let’s wrap up the 2022 year with the final books I read in Q4 and my top favorites from the entire year!
Q4 2022 Total Books: 7
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Synopsis from Amazon:
What does it mean to be “real” today? In a world where “truth” is a relative concept, is it possible to live an honorable life? Where half-truths and relentless spin are the rule, is honesty really the best policy? Yes, says Harriette Cole, and in Choosing Truth, she shows us why. The bestselling author of How to Be delivers an inspiring, one-of-a-kind prescription for revitalizing your daily routine, overcoming the habit of self-delusion, and living an authentic life. Choosing Truth is not simply about being honest with the people in your personal and professional life; it’s about being true to yourself. Writing with extraordinary candor about her own life quest, Cole invites you to take an eye-opening, introspective journey. Addressing every facet of life in which truth is essential — from cultivating an active spiritual life, to finding healthy, fulfilling relationships, to facing your deepest fears and listening to (and heeding) your inner voice — Cole maps a clear path toward personal transformation. Drawing on compelling and fascinating anecdotes about the challenges, setbacks, and triumphs that have marked her own life and the lives of others, she shows you how to translate good intentions into right action and what you risk if you do not. Cole believes that self-inquiry in the form of journaling is an important key to unlocking the treasures of wisdom and clarity that lie within you. Each chapter ends with a revealing glimpse of Cole’s own journal and a series of instructions and questions to guide you to a deeper understanding of your Self. Choosing Truth is an essential tool in the pursuit of a meaningful and honorable life, one lived artfully and with compassion toward ourselves and others.
MY THOUGHTS:
Choosing Truth was a good personal development read. I enjoyed that there were journaling prompts at the end of each chapter. This was published in 2003, so there were a few things mentioned that were outdated. It was heavily based around God and spirituality, but the points made for “choosing truth” were still relevant no matter your religious beliefs.
Synopsis from Amazon:
It’s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1 percent but she can’t seem to find her own. . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.
Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream—all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
MY THOUGHTS:
Politics. Feminism. A family torn apart. The book felt a little too long. But, I did catch myself in my feels at moments. Feeling the anger that the characters were feeling. It discussed important topics of people of color and the struggles of Puerto Ricans. The Acevedo siblings went through a lot in their lives. Especially with a mother who abandoned them and occasionally wrote letters to point out when her grown adult children were making mistakes in their lives. But, of course, it all worked out in the end.
Synopsis from Amazon:
Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. It was right after the election of 2016, the day she realized the story she’d tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she wrote her immigration lawyer’s phone number on her hand in Sharpie and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants—and to find the hidden key to her own.
Looking beyond the flashpoints of the border or the activism of the DREAMers, Cornejo Villavicencio explores the lives of the undocumented—and the mysteries of her own life. She finds the singular, effervescent characters across the nation often reduced in the media to political pawns or nameless laborers. The stories she tells are not deferential or naively inspirational but show the love, magic, heartbreak, insanity, and vulgarity that infuse the day-to-day lives of her subjects.
In New York, we meet the undocumented workers who were recruited into the federally funded Ground Zero cleanup after 9/11. In Miami, we enter the ubiquitous botanicas, which offer medicinal herbs and potions to those whose status blocks them from any other healthcare options. In Flint, Michigan, we learn of demands for state ID in order to receive life-saving clean water. In Connecticut, Cornejo Villavicencio, childless by choice, finds family in two teenage girls whose father is in sanctuary. And through it all we see the author grappling with the biggest questions of love, duty, family, and survival.
In her incandescent, relentlessly probing voice, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio combines sensitive reporting and powerful personal narratives to bring to light remarkable stories of resilience, madness, and death. Through these stories we come to understand what it truly means to be a stray. An expendable. A hero. An American.
MY THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed reading the personal stories and different perspectives of the undocumented living in America. Stories that you don’t hear about in the media. About their American born children. How terrifying it can be to live “illegally” in a country that doesn’t accept you. How physically draining it is to live as an undocumented immigrant while just wanting a better life for you and your family.
Synopsis from Amazon:
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).
MY THOUGHTS:
I had forgotten that I preordered this book, so it was definitely a nice surprise when it came in the mail. The sequel to It Ends With Us that we’ve all been waiting for! It picked up exactly where the first book left off. Even though the book switched between Lily’s & Atlas’ perspectives, it covered more of Atlas’ life and what he was going through. Ryle, of course, made his appearance to add to the drama. I enjoyed the first book more. But, of course, I needed to see how the story continued for Lily & Atlas.
Synopsis from Amazon:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
MY THOUGHTS:
Romance plus time travel. It had me hooked! The time travel felt a little random and like there was something missing at the end to wrap it all up. But, it definitely made the story more interesting – plus a bit of a love triangle. I loved all the characters and how they played a part in Mae’s time traveling love journey.
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. & Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
Genre: Parenting, Self-Help
Synopsis from Amazon:
In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children. The authors explain—and make accessible—the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids throw tantrums, fight, or sulk in silence. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth.
Complete with age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.
MY THOUGHTS:
Parents and caregivers, please read this book! It’s the science behind why our kids do what they do (or don’t do) and ways we as parents can help them during their development. I love that they gave plenty of examples and scenarios of how to promote healthy brain development. I have been doing my best to incorporate these methods in my everyday interactions with my son.
Synopsis from Amazon:
Minnie Cooper knows two things with certainty: that her New Year’s birthday is unlucky, and that it’s all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she’s never met. Their mothers gave birth to them at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year’s Day, but Quinn was given the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990–and the name Minnie was meant to have, as well. With luck like that, it’s no wonder each of her birthdays has been more of a disaster than the one before.
When Minnie unexpectedly runs into Quinn at a New Year’s party on their mutual thirtieth birthday, she sees only more evidence that fortune has continued to favor him. The gorgeous, charming business owner truly seems to have it all–while Minnie’s on the brink of losing her pie-making company and her home. But if Quinn and Minnie are from different worlds, why do they keep bumping into each other? And why is it that each fraught encounter leaves them both wanting more?
A moving, joyful love story, This Time Next Year explores the way fate leads us to the people we least expect–no matter what the odds.
MY THOUGHTS:
This was a cute book. It made it little more fun that I finished reading this on New Years, when a majority of this book takes place. Two people from very different worlds who fall in love with each other. I also enjoyed that this was not only about love in a romantic relationship, but also about love between friends and family and Minnie, herself.
2022 Wrap Up
I read 24 books in 2022. I have learned a lot from some amazing authors. I have stayed up late getting lost in the love stories and trying to solve mysteries.
But, which were my favorites? The way I typically read is by starting my days off with a non-fiction book during my morning routine and ending my days with a fiction book before bed (when I make the time). So, I decided to pick my top favorite from each category.
My Top Favorite Books I Read in 2022 Are...
by Alice Feeney
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. & Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
Thank you for joining me on my 2022 reading journey! Look out for my 2023 posts!
Let me know what you’ve been reading. What were your favorites that you read in 2022?
If you missed my other quarterly book posts, check them out here:
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