my *FAVORITE* books i read this year!!!

It's time for the most exciting video of the year...The Best Books of 2022!!!!!
Hi friends!
Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!!
The time has finally come to share my favorite books of the year with you!
Although I have many favorite books, I want you to know that YOU are a favorite of this year (and all the years) as well! Thank you for being here, for being so kind, and for all of your support! Sending each of you my very best wishes and...
Happy Holidays!
Carolyn Marie :)
***Check out curated lists of my recent reads and all time favorite books in my Amazon Storefront - www.amazon.com...
I'd love to hear which books fit into these categories from your reading year, so feel free to share that in a comment!
My Best Books of 2022
- Honorable Mentions:
- Noteworthy (old-to-me) author:
- Noteworthy (new-to-me) author:
- The Book that made me laugh the most:
- Favorite short story:
- Favorite re-read:
- Best Non-fiction:
- Best Children's book:
- Best Middle-grade book:
- Best Young Adult book:
- Best Fantasy book:
- Best Classic book:
- Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book:
:)
My Social Media: CarolynMarieReads
***My Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/s...
***My Website/Portfolio - carolyncastagn...
***Art/Book Instagram - / carolynmariereads
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***Business inquiries: [e-mail]
***Want to write to me or send something?
Carolyn Castagna
P. O. Box 773
Greenlawn NY 11740
United States
**Please don't feel like you need to send me anything, but if you'd like to I would be honored!!!** :)
***About me -
I'm a freelance illustrator and writer who recently graduated from college at the Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my love of illustrating, writing, and reading!
Happy Reading :)
#booktube #reading #bestbooks

[@raurvish]

Let me get comfortable because I've waited for this video for months

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Awww 😊📖✨ I hope you enjoy it!

[@toneynot]

Mood

[@robinwhg]

My favorite this year was Crime and Punishment. I was almost scared of Russian literature, thinking it was hard to read, but that wasn't the case at all. It was very easy to read, but the story and the characters were so complex. The pacing was also on point. The only thing that's a downside as a non Russian is remembering the names and all variations of them.

[@toliyeptho3313]

Well said... Remembering the names is such a Chaos

[@PunchlineEverytime]

Crime and Punishment is on my to-read list this year! I've heard so many people say what you did about it being more accessible than you thought it'd be. I really enjoyed The Idiot, so I think I'll like this one, too.

[@cassiopeiathew7406]

I just started reading as a hobby this year and seeing channels like this have been great motivators for continuing to read. I read… -Dracula (Bram Stoker) -The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath) -The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) -The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton) -The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) -Thousand Cranes (Yasunari Kawabata) -Moby-Dick (Herman Melville) -Gorgias (Plato) -Orlando (Virginia Woolf) -Play It As It Lays (Joan Didion) -The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka) -The Turn of The Screw (Henry James) -In The Net (Hawad) -For Bread Alone (Mohamed Choukri) -Crime And Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky) (Honorable Mention to Cane by Jean Toomer which I got halfway through but decided to shelve and finish later) I didn’t read a ton of books but I really love reading and I enjoyed what I did get to. If you got this far Happy Holidays!!

[@Sarah.reads.sometimes]

I read Dracula this year! It along with The Song of Achilles were my 2 favorites. I’m so glad I decided to dive into it because I fell in love with it.

[@ClassicsandChristianity]

I read Dracula this summer and really enjoyed it!!

[@wastwa8043]

Wow, what a great collection of books you've read! I also read two books from your list this year. Dracula (Bram Stoker) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) Dracula is a top book because of its epistolary style and constant action. Portrait of Dorian is wonderful with Lord Henry's statements very hilarious.

[@cito2820]

incredible list. gorgias is great!!!!

[@sophieeliot]

Thank you for posting today, i was having a pretty stressful day. Your videos are always so relaxing

[@CarolynMarieReads]

So sorry to hear you had a stressful day! I hope this video can make it a little brighter! 📖✨

[@MsLadybug1974]

My favorite read of 2022 was "The Count of Monte Cristo". I also read three books by Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day, An Artist of the Floating World, and A Pale View of Hills) I really liked his books especially "The Remains of the Day". I started "War and Peace" last year but am still reading it.

[@geegee6752]

You do really sound/look like someone who would be telling stories to children. Also, can I just say your voice is so calming and your aura is welcoming. Thank you for sharing your list with us!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

This was lovely. So glad you’ve discovered Kawakami. 📚 Happy holidays!

[@zacharyroussie4746]

Before I give my list, I wanna say that channels like this one really mean a lot to me in terms of helping me to expand my taste in lit and be motivated to try and become a better reader Best read of the year for me is gonna be the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer really does deserve his place as being one of the greatest figures in classic lit. Other highlights include: Friedrich Dürrenmatt- The Inspector Barlach Mysteries Mark Twain- Huckleberry Finn Franz Kafka- The Metamorphosis (re-read) Frank Herbert- Dune And non-fiction highlights are Drew Gilpin Faust- Mothers of Invention Jackson Lears- Rebirth of a Nation Robert Elder- Calhoun Max Weber- The Vocational Lectures Albert Camus- The Myth of Sisyphus Eric Hobsbawm- The long nineteenth century trilogy

[@ewelinahernon6556]

My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Shakespeare & Tove Jansson - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Angela Carter - The Book that made me laugh the most: The Pickwick Papers - Favorite short story: A Haunted House and Other Stories by Virginia Woolf (pretty much the entire collection) - Favorite re-read: Macbeth, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre & Harry Potter - Best Non-fiction: The Brontë's: Romantic Passion and Social Justice - Best Children's book: The Moomins Series (especially Moominland Midwinter and Moominvalley in November) - Best Middle-grade book: Anne of Green Gables (Is it Middle-grade?) - Best Young Adult book: The 4th Volume of Heartstopper - Best Fantasy book: A Game of Thrones - Best Classic book: To The Lighthouse and 100 Years of Solitude - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: N/A

[@bobthecat-rh5dy]

One book recommendation from me: Beware Of Pity by Stefan Zweig. This is my book of the year 2022. Rocked me to the core.

[@jamesduggan7200]

Yes, readers constantly are discovering and re-discovering Stefan Zweig.

[@madara5352]

Your videos helped me get out of 2 years long reading slump. Thank you! Here is my list: - Honorable Mentions: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - Noteworthy (old-to-me) authors: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Agatha Christie - Noteworthy (new-to-me) authors: Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Franz Kafka, Taylor Jenkins Reid - Favorite short story: Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker - Favorite re-read: Dracula, Winnie-the-Pooh, Anne of Green Gables, Animal Farm - Best Children's book: Alice in Wonderland - Best Fantasy book: The Hobbit - Best Classic book: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

[@jamesduggan7200]

We have similar taste!

[@gls888]

Best Classic: The Picture of Dorian Gray Best Fantasy: Legends and Lattes Best Literary Fiction: Nightcrawling Best Children/Middle Grade: The Phantom Tollbooth Best Re-read: Notes from Underground Best Short Story: The Veldt

[@klauslispector]

Now that's *taste*

[@peachyb6528]

Andre Acíman writes such beautiful prose - you described his writing perfectly! I’ve been working on reading all of his works since I picked up and loved Call Me By Your Name. Homo Irrealis is on my list for 2023!

[@snowhitepp3339]

Speaking of Wind in the Willows, did you know there are four sequels written by William Horwood? Willows in Winter Toad Triumphant Willows and Beyond Willows at Christmas Usually I don't like when a writer takes over of another writer's legacy, especially if it is such a famous and exquisite book like WitW, but this is an exception that proves the rule. All four books are five star excellent.

[@LeaReads]

My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: Room with a View, All Quiet on the Western Front - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Erich Maria Remarque (read three amazing books by him!) - Best Fantasy book: LOTR - Two Towers (just started Return of the King though!) - Best Classic book: Brother's Karamazov!

[@Al-ho1oo]

I love your videos and reviews, you radiate such a positive and relaxing energy!

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Aw I’m so glad! Thank you 😊

[@Al-ho1oo]

@@CarolynMarieReads you are welcome! Thank you for making these videos

[@01Elvi]

yess to Homo Irrealis!! I also dove into Rohmer's filmography after reading Aciman write so beautifully about it and i'm so glad i did!

[@truwth]

Ishigura is the master of mood. I don't know how he does it. His plots are so minimal, nothing significant ever seems to happen, yet his writing puts me in a place that no other writer does. He's so good.

[@Floridiansince94]

I adored The Tale of Despereaux! I read it as an adult and it truly grabbed me ! She is exceptionally talent

[@hemera.r]

My two favorite books of this year couldn't be more different but they're both so so good, it's "Dune" and "If I had you face", glorious. After that in my top 5 there's also "Humans Acts", "Loveless" and "Beasts of a little land" (I think Alice Oseman was my favorite author of the year, I read so many of her books and I couldn't agree more, Nick and Charlie are such adorable comfort characters... 🌼)

[@ewelinahernon6556]

I cried everytime you mentioned Emma. I always find your friendship extremely moving 😝

[@jamesduggan7200]

Yes, it is inspiring. I especially liked when they had their book club and the five of them could never agree on any novel, except for the ones they all disliked. It seemed like a surprise revelation to them, as it was to me too!

[@laurakuhlmann1626]

Never Let Me Go broke me. I don't usually cry after reading books. This one hit. Hard. My favorite this year was "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" -- highly recommend it

[@verucasalt4535]

My favorites list for 2022 (in no order): 1. The Green Mile by Stephen king 2. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy 3. Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine 4. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent 5. House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (top three, I can't choose) 6. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (top three, I can't choose) 7. Wild Swans by Jung Chang (top three, I can't choose) 8. Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates 9. Childhoods End by Aurthur C. Clarke 10. Gone with the Wind

[@elenavezzulli7789]

My Best Books of 2022 - The Book that made me laugh the most: An uncommon reader - Favorite short story: Our souls at night - Favorite re-read: The little prince - Best Non-fiction: Meditationes - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book:The case Alaska Sanders Thank you for all the love that you express! You are always so smiling! Happy holidays ❤

[@aIparica]

I'm reading Klara and the Sun because of you! I am only a few pages in but I already feel so soft reading it. I also read Nocturnes before that because I was so interested in its theme and cover when you showed it on your Ishiguro vlog. I'm surely gonna read Never Let Me Go! How enthusiastic you are tryin to convince us to read it makes me wanna start reading it right now! Thank you for introducing Kazuo Ishiguro to me, I love you so much. 🫂🫂🫂

[@verucasalt4535]

I read Gone with the Wind in 2022 and it was so good, I highly recommend it. I hadn't seen the movie first so I had no idea what it was about. I watched the movie after and it was gorgeous! I'm so glad you're reading GoT! Clash of Kings is my favorite of the series. I'm waiting for the series to be completed (ha ha) to get a very nice box set of the series. The copies I purchased are used and are almost falling apart.

[@d.6832]

Jane Eyre is the best book I've read in 2022 but it has become my favorite book ever ❤️

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

It's one of my favourites too. I wonder if you've read Vanity Fair and Madame Bovary? Three really fascinating female character studies.

[@d.6832]

@@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293 not yet, but Madame Bovary is on my list. I was not sure about Vanity Fair, should I read it?

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

@@d.6832 Yes, you'll read it quickly as it's such fun and has aged so well it's eerie to see Becky Sharp as an eternal female archetype (these days she'd be a social media influencer or footballer's wife no doubt). Such a wonderful, fun read that's beautifully written with terrific characterisation. Bovary too is a must read. My detailed original reply to you was deleted (not by me) so this is a slap dash but sincere replacement. Happy reading.

[@bad-girlbex3791]

I find the colour palette chosen for the cover of your version of 'Never Let Me Go' to be completely at odds with the story itself. And now that you just showed some stills from the film adaptation, I feel vindicated. It SHOULD be autumnal in hue, not drab - but recalcitrant in its intensity, with only the briefest flecks of scarlet like a scattering of rubies, or natural red garnets. Part of me thinks I might enjoy the film, but it's kind of a one-and-done "big-reveal" that the entire story hinges upon, so it's not going to be as much fun as it might have been had I gone into the film, completely blind. Maybe one day, a good distance in the future. I think perhaps there's probably something to be said for the associations that colours have with emotion/personality/life events etc, depending on the country it's being viewed from. For instance, the colour white is associated with mourning in many South East Asian countries, yet in the west white signifies the purity of innocence, the happiness of birth, christening gowns and wedding dresses. We instead see black as the colour of mourning. I wonder if the colour scheme selected for Ishiguro's works have more in common with an Eastern sentiment and therefore seem somewhat incongruous to the western mind's eye? I'm going to have to think on that one a bit more.

[@theodorapantelich2535]

Always love this video!! Here's my list of favourites for this year: My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: All Quiet On The Western Front (by Remarque), The Haunted Hotel (by Wilkie Collins), The Shooting Party (by Chekhov) - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Fyodor Dostoevsky - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Sergei Dovlatov - The Book that made me laugh the most: Evelina, by Fanny Burney - Favorite short story: The Diary Of A Superfluous Man, by Ivan Turgenev - Favorite re-read: Hercule Poirot's Christmas, by Agatha Christie - Best Non-fiction: Lark Rise, by Flora Thompson - Best Children's book: A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Best Classic book: The Bridge On The Drina, by Ivo Andric - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: The Women In Black, by Madeleine St. John

[@swifty545]

For my favourite book of the year, had 2 back to back 5 star reads back in the Summer....Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir & We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker, so joint top spot to them. Honourable mentions - Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk, Panenka by Rohan Hession & A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson. Never Let Me Go I read last year....an all time favourite for me too 🙌

[@Dann-md9eq]

Project hail mary was awesome

[@94blackbelt]

Carolyn! I'm so glad you enjoyed Steinbeck--my favorite author! Please do read East of Eden and/or The Grapes of Wrath in 2023, but I also strongly suggest two lesser known works; In Dubious Battle, and Once There Was a War. In Dubious Battle was written very early in his career, and it shows. The writing isn't as...smooth, as polished, as his later works, but it works with the novel--it's kind of a precursor to The Grapes of Wrath, following strikers trying to organize laborers. It's probably my favorite of his works. And Once There Was a War is a nonfiction compendium of his war correspondent stories. They run the gamut from funny to sad, inspiring to depressing. Everyone knows Steinbeck for his fiction chops, but he's a very talented nonfiction author as well (honorable mention to Travels with Charley).

[@pheebs9255]

E.B White and Kate DiCamillo are two of my childhood favourites too! (although I have to admit I had no idea White was a man until you mentioned it, for some reason I had also assumed White was a woman, ha.) I have such emotional and precious memories of reading Stuart Little, Charlottes Web, The Tale of Desperaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane with my dad and little sister. such gorgeous books and you've definitely inspired me to re-read them next year. Also read the Bell Jar this year and loved it.

[@martasgreatlibrary]

Carolyn stop looking at the future!!! That concept is a very human thought the Trafalmadorians would not like to see you do that xD Now getting serious, here are my Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: (skipping this prompt because i need to film a video properly discussing my faves) - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Annie Ernaux - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: George Saunders - The Book that made me laugh the most: Four Roses for Lucienne by Roland Topor - Favorite short story: Le Horla by Guy de Maupassant - Favorite re-read: Jane Eyre - Best Non-fiction: Death by Landscape by Elvia Wilk - Best Children's book: haven't read any - Best Middle-grade book: haven't read any - Best Young Adult book: haven't read any - Best Fantasy book: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon (although is more like syfy but-) - Best Classic book: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: Trascendent Kingom by Yaa Ngasi Also, you really make me want to read never let me go !!!!!!

[@jamesduggan7200]

Here's to you, Billy Pilgram!

[@umamamuhammad3238]

Wait, what edition is that of the Virginia Woolf book? It's really pretty

[@tbrooks529]

Noteworthy old to me author: Vonnegut Noteworthy new to me author: Natalie Haynes Favorite re-read: Slaughterhouse-Five Best non-fiction: After the Ice by Mithen Best Middle grade: Bridge to Terabithia Best Contemporary: A Thousand Ships by Haynes is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I highly recommend it.

[@SlnieckoAnna]

Thank you for all the recommendations! My Best Books of 2022 ... (as of today.. it is still not the end) - Honorable Mentions: On the Shoulders of Giants by Umberto Eco (collection of lectures) - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Egon Bondy (No-Story); Fiodor Michailovich Dostojevskij (The Brothers Karamazov) - The Book that made me laugh the most: A Pho Love Story by Loan Le - Favorite short story: Short Stories by Franz Kafka and Fernando Pessoa - Favorite re-read: On the Fence by Kasie West - Best Non-fiction: Touch the Wounds by Tomáš Halík - Best Children's book: Howl`s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - Best Middle-grade book: The Promised Neverland (probably only middle-grade and only manga I have read...) - Best Young Adult book: Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater - Best Fantasy book: Solaris by Stanislaw Lem - Best Classic book: Orlando by Virginia Woolf - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater

[@DRmakeupgirl]

I'll say it again, "You inspire me to read more!" You've really peaked my interest in Never Let Me Go. Did you think the movie was as good as the book or did it justice? I'm still in the process of watching all your past videos. It's causing me to evaluate my reading interests in many ways. You would make the best Literature teacher ever with all your enthusiasm and passion for books. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

[@NhanDo-cs4du]

I've read the book and watched the movie, so my final thought is the film is lovely but no, I don't think it did the book justice.

[@DynamiteTrujillo]

Never Let Me Go was at the very top for me this year. My two very favorites, though, I think were Leech by Hiron Ennes and Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. Both dark and gothic and reflective. But there were so many good ones for me this year! I appreciate your kids recs and can't wait to watch your video dedicated to it. I have a 4 year old who loves books and I want to start reading more novel-like books to her. I've tried The Fantastic Mr. Fox (which she didn't care about and I thought was WAY too dark and grotesque for a 4 yo 😆) We're in the middle of The Little Prince too, but I think it's a bit too high concept for her. She isn't engaged with it at all and I think it's because she's not really getting/following it. But the Truth Pixie sounds promising! And The Wind in the Willows! I'm excited about giving those a shot. xo

[@alanthomas1627]

Your list of categories has solved one of my problems with Best of the Year lists. We live in such a competitive world of winners and losers allowing only one or the other. As I develop my list, using your categories, for 2022, I am sitting back and reveling in the gifts of so many good books I read this year. That alone is a soul-enriching experience. Nothing like re-living and remembering the reading joys of this year. 😂I suspect I will continue to resist naming just one book as my favorite of the year; depends on the category. Saying that, I must contradict myself and mention my best read of 2018: Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.” Listening the the former First Lady was like a visit from her in my living room. I am now listening to her latest “The Light We Carry.” It just may be another book I will make an exception for as best read of the year. Rules are meant to be broken, especially when we can make our own rules.

[@peachyb6528]

I am going ahead and buying a copy of Never Let Me Go, I have no idea what to expect, I only have your RAVE review to go on 😂

[@zoroastrianism-love]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, You introduced me to Fredrick Blackman so grateful to you. Be Blessed My Friend

[@Pursuitsofmybookishheart]

My best books of 2022 -honorable mentions : I'll put Sur le Seuil by Patrick Senecal. In this category because it's definitely my favorite local book of the year Noteworthy (old to me) - Margaret Atwood who rocked my world 3 times this year. Noteworthy (new to me- V E Scwabb and Octavia Butler were both great discoveries for me. I enjoyed their pacing and their writing more than anticipated. Book that made me laugh: All's Well by Mona Awad. She has very dark and dry humor which was really well brought forth by that particular main character. It's not a light book at all however. Favorite short story - Favorite reread - I've been rereading little women with my children, it's phenomenal. But we aren't done yet. Best non fiction: Russ Harris's Happiness Trap. Best children's book : Wind in the Willow. We read it in the camper as a family. It was so whimsical and grounded Best middle grade : honestly, none of them came close to Little Women. She can go in here twice Best young adult : I'll put VE Scwabs Gallant here because our local Library has is stored in the 15-17year old section and I'm guessing that's our YA Best fantasy book - I'm more of a science fiction/ horror gal and I'm coming up empty in Fantasy. Best classic : Mrs Dalloway . No contest I'm still amazed when I think about it. Best Contemporary fiction : another hard category for me apparently but I think Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam would best fit the category. This was a fun exercise Thank you for it

[@jamesduggan7200]

So much there hard to know on what to comment but I"ll go with the Truth Pixie and it's lyrical rhyme. Altho I'm not familiar with it specifically I feel that when adults read children's books for meter and rhyme often they discover how difficult it is to reproduce in mainstream writing. Possibly it's less a phenomenon than simply the reality of brevity versus density, because like the experience of childhood itself the music of the literature is very short and very sweet. Thx Carolyn, I've enjoyed very much being a subscriber to your BookTube channel, and I'm hoping, even expecting continued excellence in the coming year.

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

Excellent list. My favourites this year so far are two I'd buy every woman (and they're to be read in this order): 'How to Build a Girl' and 'How to Become Famous' both by Caitlin Moran. I'm not a member of her socio-political set but I overlook everything as they're both so well written and so laugh out loud funny that I bite my knuckles in envy, in an unbearable pitch of jealousy and appreciation of her incredible character and talent. She's a bonafide savant, born with that rarest of characters, in the most unlikely of homes and was gifted at birth with so many intersecting gifts. Her extraordinary talents are things she's worked hard on and her story telling seems effortless yet intelligent, so you barrel through a book in a couple of afternoon's worth of reading. If the person reading this (and you too Carolyn Marie 😉) hasn't got these two books, PLEASE buy them today. You need to feel smart, less alone, truly inspired, energised and importantly TO LAUGH.

[@ha_limabeanz]

this year was the year where i found out about you and emma and began watching your guys's videos religiously, i'd wake up to watch your videos and they'd make going to school or wherever much more bearable and id look forward to it so much!! so really you guys have been my favourite thing this year. thank you 🤍🤍🤍

[@miyeeh]

I kept reading the Elena Ferrante series, I love the story of My Brilliant Friend and they were some of my favorite books of 2022

[@warrenbertrand290]

My best book of 2022 All the Lovers in the Night - Mieko Kawakami Honorable Mentions Great Expectations - Charles Dickens Catalpa Rescue - Peter Fitzimons

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: -A Room Of One's Own and Towards Zero Noteworthy (old-to-me) author; Kerry Greenwood : - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Ngaio Marsh - The Book that made me laugh the most: Night life of the gods The book that made me cry the most; The Portrait of Molly Dean - Favorite short story: The lonely god - Favorite re-read: The Woman on the Orient Express/ Somewhere in Time - Best Non-fiction: square haunting/ the golden age of murder Best Young Adult book: - The Titan's Curse - Best Fantasy book: Night life of the gods - Best Classic book: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs court - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: magpie murders

[@kurtfox4944]

Carolyn, I think you forgot a Favorites category (maybe two), which should appeal to your career as well as your bookishness: Favorite Book Cover Design [and maybe Most Appropriate Book Cover Design. By way of example, I once saw a book cover design for Wilkie Collins _The Woman in White_ which showed a bride in flower garden, which would be just the opposite - Least Appropriate Book Cover Design. If you read that one, you know what I mean. ]. Maybe you could have favorite Kids, Middle Grade, YA and Adult book cover...or favorite Fiction or Non-fiction.

[@bookshelfofmahi]

finally; I find a Backman lover. oh My GOD, this is the best thing I found this month. 😍😍😍😍😍 I'm extremely happy now 🥰🥰🥰

[@Noa-cc9ur]

I'm leaning towards Heidi. It was just magical! exactly what I needed when I read it.

[@priscilladias8544]

Mauler and Questus by english writer Shawn Williamson. Indicated by historian, writer and cinema director Andrew Sinclair.

Anxious People surprised me with how much I enjoyed it! I had never read anything by Frederik Backman, but after reading this one, I definitely want to check out more of his work.

[@lanna8380]

I love your intelligent videos. I especially love that you mentioned Eric Rohmer's films. It's great that you were a great team with EMMIE. I hope she might enjoy Rohmer's films with you someday.

[@ellajanis8555]

noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Jane Austen noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Octavia E. Butler book that made me laugh: Don Quixote favorite short story: The bookmaking habits of select species by Ken Liu best nonfiction: Africa’s Tarnished Name by Chinua Achebe/ Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi best fantasy: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L Wang best classic: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo/ We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

[@halloweenjax]

I also love the British Kawakami covers better. Anyone know how to go about getting physical versions of British books in the US? (I hope this isn't a ridiculously easy question!) Thanks!

[@senseijutsu]

i love your videos🥰 your energy is so pure and full of light that it makes my day, you are such an inspiration to me! this is my list: My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Oscar Wilde - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Emil Cioran, Charles Baudeliere - Favorite short story: The Tale of the bamboo cutter - Favorite re-read: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - Best Non-fiction: Letters from a warzone by Andrea Dworkin - Best Fantasy book: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson - Best Classic book: The Flowers of Evil by Baudeliere and De Profundis by Oscar Wilde - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers

[@klauslispector]

Great taste! I love Andrea Dworkin.

[@senseijutsu]

@@klauslispector me too💘 i think she is amazing, so impactful and profound

[@vmpapillon8984]

Noteworthy author (new) Murakami Noteworthy author (old): T.A. White Favourotr reread: Sweep of the blade Ilona Andrews Favourite nonfiction: Diese vollkommenen Wunderwerke (Rilke writing about Rodin) Favorite contemporary literary fiction: Dance Dance Dance Favourite book of the year: The god of small things Favorite classic: The little Prince (reread) Honorable mentions: The Essex Serpent, Naive.Super,

[@barbaralemon4170]

I just ordered Anxious People ! Can’t wait to start reading this author! I love your recommendations! You’re a gem.

[@goster4070]

Have fun reading that book! I think I was only a few pages in before I went to my GoodReads account and gave it 5 stars, because I loved the style so much.

[@rossetarwen]

- Honorable Mentions: - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: War Diaries (1939-1945) by Astrid Lindgren - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Ludmilla Petrushevskaya OR Stanislaw Lem - The Book that made me laugh the most: A Christmas Carol audiobook performed by Tim Curry - Favorite short story: N/A :( - Favorite re-read: Plato's 'The Republic' - Best Non-fiction: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston - Best Children's book: The Tomten by Astrid Lindgen - Best Middle-grade book: Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson - Best Young Adult book: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Rden - Best Science Fiction book (instead of fantasy): The Doomed City by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky - Best Classic book: Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth; her stories and hymsns from Sumer (Wolkstein & Kramer Translation) - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: The Ocean at the end of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Best Book of 2022: The Doomed City by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky

[@ravenliseofcelador]

Hey Carolyn! This comment is a bit late in the new year, but I wanted to share how lovely my reading year was in 2022. I got heavy into Neil Gaiman. I read American Gods, Good Omens, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. As each one of these stories are so complex and surreal and mythical in their own universes, The Ocean at the End of the Lane shattered me. Such a gorgeous story that just brought me to anger and tears and some sweet chuckles. Man. So rough and it brought me back to a place in my childhood when I would walk in the woods near my home and climb over hills and under fences to get to that little quiet fantasy world where I picked flowers to press in my sketchbook. Omg. It was so touching. Have you read those three from Gaiman? I would love to know your adventures with his writings. You seem to really enjoy his stories. Hope 2023 continues to motivate you with your reading and drawings! Happy (belated) new year. 💙❤💜

[@beck1365]

Just downloaded some of your favorites onto my kindle! I recommend you give Tom Robbins a try. His novels are a wild ride!

[@mishelly]

Ok I was going to do a simple best of 2022- but I may use your prompts! Your a favorite creator of the year I watch! Thank you for your existence! 🤣

[@marianna.with.an.a]

Merry Christmas!❤🎄🕯📖

[@janebaily3758]

The Bell Jar is semi autobiographical by Plath and the mental health realities of the 1950s.

[@marianaharrison6307]

My favourite re-read of 2022: Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights My favourite children's book of 2022: The Secret Garden My favourite classic book of 2022 (which was also my best reading and the book that made me laugh and cry the most): David Copperfield ❤️

[@shasoreads]

My favorite fiction this year was East of Eden. I think John Steinbeck never disappoints.

[@CandaceDesignedStore]

Either your camera needs to go up, or your nose (eye level) needs to go down. Looking up your nose is very unbecoming. ;)

[@maciedixon3983]

I wish I liked Frederick backman. I know he’s so popular.

[@hannahautry468]

did they have the Van Goh thing all around the US or do you also live in NOLA?!

[@jamesduggan7200]

Of course I missed it, however I can say with some certainty that it did in fact travel the continent. IIRC Emmie and Carolyn visited it when it was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

[@Jyasmmen]

I wonder if you have read In The Country of Men by Hisham Matar. Would love to hear what you think of it.

[@claudiacoy5518]

Have you read Mothering Sunday? I think you would love it.

[@raqperalta]

are ur book tastes the not so familiar books? cuz I don't see anything I recognize.

[@bdwon]

_Anxious People_ was made into a Swedish TV series on Netflix

[@Raisedbywolves1520]

Watching this while I am very sick and can't sleep and you give me calm vibes even if I feel so bad

[@justinmiller93]

Ever since you first mentioned Ishiguro I've had either Never Let me Go or The Remains of the Day on my list to read. I'm very much a mood reader and just haven't quite been in a mood for it yet and want to give it my best attention. Thanks for the recommendations 🙏

[@boranyachoudhury7033]

When I saw that Never Let Me Go is your favourite book of 2022, I literally screamed. I read the book back in 2021 and watched the movie adaptation but to be honest at first I wasn't expecting I would love this book so much as I do now. My feelings regarding the book as well as the movie was same as yours. I cried buckets at the end and it is one of all time favourite lists😭😭

[@bethanylaurenreads]

I’m so excited to watch! Also, I love your blouse, it’s so pretty!

[@knpxh]

Off topic but I love your top! Where is it from~ great video :)

[@andrewlink2327]

I totally agree about Backman: I love the humour too and he makes me laugh. One of my favourite authors that I have discovered this year. I can also relate to feeling like a outcast: I have always felt like I don’t fit in. Enjoy Christmas and thanks so much for your wonderful content.

[@suzannebousquet2710]

Your channel is a highlight!! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅📚

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Best notification ever.

[@CarolynMarieReads]

🥰

[@Bridget-oi8gd]

Hearing you read the children's poetry made me wonder if you had read roald dahls children's poetry? If not highly recommended they are amazing

[@Bridget-oi8gd]

Anyway best book of the year is snow by orhan pamuk

[@jamesduggan7200]

@@Bridget-oi8gd Emmie reviewed that earlier this year tho tbh I was more moved by Pamuk suggestion on Eric Anderson's channel, largely because the novel's subject was an outbreak of plague. I've read two other plague stories, Lewis' Arrowsmith and Camus' The Plague. I can't quite recall if Camus received a Nobel, as Pamuk and Lewis have, but I'd like to compare the three, so thx, Bridget, Eric and Emmie : )

[@Bridget-oi8gd]

@@jamesduggan7200 hi James- am unsure if pamuk has written other books about the outbreak of plagues but the book I said, snow by orhan pamuk is not about the outbreak of a plague but about religious extremism.

[@jamesduggan7200]

@@Bridget-oi8gd Thx, tbh I didn't know much about Snow, and I'm sorry if I don't know the title of the other book. As I wrote earlier, I saw a review of it on Eric's channel. Happy New Year.

[@tracygregory8448]

Have you read the old man and the sea by Hemingway?

[@Zoe-pu3pi]

Ahhhh I’ve been waiting for this one

[@CarolynMarieReads]

I hope you enjoy it!!!

[@SaraMakesArt]

I read Never Let Me Go, and it's stuck with me. It's so nice to hear you recommend it, Carolyn. I feel like it would make a great Book Club discussion.

[@hannahyalea]

I first read Never Let Me Go back in high school one summer on a whim, and it has always stuck with me ever since. I believe I was 17 then, and I'm 25 now. One of my favorite books of all time.

[@Kittle425]

- Honorable Mentions: Thistlefoot; Garlic & the Vampire; The Island of Missing Trees - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Backman or Tolkien - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Alice Oseman - The Book that made me laugh the most: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - Favorite short story: A Dead Djinn in Cairo - Favorite re-read: House of Hollow - Best Non-fiction: The Anthropocene Reviewed or Hood Feminism - Best Children's book: The Great Mouse Detective - Best Middle-grade book: The War That Saved My Life or Skunk and Badger - Best Young Adult book: Heartstopper or Yolk - Best Fantasy book: A Marvellous Light - Best Classic book: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow or If I Had Your Face

[@benreadsgood]

Never Let Me Go is *so* good! Ishiguro is just genius.

[@Khan_2025]

omg, never let me go is great, but I can not enjoy it.

[@ymiladi100]

I love you carolyn❤️ thank you for your existence

[@doowopshopgal]

Crime and punishment was my best book of the year. Out of 5 I gave it a 6

[@jamesduggan7200]

idk about a 6! - it's a really great novel, and so thought-provoking too, but I think that there are some problems with it. Primarily, I feel a more modern author would have his MC, Raskolnikov, put up more of a fight once the author, Dostoevsky, puts into his head the idea to kill the old money-lender. Even the Ancient Greeks knew that good characters resist their fate even tho it is unavoidable. Another problematic aspect of C&P is the choice for victim bc FD seems to imply that this old woman, this pawn-broker, this loan shark, serves no real purpose in society, which I feel is a careless opinion. However, in toto I agree, and it has long been one of my favorites too.

[@klauslispector]

@jamesduggan7200 Have you, by chance, read Dostojewskij's "Demons"? I feel similarly to you about C&P.

[@jamesduggan7200]

@@klauslispector No, I'm afraid C&P is the only FD I've ever read, tho I have reread it a few times. I really can't say why I've never looked at any others by him, but I have a sneaking suspicion it goes back to some intro I read during my teen years describing him as a Western writer (altho at the time I thought it meant like Zane Gray).

[@Sarah.reads.sometimes]

I have so many of these books/authors on my 2023 TBR 😄 I literally have Beartown & Mu Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry out from the library right now. I just haven’t been able to pick them up because I know they’re going to be really emotional 😅. I think you may have also convinced my to pick up Never Let Me Go this year as well. I’ve never read Ishiguro & am a little intimidated but also excited to read him. Speaking of being intimidated to read something, my two favorite books of the year were ones I’ve been intimidated to pick up but ended up LOVING- The Song of Achilles & Dracula (both for very different reasons lol). I loved loved loved them & Dracula is making me want to pick up more classics in the new year, and luckily I have a few very good sources for classics recommendations 😉😝😆

[@SabineThinkerbellum]

omg Eric Rohmer 😍 I can’t tell how often I’ve watched L’ami de mon amie (Boyfriends and Girlfriends) from his Comedies and Proverbs series. It’s mesmerizing. A movie without a soundtrack. The color code of the clothes. The plot and the dialogues. So wonderful. Thank you for hinting me at Andre Aciman’s essay collection. I need to read what he says about Rohmer !

[@em1l144]

when u said "welcome to the most exciting video of the year" I was like hun every video u make is the most exciting video of the year 🧚‍🦦

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Stop this is the sweetest 🥰 thank you!! ❤️

[@AlexAnn210]

My Best Books of 2022 - Honorable Mentions: The dangers of Smoking in bed (Mariana Enriquez) The Institute (Stephen King) - Noteworthy (old-to-me) author: Lili Boisvert (feminist author from Quebec who wrote Match and Anan) - Noteworthy (new-to-me) author: Brené Brown - Best Non-fiction: The body keeps the score (Bessel van der Kolk) - Best Middle-grade book: The invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick) - Best Young Adult book: Between shades of grey (Ruta Sepetys) - Best Fantasy book: Legends and Lattes (Travis Baldree) - Best Classic book: Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) - Best Contemporary/Literary Fiction book: The beekeeper of Aleppo (Christy Lefteri) I found Never let me go and Klara and the sun in a used bookstore so I can't wait to read them in 2023!

[@alljoy6541]

Such a beautiful book collection. I will definitely get some of them. Happy reading. I also love reading children's books, I think I appreciate it more now as an adult, especially the illustrations, I got The tale of Peter the rabbit, Beatrix Potter, ja , wow Big love to you.

[@michellemp1626]

My favorite book of 2022- The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams 💗💗💗💗💗

[@newtocamelot]

“A required read for existence.” Perfect way to describe Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. 👌🏼 Stoic philosophy has gotten me through tough times.

[@thepagesofsamantha]

if you love anthropomorphic animal characters (as do I) you should check out Shady Hollow!! It's a cozy mystery but with animals and it's so wonderful! it's a trilogy, I have all three, but I've only read the first one. I hope to read the rest next year 💗

[@shayeharris4036]

Favorite that made you cry?