The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2022

[@GuiltyFeat]

I've read Checkout 19. It's outstanding. I loved her first book, Pond, which was a quirky, off-kilter collection of short stories that gently revealed their thematic connections and aggregative power. Glorious writing without ever being ponderous or worthy. Checkout 19 works as a novel and as a book about books. It was a delight from start to finish in a ecosystem of literary fiction which tends not to value delight as a goal for reading.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's great feedback--thanks!

[@lindysmagpiereads]

Greg, thanks for linking to the (recorded) live announcement. Like you, I enjoyed hearing about what goes on behind the scenes to create the list. I was a little disappointed that every editor on stage didn’t get a chance to talk about books that didn’t make the list.

[@SupposedlyFun]

They usually spend time on what didn't make the list in a podcast episode following the announcement but the Book Review podcast has been effectively on hiatus while they reconfigure it, so I'm not sure they'll use that format or not. I hope they do!

[@ameliabarlowbooks]

We Don't Know Ourselves sounds incredible, I've been looking for something like that for a really long time. thanks Greg!

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you!

[@trudyjohns5150]

I agree with you the non-fiction books all sound so intriguing!!!

[@SupposedlyFun]

They really do!

[@BookishTexan]

I love this list. Thanks for going over the books.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I have so much fun doing this list every year.

[@KierTheScrivener]

I one of the lot that really, really loved Trust. Also I was unaware when I first heard about it but Trust is set in the 1920s to 1960s. It is about the Great Depression and Wall Street then with a lot of relevance to now.

[@hayleystenger2799]

Agree, I loved it and it has enhanced my perspective regarding current news.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I didn't know that about Trust! Interesting.

[@comfortableshoes4478]

Your Christmas lounge is beautiful 🥰

[@bookofdust]

I’ve read three of the ten! I started reading We Don’t Know Ourselves and Say Nothing at the same time for my read Ireland challenge, but the overlap was confusing and I stuck with We Don’t Know and gave it 4.75 stars. The way it combined memoir, a personal story, with the historical shift of Ireland into a modern country made it all very accessible. I think he’s as good of journalist/narrative nonfiction writer as Patrick Radden Keefe. I reread A Visit from the Goon Squad and enjoyed it more than I remembered and thought that it was even more prescient than before. I gave Candy House five stars, and as far as I’m concerned they both could be rolled into a single volume seamlessly and each informs and expands the other. Reading them back to back makes for the riches experience I feel. I enjoyed Trust, but I only gave it four stars as the meta fiction aspects of the book falls into a category that I call “too clever for its own good.” The mechanizations of the book were so central to the success of the work that it seemed to take precedence over the writing itself. It was interesting to hear people finding the writing at first underwhelming and giving up as the first section is basically supposed to be yellow journalism and written as such. I will say the most successful way to read it is in the shortest timeframe possible, like blocking out a weekend and only reading it, since it’s like reading four separate books at the same time already, that you need to hold in your mind and interweave.

[@SupposedlyFun]

"Too clever for its own good" is definitely something I've heard about Trust. I'm glad you had a good reread of Goon Squad! And I can see how We Don't Know Ourselves and Say Nothing would be a lot together.

[@ToriKo_]

What does ‘yellow journalism’ mean, and where does the phrase come from?

[@bookofdust]

@@ToriKo_ Best to Google it, it’s used primarily in the US and UK and began with the newspaper wars between Hearst and Pulitzer.

[@bouquinsbooks]

The audiobook of We don’t know ourselves is great. I don’t generally like audiobooks, but I liked this one.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's perfect because I just found the audio on Scribd! Thanks.

[@valentinajacome]

Thank you for this video. Really good content. Happy new year!

[@myreadinglife8816]

I am excited that An Immense World made the list! I haven’t finished the book but it is great so far and I think Yong is a fantastic author. Sorry that Night of the Living Rez didn’t make it but it was a long shot.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I'm excited to try the Yong book at some point. And I'm still hopeful that Night of the Living Rez will find more success!

[@pjreads]

I read We Kon't Know Ourselves because Shawn The Book Maniac gave it 5 stars. It's a great book.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's a good reason! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@mradcaqbdb]

I’ve never heard of Checkout 19, but I guess The Candy House is the biggest surprise for me. If I recall correctly, reviews of it were very mixed. There’s nothing on here that I’m going to jump on anytime soon. I have Trust out from the library for the second time, on audio this time, and it’s about to expire in a couple of hours. I may give Demon Copperhead a try at some point on audio. I feel like that’s about it. I had several others noted from your 100 Notable video that didn’t make it to the top 10. I’ll stick with those. I am curious about the ones they discussed that didn’t make the list, so I think I’ll hunt for that in their clip.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I agree--it felt like there was a lot of anticipation for Candy House and then reception was mixed, then it disappeared completely until it started popping up on these lists. What an odd trajectory.

[@CestKevvie]

I'd say Trust sounds the most interesting to me. The who can you trust thing reminds me of Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs.

[@user-yg6ft1iu1i]

Hi Greg these are exciting times and I love the best of lists and I appreciate how quickly you did this video and all the good information. I may checkout Checkout 19 just because I’ve heard nothing about it. Like you said that what makes these lists fun. Did you say you predicted After Lives. I think that came out 2020 or was it a different one with the same name. I get so many titles spinning around my brain I may be thinking of something else. Thanks again

[@SupposedlyFun]

Afterlives was published in the UK (where the author lives) in 2020 and was published in the United States in 2022, which is why it's showing up on best of lists here now.

[@user-yg6ft1iu1i]

@@SupposedlyFun thanks Greg. I should have caught that. I just knew I read it last year. Also funny I’m reading A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson it was long listed for the Booker last year and I ordered it from Blackwells and was finally published in US this year Thanks again for the clarification

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@user-yg6ft1iu1i No worries! International releases can get confusing.

[@ToddsBookTube91]

Nice video! Hope you have a happy holiday!

[@JoseJimenez-dc5gg]

Hello! I like your paints on top of the chimney. Can you give me the name of it? Thank you and I really I appreciate it.

[@waynekaminski5438]

I hate that all of these news sources block you from reading articles such as "Top Ten Books". This siloing of news just sucks

[@SupposedlyFun]

I understand the frustration but I also understand the need for them to make money off of their content so they can continue to do what they do. There's no easy answer.

[@ToriKo_]

The podcast is free on youtube

[@hamedmanoochehri5136]

I have a bullet proof theory for their next year list: there won't be any pro- capitalism books in the list. As a person who actually lives inside the opposite side of capitalism (Iran), the sheer hate that American artists have for their own country which is by far the least racist and most prosperous country ever existed baffles me. Loved the video though. It takes so much love and bravery to spend precious holy day time on making heartfelt videos about literary fiction. In 100 years, an alien will chech our internet and think we only had to write fantasy fiction and comic books.

[@chrismathis4162]

Maybe you are confusing the economic system of capitalism with freedom? There are many capitalist countries that are oppressive and many socialist countries that are not. I am an American capitalist but it isn’t a perfect system. There are those who get left behind for various reasons. Capitalism needs to be mixed with social safety nets to dull its harshness sometimes.

[@claudiacoy5518]

I have no idea what you are saying after you say The rabbit Hutch. Which is the book you love? Middle what?

[@lorettanericcio-bohlman567]

I’m sorry about your dog. 💐

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much.

[@ejiakadelight]

i am afraid of all the politics that play into these kind of lists. awesome video though

[@lavenderlady7441]

helloooooo....🌲❄⛄📚📚📚🇨🇦👍

[@patricelauverjon2856]

The NYT books appraisals do not match with editorials!

[@Cnhfcsh]

No one will tell you this. KZbin: Joseph Smith, horror mansion.

[@carolaltman1107]

Saying titles of books too fast for me😢

[@SupposedlyFun]

The titles of the books are also in the description box below--I hope that helps.