The Best Books I Read in 2022

Another year ends, and with it, another year of reading.

I’ve read a lot of books this year. I’ve not counted, but I think it’s upwards of 60. While it’s not how many books you read but how much you get out of reading those books, it’s nice to be able to read a lot.

Listing the top ten books I’ve read in 2022 is no easy feat. There are plenty of good ones that didn’t make the list. But the ones below resonated with me and either made me smile or challenged my thinking.

The list below is eclectic even if it’s only ten books. There should be something for everyone below. Novels, non-fiction, history, you should find a book below that intrigues you.

So, if you’re looking for suggestions on what to read going into the new year or curious about what’s on the list, you should enjoy the ten recommendations below.

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

The Dawn of Everything was the most interesting book I read this year. I’m a big fan of David Graeber’s books, so I was itching to read this and it didn’t disappoint.

The premise of the book is that the common story we are told about human progress, that it was mainly centred around European enlightenment, is wrong.

Graeber and Wengrow argue that many cultures, such as various Native American tribes, had a complete understanding of concepts such as individual liberty long before they became commonplace in the Western world. It’s fascinating to read about the various political structures that existed across the globe.

A key question the authors ask is how we got stuck. How did the current status quo come to be seen as the only way to organise societies? While this book doesn’t necessarily answer that question, it certainly poses a lot of other questions along the way.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I’ve been meaning to read One Hundred Years of Solitude for some time now and finally got around to it in the early part of the year.

After hearing so many good things about the book, I wasn’t sure if it would live up to my expectations. But it did and more. I can see why it’s such a popular book.

The book follows the fortunes of the Buendia family in Colombia over seven generations. It’s an incredible undertaking and makes for spellbinding reading, as you whizz through the years with this surreal family.

The book dabbles in magical surrealism, but it’s what makes One Hundred Years of Solitude great. The mysticism and storytelling make it an enthralling and entertaining read!

Citizen Clem by John Bew

Citizen Clem is a biography of the first Labour Prime Minister of the UK, Clement Attlee. He’s one of my political heroes, so reading this biography was a pleasure.

If you’re not British, then this book might not appeal to you as much as some who is. But there are lots of important lessons to be learned from Attlee’s life, the chief of which is to never underestimate people.

Attlee was underestimated for a large part of his political career, which is remarkable looking back as his Labour government is considered one of the most transformational and progressive in British history. They instituted the National Health Service (NHS) and built an unprecedented number of new homes following the war.

Citizen Clem is a big book and it will take you a while to get through but if you’re interested in politics or want to learn more about a compelling figure who shaped post-war Britain, it’s a great read!

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and The Sun is an intriguing novel set in the not-too-distant future where artificial friends are commonplace.

The titular character, Klara, is one of these artificial friends and the book revolves around her journey from a storefront to a new family. Along the way, we see how she interacts with the world and the difficulties of integrating with humans.

The book by Kazuo Ishiguro is a kind of morality tale on what it means to be human and how technology shapes us. Artificial friends are seen as companions to children, yet they’re able to reason and understand us and the world to a reasonable level.

With advances in artificial intelligence increasing every year, determining how best to integrate and regulate the field will become increasingly important. Klara and The Sun pose many of those questions here, and while it may not provide all the answers, it will leave you with a lot of food for thought.

Moneyland by Oliver Bullough

Given the war in Ukraine, Moneyland is a must-read book if you want to understand how Russian oligarchs and many of the ultra-rich stash their money in offshore tax havens.

I knew tax havens were big businesses before I read this book but I wasn’t aware of just how big of a business they were. Rich people will pay a lot of money and are ruthless in moving their money to places where it’s safe from taxes.

Another thing that shocked me as an Englishman, is that the UK is responsible for tax havens. We set up the industries as a way to boost the economies of Caribbean countries that had been part of the empire.

That industry has now grown so large and out of control that it affects all of us, not just those countries. If you want to understand how tax havens work and the effects they have on society, Oliver Bullough’s book is the one to read.

Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano

Gomorrah is a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time and I finally got around to doing so this year.

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s an inside look at the world of the Italian mafia, written by Roberto Saviano, who immersed himself in this world, spilt the beans and now lives under 24-hour security due to threats on his life from the mafia.

What Saviano details in the book is astonishing. The lengths to which the different mafias (Ndragnheta, Camorra etc.) go to assert their dominance are terrifying. As is the grip they have on neighbourhoods and certain industries.

I expected Gomorrah to be good but didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s not a fun read but an essential one!

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

When you have a whole genre named after you then you must be a good writer! Metamorphosis is the first of Franz Kafka’s works that I’d read and it was a brilliant read.

The titular story deals with the absurd proposition of a man waking up as a bug and coming to terms with this reality. As do his family, who now have to deal with this unexpected event.

It’s a surreal story but a compelling one. The further the story advances, the more his humanity is lost and his family begin to recede from him. There are a lot of overtones to the book that relate to the way we treat people outside our social circles and those of differing nationalities.

If you read the Penguin Modern Classic version, you’ll find several of Kafka’s short stories alongside Metamorphosis, which are all fun and engaging!

The Great Crash, 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith

The Great Crash, 1929 details one of the most significant financial implosions of all time.

Given the legacy of this event, I knew very little about what caused it or the repercussions. Reading this classic account of the events by John Kenneth Galbraith was eye-opening. I’m not sure there’s a better account out there, even though this book was first written in 1955!

What makes the book so good is the style in which it’s written. It’s not a bland recording of events. Galbraith injects humour and fun into his prose. You can tell he enjoyed writing this book as it’s evident in every word of this riveting book.

With the financial world fragile again and the utopian dream of crypto floundering, The Great Crash, 1929 offers timely answers to why we keep repeating the mistakes of the past.

The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll

I bought The Train Was on Time as part of my attempt to read one book from some well-known and lesser-known book series.

The title intrigued and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading. The plot centres around a German soldier making his way to the Eastern Front in the Second World War.

While on the train, he has a premonition that he will die in battle and the book details his attempts to come to terms with this. It also does a good job of describing the mundanity and absurdity of war.

It’s only a short book at just over 100 pages and you can read it in one sitting because it’s a compelling and fascinating novella.

The Road To Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder

The Road To Unfreedom is a thought-provoking book by American historian Timothy Snyder. It looks at the recent past in Russia and America and how what’s happening affects us all.

Snyder is one of the best historians writing today and his book does a fantastic job of detailing the nefarious ways Russia has been extending its influence around the world. This is especially true since 2012.

Written before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Snyder pulls no punches as he details the various geopolitical shocks that happened in the 2010s such as Brexit and the election of Trump.

If you want to get a background into why Russia invaded Ukraine, you can’t do much worse than read The Road To Unfreedom. It’s a stinging book that will make you realise how precious democracy is compared to the alternative.

Read More of My Best of The Year Lists

Check out the links below to read more of my favourite books from each year!

The Best Books I Read in 2020

The Best Books I Read in 2021

The Best Books I Read in 2024