the best books of 2022

[@dalbitel]

top 7 most painful books of 2022*

[@shawnmccomb]

PSA: Ivan is actually the Russian spelling of Vladimir, I did that on purpose. A lot of y’all wouldn’t know that because you aren’t worldly and international like me, so I thought I should enlighten you before you come for me. It was on purpose. I wrote that on purpose. I am the globalist Alex Jones fears. 1776 !!!

[@eli-pi5mz]

HELP… it kind of isn’t … vladimir is vova and ivan is vanya. still love you though 🤞

[@smallcapy]

ofc king!!!

[@linkaibookerland]

@@eli-pi5mz he was joking 😂

[@WestTexasGothic]

TLC is one of those things that humanity is going to look back on in 50 years and say “that was so messed up. Why did that exist?”

[@shawnmccomb]

oh it will be in history books…. right next to January 6

[@willitskovich8304]

@@shawnmccomb and ur yt channel

[@shawnmccomb]

@@willitskovich8304 i can only hope 🥹

[@ivana01236]

we need a tlc kids support group

[@shawnmccomb]

yuppp

[@emilysarchive42]

7:06 the quote you might be thinking of is the quote “there’s no such thing as an anti war film” attributed to François Truffaut. It’s about how any movie made about war will inevitably glorify it

[@applepie-sq8mm]

I was looking for this comment

[@SallyThames]

ur bookclub is so exclusive 😔 congrats to lime green tape clock for securing the coveted spot

[@SallyThames]

literally was wondering why u didn’t reenact the baskin robbins scene and then u delivered

[@ghostlyreads666]

i love how many of these just have a Big Letter on the cover

[@womananimalartist5676]

can someone start a petition for shawn mckenna to make a bookshelf react bc i keep reacting to my own bookshelf in my own room and it is so slay ngl

[@caefer24]

OMG IM SIGNING THAT PETITION

[@shawnmccomb]

Sunday……..

[@rhifri4398]

My top 7 books this year are - 1. East of Eden 2. Shuggie Bain 3. A gentleman in Moscow 4. All the light we cannot see 5. My year of rest and relaxation 6. Play it as it lays 7. The Nightingale

[@SallyThames]

the fact that you watched honey boo boo as a kid…everything makes sense

[@SallyThames]

(i did too and i once met her at a candy shop in NYC and it was fully the most star struck i’ve ever been)

[@shawnmccomb]

@@SallyThames that's insane, she literally follows me on instagram for the funniest reason ever

[@SallyThames]

@@shawnmccomb I NEED TO KNOW THE REASON

[@holdeck]

my favorite of the year was the goldfinch, no plot just immaculate vibes. you gotta read it!!

[@coleo1356]

Thank you for keeping us relevant. Respectfully, Abby’s Lawyer J.D.

[@serafiiiine]

Since you enjoyed Lolita so much, I'd be interested to see what you think of My Dark Vanessa. It's explicitly inspired by his writing, but from a modern point of view. One of the best and most messed-up books I read last year.

[@shawnmccomb]

I’ve read it and think it’s great!!

[@bobbyk3959]

A video from The Book Leo and Shawn within the same HOUR…we have truly been blessed 🙌

[@leigha3083]

unrelated but, you have convinced me to read The Secret History and boy oh boy I LOVE

[@shawnmccomb]

😁😁😁

[@arimcphail4124]

Have you ever read If We Were Villains? I have read that and loved it, I hear it has similarities to the secret history but I am yet to read that one

[@lauraanne7108]

​@@arimcphail4124 I liked the secret history more than If We Were Villains but they are extremely similar with the narrators themselves being similar. I think the reason I didn't like If We Were Villains as much was just because of how soon I read it after The Secret History, like I needed more of a pallet cleanser to effectively separate the stories.

[@sarahwilliams103]

the way you sellotaped the logo onto your shirt has me crying

[@blue---monday]

the best 6 fiction i read this year in order: 1. crossroads by jonathan franzen 2. the ice palace by tarjei vesaas 3. less than zero by bret easton ellis 4. the virgin suicides by jeffrey eugenides 5. anna karenina by tolstoy 6. pachinko by min jin lee 😁

[@samanthaleaf]

hey, is the virgin suicides really hard to read and/or heavy? i am tempted to read it but not sure :)

[@blue---monday]

@@samanthaleaf hey! it might be different for everyone, but for me, the way that the writing can be 'cruel' is because of the male objectification lens that narrates the story. the narrator is unreliable because everything about the girls are romanticized to the point of seeing them as not human beings anymore, as opposed to some kind of divine angels being put on a pedestal. other than that i didnt find it too disturbing (in terms of sexual/physical violence for example)! if anything it's just really sad

[@samanthaleaf]

@@blue---monday good to know, thanks so much!

[@dilaraguney]

this is exactly why i love your channel. you get more chaotic by each video

[@lavendergore]

no but honestly why was i, a literal child, watching intervention

[@wayne9_9]

Shawn being as iconic and reasonable as Holly 😌✨

[@kylaraymone4019]

Ya know I think you and Jack Edwards are officially my favorite booktubers

[@maDDie-mb4nl]

Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien Carrie Soto Is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid

[@lindylouwho550]

My 7 Fav books in 2022: 1. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute 2. A Gentleman in Moscow - A. Towles 3. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer 4. A Month in the Country - J.L. Carr 5. The Shadow of the Wind - C. R. Zafón 6. The Leopard - di Lampedusa 7(a) The Yellow Wallpaper - C. P. Gilman (b) Brokeback Mountain - Annie Proulx (c) Ms Ice Sandwich - Mieko Kawakami No. 7 are short stories! Have you read any of these? 🤔

[@rhifri4398]

I picked up A Gentleman in Moscow without knowing anything about it and my goodness!! It was so lovely and wholesome and I loved it so much

[@meghanpfeiffer]

"Of course every war movie, good or bad, is an anti-war movie." - Steven Spielberg Not what you said, but could be what you were thinking of.

[@hannah5627]

My favorite book this years was Zoo Station: the story of Christiane F, it’s about drug use in the 70s in Berlin and the story is told from personal experience by a then 14 year old girl. Honestly this book changed my view on life and it also has an unreliable narrator bc she’s on drugs (heroin) most of the time. Would highly recommend

[@SaikolaM]

That book (and the original movie) used to be everywhere when I was a teen. Love to see it have a comeback

[@aurileskinen9979]

this is seriously the first time someone other than a family member of mine has talked about this book somewhere where I've seen it lol. but that's like one of my all time favourite books. i read it for the first time when i was fourteen, i think, after my mum recommeded it to me, and haven't been able to forget about it since. and same with me, it really changed how i view everything. it seems dull to even call it a great book, but it really is in the most genuine sense. i wish more people knew about it.

[@magicalratfairy]

my mother read this book back in the 90s and gave it to me to read recently, literally cannot describe the emotions of the book or of me reading it

[@dean1111]

Omg I just realised that you're talking about die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, I read the book in german and I completely agree with you, it's so good

[@torodka]

I remember reading it as a teen in the 90s in Polish, glad it's finally been translated from German into English

[@mckenziekate]

I just found your channel and I love your vibe/energy. You are equally very funny and very intelligent haha and not pretentious at all, I love it. I have never heard of “S” you made me curious to pick it up!

[@pewdiepat]

im so happy i chanced upon this channel bc shawn sounds exactly like my inner monologue dashed with a bit of mike's mic

[@greentea2638]

my fav youtuber ( slaying as always)

[@amandacaroline6332]

My favorite book of 2022 was Phantom of the Opera. It's even better than the play. Erik is so much more than a scorned lover in the book. I think about this book so much. I wish it got the hype it deserves.

[@shawnmccomb]

waitttt i have it on my shelf rn

[@amandacaroline6332]

@@shawnmccomb read it!! I'll be expecting a video 🤣

[@valfem]

I have such a good time watching your videos 😭 the editing

[@miamatic04]

love your videos ur literally one of my fav booktubers keep slaying my top 7 books would be: 1. 4.48 psychosis - sarah kane 2. everyone in this room will someday be dead - emily austin 3. convenience store woman - sayaka murata 4. bunny - mona awad 5. to be taught, if fortunate - becky chambers 6. the seven necessary sins for women and girls - mona eltahawy 7. 10 minutes and 38 seconds in this strange world - elif shafak

[@casachica]

You and i have very similar tastes! Put 4.48 psychosis on my tbr after seeing this. Thanks, and do lemme know your all time faves if you wish!

[@marcaal3936]

the scene at the end I AM SCREAMING KDHDJDDK

[@strangementalitypaperYT]

I love Dance Moms. I was a little kid when it was playing, but now I'm a teacher. Bruh... the way I talk to some of my students. I love them, but you can tell Abby Lee was a major part of my formative years.

[@Szeth_]

I read The Glass Castle in 2022 too and absolutely loved it. I watched the movie as well and ended up bawling my eyes out. My favorite reads in 2022: 1) Alamut - Vladimir Bartol (it’s historical fiction “retelling” based on people/events irl. If you’re interested in reading about the world’s first group of assassins, then this book is for you.) 2) Senlin Ascends - Josiah Bancroft 3) The Dragon Republic - R. F. Kuang 4) Eileen - Ottessa Moshfegh 5) The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake 6) The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas 7) Fear and Trembling - Søren Kierkegaard I have a bunch of other books that made it to top favorite reads (depending on genre) but these are exceptional yet in no particular order.

[@morgannerose]

every time you upload it literally makes my day

[@macyb7239]

i found ur channel 2 days ago and I've been binging your videos!! slay

[@shelby8871]

read "a little life" in late dec and prob one of my fav books ever now lol. also enjoyed "bunny", "frankenstein", and "the plague" this yr

[@emmsemms21]

ur videos are insane i love it

[@caraharper3093]

Okay LOVE The Glass Castle, Hidden Valley Road, and Crying in H Mart. HATE the fact that you're not using your insomnia time to marathon every episode of every season of this show. Top Reads (in no particular order) - A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki - Lucy - Jamaica Kincaid - Motherhood - Sheila Heti - The Vegetarian - Han Kang - Intimacies - Katie Kitamura - Sorrow and Bliss - Meg Mason - The English Understand Wool - Helen DeWitt (pls read this it is short as heck and an absolute romp)

[@emerycorner]

Yess, read The Glass Castle for my junior year of high school a couple years ago!

[@gerkinsticks866]

Ur videos are a fever dream bro I love it

[@fayeallego]

the way crying in h mart snatched my wig... and then i realised that it was Abby's wig so she held me hostage so now i'm a professional tap dancer😔 also shawn have you read any patti smith books??? i feel like you'd like her writing or the complete opposite maybe

[@shawnmccomb]

I nearly bought her book the other day then said “hmm no!”

[@whataheavenlywaytolive]

6:52 I think you're think about Truffaut and Spielberg Truffuat said something along the lines of "there is no such thing as an anti-war movie" as to him any movie about and depicting war is glorifying it (and therfore pro-war) Whereas Spielberg disagreed and said "every war movie, good or bad, is an anti-war movie"

[@alinab.5852]

My favorite book last year was Jade City :-)!!

[@elisameri887]

this is everything i needed for my little unhinged self

[@eli-pi5mz]

I HEART YOUR VIDEOS!!!!!

[@shawnmccomb]

I HEART YOUR COMMENT!!!!!

[@icedancerr]

i will continue to watch every video you make about books and never read a single one of them

[@melonramune]

never heard of the brothers k but it's giving american version of the brothers karamazov. and i love dance moms, lolita and the glass castle

[@ivy-ys8or]

this is the best thing i’ve seen all year

[@AnaWallaceJohnson]

I watched this after yoga and I gotta say… this vid was more refreshing!!! 😊

[@SavannahOlivia]

lol not u starting on the wrong side of the bottom row 👀 but i am for real about to add the glass castle and crying in h mart to my must reads of 2023 😌

[@shawnmccomb]

uuughgghhgfgh😭🤬🪦

[@ivy-ys8or]

i was thinking this

[@libellulareading8859]

Man, I really wanna read The Glass Castle! I've had it on my shelf and just not picked it up yet, but I'm absolutely convinced now to pick it up soon. I'd have to say my favorite book of last year was A Tree Grows In Brooklyn! I worked at a bookstore in 2022, and I randomly picked it up at work and started reading it. Oh my goodness, I was so enamored with that story!! Some other books I loved last year were Kindred, I Who Have Never Known Men, Boy Parts, Bunny and We Have Always Lived In The Castle!

[@natasha-lyonne-enthusiast8098]

Slowly falling more and more in love and I don’t know what to do about it. Marry Me Shawn

[@shawnmccomb]

I don’t believe in the wedding industrial complex but thank you!!!

[@womananimalartist5676]

i'm not sure i'm looking for that rn. this is shawn btw from my spam acc, send me $1 USD pls thx

[@kaewasyul]

Oh god, so glad I'm not the only one who is in love with Shawn🫣

[@dontwastemyt]

i’m so happy that i share the same favorite book as you do

[@landongreen1272]

I stand by your war quote. You said it first.

[@megan1169]

My favourite books of 2022 were def Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder and There's no such thing as an easy job by Kikoku Tsumura. I also reread Know my name by Chanel Miller and it's still amazing.

[@caefer24]

The only booktuber whose taste I trust hahah Lowkey tho ur taste is immaculate ✨

[@cindyo6298]

I really liked The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, and Earthlings by Sayaka Murata.

[@womananimalartist5676]

an alternative title suggestion : the SADDEST books of 2022 (sean macdonalds version) (from the vault)

[@raghadsami]

My favorite book of the year is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

[@shawnmccomb]

incredible choice

[@haileybrookee]

in 2014 i ran so many dance moms fan pages it’s embarrassing 😩 but abby did tweet me before 🤞🏻

[@sarahs2951]

Me thinking My Year of Rest and Relaxation will be there somewhere…

[@linaettalbi6454]

Very random, but i think you would enjoy The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell. I read it a month ago and i still can't stop thinking about the mc! There aren't any trigger warnings online, which is weird but it can be a heavy read for some...

[@aamnainfebruary]

People who think that readers are boring don’t know that Shawn exists

[@shaggyherur]

“Is it an anti-war book?” “Yes,” I said. “I guess.” “You know what I say to people when I hear they’re writing anti-war books?” “No. What do you say, Harrison Starr?” “I say, ‘Why don’t you write an anti-glacier book instead?’” What he meant, of course, was that there would always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers. I believe that, too. And even if wars didn’t keep coming like glaciers, there would still be plain old death.” - Kurt mf Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

[@Inathi]

I would like to watch a documentary on the damage TlC did on teenagers all over the world

[@ar10dc9]

nah as a fellow tlc kid my therapist will be hearing about those shows. *btw i still watch 90 days fiance*

[@emmywoody917]

the way ive been quoting “lets just say the devil made me do it” for 2 years and no one else has gotten the reference 😩😩😩😩😩

[@ahmedskm]

“The only good war movie is a war movie that is anti-war.” -Shawn Mccomb 💯

[@persephonexx]

on the top of the pyramid is me

[@apoxfox]

Ooo these all sound interesting, thanks for the recommendations!

[@ell-111]

brb reporting to the police- why are oprah and friend of oprah gayle missing SHAWN THE PEOPLE NEEDS TO KNOW

[@Ella-wh6vu]

you are such a concept creator¡¡💃🕺 also, read The Shadow of the Wind upon your recommendation which definitely earned the Maddie Ziegler spot for me well done

[@shawnmccomb]

I’m stealing concept creator

[@TheBookBully]

I expected The DaVinci Code to be top tier, I am gooped, I am gagged, I will never recover (Hidden Valley Road is such a great book. ✌️)

[@lib4frogz]

instantly subscribed from this 😭

[@Justyna-vn9ju]

Once in a generation visionary mind...ahead of your time

[@sh-fe2zn]

you didn’t need to tell us you were a TLC kid…we knew

[@ruby-ng4zo]

Damn I love Ivan Nabokov such a cool dude

[@lysm.8645]

Crying in H mart changed my views on food and cooking forever

[@caitlinmillington6094]

This shit scary bc yesterday i went on a dance moms memes watching spree and now this pops up? Illuminati b comin for me

[@Exis7ance]

unhinged

[@tungstensmum1491]

7. The Hate You Give 6. Into The Drowning Deep 5. Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies 4. Every Heart a Doorway 3. Raybearer 2. The House in the Cerulean Sea 1. A Psalm for the Wild Built

[@ragnhildenger5640]

the missed opportunity that was “tapped in” (you referring to dance moms on tlc), needed an edit of you tap dancing right there

[@paperbacksgalore]

Hamnet is perfect

[@TcHrOnDW]

top 1 Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F. 😭💀 love the ending

[@marcaal3936]

yess I got my dance moms pyramid once again 😍

[@gillianhebert3962]

My maddie ziegler award goes to The Dog Stars by Peter Heller or No Country for Old Men by old man Cormac McCarthy

[@crown3077]

A man with fine taste 💫 Also I hope the lime green clock with a piece of tape stuck to it enjoys its place as a new member of the club I'm totally not jealous 😒😒

[@joana9005]

a lot of covers with one big letter on them

[@coolrecorderguy4206]

Girl you need to do a 2022 book Spotify unwrapped

[@emilija5482]

and i need more of your vlogs, thank you

[@kildere]

come to brazil shawn

[@shawnmccomb]

IM COMINGGGG

[@raven_is_alive]

Shawn u need to update your fav bookshelf in goodreads!!!

[@womananimalartist5676]

i like the pyramid scheme pattern of the books on the wall

[@emilija5482]

not me going to watch dance moms compilation after this video

[@andreamayogarcia4238]

the cuote is from slaughterhouse 5 i think, not sure tho

[@shawnmccomb]

okay Kurt would say that thank you

[@implayinggames]

YES! If I remember right, the main character was going to write a book about the war and his friends wife was pissed and said like “you better make it anti-war or I hate you” and then he was like “bet” and they became besties

[@mckenziekate]

Shakspeare = daddy lol

[@aaaccc12]

SEAN DO A PART 2 OF RATING OUR BOOKSHELFS !!!

[@nnnnn2010]

Keep doing some little funny sketches like that in the end 👌👌

[@girlkaramazov]

i fully thought you were gonna say the brothers karamazov by dostoyevsky and got excited. when will you read dostoyevsky shawn!!!!!! the people(me) want to know

[@cindyo6298]

I think he'd like Notes from Underground