The Best Books of 2022 (according to the Guardian)

I look over The Guardian's top fiction books of the year which includes a good mixture of famous and lesser known books. Click ‘Show More’ for info & links.
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More about my newly published “50 Books” series: • 50 Books to Read...
Books discussed & purchase links:
To Paradise - Hanya Yanagihara
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The Passenger - Cormac McCarthy
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Stella Maris - Cormac McCarthy
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Lessons - Ian McEwan
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Bournville - Jonathan Coe
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Companion Piece - Ali Smith
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The Candy House - Jennifer Egan
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The Trees - Percival Everett
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Glory - NoViolet Bulawayo
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After Sappho - Selby Wynn Schwartz
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Trespasses - Louise Kennedy
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The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka
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The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell
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Shrines of Gaiety - Kate Atkinson
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The Exhibitionist - Charlotte Mendelson
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I'm Sorry You Feel That Way - Rebecca Wait
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Very Cold People - Sarah Manguso
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A Hunger - Ross Raisin
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The Furrows - Namwali Serpell
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Young Mungo - Douglas Stuart
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Amy & Lan - Sadie Jones
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An Olive Grove in Ends - Moses McKenzie
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The Whale Tattoo - Jon Ransom
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I'm a Fan - Sheena Patel
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When I Sing, Mountains Dance - Irene Sola
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Vladimir - Julia May Jones
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Send Nudes - Saba Sams
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Reward System - Jem Calder
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We Move - Gurnaik Johal
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Liberation Day - George Saunders
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Yoga - Emmanuel Carrere
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The Book of Goose - Yiyun Li
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Marigold and Rose - Louise Gluck
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Acting Class - Nick Drnaso
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My reviews of some of these books:
To Paradise - Hanya Yanagihara
• To Paradise by Hanya Y...
Companion Piece - Ali Smith
• Companion piece by Ali...
The Trees - Percival Everett
lonesomereader.com/blog/2022/...
Glory - NoViolet Bulawayo
• Glory by NoViolet Bula...
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka
• The Seven Moons of Maa...
Young Mungo - Douglas Stuart
• Reviewing a review of ...
Acting Class - Nick Drnaso
lonesomereader.com/blog/2022/...
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[@radiantchristina]

Domestic goddess and great books...winning combo 😁

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊📚

[@kimswhims8435]

I love the way you talk about these lists Eric, your approach is very kind to the authors but truthful about their work. I'm always on the look out for a great graphic novel, Nick Drnaso also wrote Sabrina, the first graphic novel to be nominated for the booker prize longlist. I'll be interested to read that new one of his.

[@cindyhaiken5644]

I really like this list. Some of my favorites are on it. I am planning to read The Furrows this weekend for the same reason you mention-it’s just shown up on too many lists to ignore. So glad you loved Trespasses!

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’ve only read 5 on this list. Companion Piece Young Mungo The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida The Trees Tresspasses Should we as readers be able to travel to an alternative universe? A place where we have extra years to read all our unread books? 🍀👋☘️📕📚📖☕️

[@clairethackray82]

Thank you for this! Added a few to my list of books for 2023

[@smilagan7816]

Would love to hear your thoughts on the new Saunders when you get to it! "Bardo" was one of my favorite books that I read this year, and I also adored his love letter to the short story form "A Swim in a Pond in the Rain". However, I have serious THOUGHTS and FEELINGS about "Liberation Day" hahaha

[@RunwrightReads]

I love these list videos, Eric. I also got a copy of Very Cold People and haven’t read it yet. I think this is the first list I’ve seen this book mentioned in but good reminder to pick it up

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks! 😊📚 definitely good to get reminders.

[@nelsonkaiowa4347]

Lovely to see some titbits from your personal life. As for baking, I can bake a cake, that is about it. If you like books that have cooking in it, I recommand The cook of Castamar, as soon as it is translated. The cooking is so beautifully described it makes your mouth water! As for the books you mention, haven´t read any of them and only Young Mungo is a books that I will try to get my hands on, I think.

[@diosretes5778]

I just wanted to drop a quick thank you, I stumbled upon this video on New Year’s Eve, your energy was such a good setting for the occasion:)

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks for watching and Happy New Year! 😊📚

[@karakask5488]

The Snakes by Sadie Jones was my favorite book that I read last year, but haven't gotten to Amy and Lan yet. So many of these sound really good and I want to get to them, eventually.

[@TheEmzies]

Some good titles on this list. My lowlights were Glory and After Sappho - for me they were both books with writing styles or structures that distracted from the plot. Highlight was definitely The Trees - I feel annoyed that I've only just learned of Percival Everett.

[@nicksg3002]

Excellent and so grateful for your time and kindness. You opened my appetite too 😂 Looking forward next video and Happy New Year🎉

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That’s great to hear. Happy New Year!

[@heathersneddon8866]

Yes I saw this list and like you they mentioned quite a few I hadn't heard of so yes need to get reading. Got the Kate Atkinson book from the library and is the next read after Emily St John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility which is excellent

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’m glad you’ve had such a positive response to that book by Mandel. I need to get to it.

[@rafd3593]

Thank you, Eric, for your reviews and recommendations this. I look forward to reading The Colony and Demon Copperhead in the coming year. The Week magazine publishes it own list of the eight most critically acclaimed books of the year (fiction and non-fiction). Demon Copperhead features. The others, which might be of interest, are Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell, Lessons by Ian McEwan, The Trees by Percival Everett (which I bought today) Faith Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan, One Party after Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage by Michael Crick, The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson, and Magnificent Rebels by Andrea Wulf. Happy reading everyone, in 2023.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great! 😊📚 Happy holidays and happy reading!

[@rafd3593]

@@EricKarlAnderson Likewise 👍

[@annakap97]

fwiw, I read the candy house without reading a visit from the goon squad and had no trouble understanding anything! i'm sure some references went over my head but I still really really loved it

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That's good to know! Thank you

[@janethansen9612]

I have read ten of these, most of which I enjoyed but I do agree with you about The Exhibitionist. Some others I have heard of. The Book of Goose in particular seems to be everywhere. But others I have not heard of at all. I do love a good end of year list for that reason.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Glad you agree with me. I do hope to find time to read The Book of Goose.

[@Paromita_M]

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. To Paradise was really interesting but also felt a bit disjointed to me. Great video!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks! Glad you agree!

[@mera3979]

Enjoy knowing the Guardian list, even more knowing your review. Thank you.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊📚

[@meenuiyer7011]

Hello Mr. Eric. I just wanted to know if you've read Orhan Pamuk's latest, 'Nights of Plague' yet? I hear it's superb!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I have and it's fantastic! I posted about it here: lonesomereader.com/blog/2022/12/5/nights-of-plague-by-orhan-pamuk-translated-by-ekin-oklap

[@meenuiyer7011]

@@EricKarlAnderson Oh gosh! I've missed watching your review. I plan to read that book next. Thank you for sharing the link. I rely heavily on your videos and opinions on books and love watching your videos. Keep going. Happy reading, Mr. Eric.

[@nancygreen6618]

Why does no one talk about Horse by Geraldine Brooks? I loved it! My book club loved it & nobody mentions it 🥺

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’ve seen a few reviews of it and have been meaning to read it.

[@user-zo4ig4xx5n]

Have you ever come across sing, unburried, sing by Jesmyn Ward? It also focuses on lynching and is a profoundly moving book.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, I thought Ward's novel was a really interesting and moving in some parts but I didn't wholly love it. I posted more about it here: lonesomereader.com/blog/2017/12/22/sing-unburied-sing-by-jesmyn-ward

[@thetheatrezoo3603]

I would really be interested to hear your thoughts on the McCarthy books. I just finished Stella Maris last week. It is seven chapters which are each a session between Alicia and Dr. Cohen. It's got some pretty heady topics, but it is very tragic knowing that the last session is a week before Alicia is found dead in the woods. What McCarthy did with the timeline is interesting because The Passenger opens with a hunter finding Alicia and then he goes into Bobby's current story, referencing his past as a race car driver and mathematician. Stella Maris opens with Alicia checking herself into the hospital after leaving Bobby in a coma following a crash in a European hospital, believing he is going to die.

[@spexi513]

😂 domestic baking goddess 😂 (or whatever you said) 💚

[@aneweliseonlife]

We all know you are a domestic goddess ❤

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😄💕

[@CharlieBrookReads]

Send Nudes sounds interesting. Eyeroll for The Exhibitionist, just not a me book AT ALL 😝 Another fab list, thank you for sharing as always 📚❤️