Fleurdille’s 2022’s Half-Yearly Book List and Review

Hey, there! So glad you’re here!

Reading more was one of the goals I set for myself for 2022. I started subscribing to Audible in 2021 and it made a world of a difference in regards to consuming literature.

In the beginning of 2022, one of my girlfriends told me about Libby, the app for our local library. With this app, you can also listen to audio books. Sometimes you have to wait a couple of weeks or months to get a book, but it’s great. I typically go through my audible credit in the first quarter of the month, then after that I supplement with audio books from our library. It’s amazing!

So, the list below is a mix of books from Audible, audio books from our library, and actual, physical books. Reading a physical book is my absolute favorite medium for reading, but it’s not always the most practical. In this stage of my life I am frequently in my car running errands for my girls or carpooling kids. So, often an audio book is simply more practical.

I’ve written a sentence or two about my initial thoughts of each book below. Also, if you click on the title of the book you’ll be directed to a new page where you can read a quick summary of the book.

2022’s Half-Yearly Book List and Review:

1. Dragonfly in Amber (Book 2 Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon – this is the second book in the Outlander series and I couldn’t recommend these books enough. I’ve currently read 5 so far and this was my least favorite of the 5, but still so good. The love story trumps most love stories and it’s rich in semi-fictional history. I also recommend watching the television series for Outlander as it follows the books exactly.
2. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles – this book is beautifully written and a great changeup from thrillers and easy reads. It’s slower paced, so know that going into it, but highly recommend it as the imagery and character development is amazing. It’s based in New York in the 1930s and that adds so much charm to the story!
3. Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica  – told from the perspective of multiple characters; neat because you get the perspective of multiple people and how one event changed multiple lives
4. Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker – this book was super interesting. The book itself is about the drinking culture we live in and how it affects women specifically. It didn’t make me want to never drink alcohol again, but it did make me think critically about my relationship with alcohol. A good read for sure!
5. Yearbook by Seth Rogan – this was a nice change-up and was recommended by several friends. If you need a good laugh I recommend checking out this one!
6. One By One by Ruth Ware – this book was very good, gripping, and an easy read. I love Ruth Ware and if you haven’t read much of her, I recommend you read this one and this one, too!
7. Watching You by Lisa Jewell – meh. It was okay, but a bit convoluted and not super thrilling. I’m not sure I’d recommend this thriller.
8. The Choice by Edith Eger – this book is a must-read. Edith is a fabulous writer and her storytelling is captivating. Edith shares her story of surviving Nazis concentration camps and what life was like after her rescue. It’s truly an unbelievable story.
9. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost – this book much like Yearbook by Seth Rogan is a good comic relief. It’s not the best of the best, but it will make you laugh for sure!
10. The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma – this book made me realize how much I hate business parables. I listened to this one and am pretty sure if I wasn’t able to speed it up I would have stopped reading it. It just felt like it took a LONG time to get to the meat of the story. In the end, this book introduces the 20/20/20 method for starting your mornings and it’s definitely helped my mornings. So, I do recommend it because I find value in the 20/20/20 method, but if you don’t like business parables either you may want to find a summary somewhere.
11. The Power of Showing Up by Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson – I am a big fan of The Whole Brain Child, so I was excited to read this book. One of the biggest predictors for how a child turns out is if they had an adult that consistently invested and showed up for them. This book is powerful and highly recommended if you’re a parent.
12. Going There by Katie Couric – this autobiography was great. Katie is a good writer and her story is very captivating. There was so much I didn’t know and I enjoyed every second of this book! If you listen on audible, Katie Couric is the narrator.
13. Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner – this is a memoir about a woman growing up as a Korean American. It’s a good read, but not my favorite. I’d give it a 3/5.
14. 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – this book is intriguing and captivating from the first to the last page. It’s full of heartbreak, loss, glamour; A must read!
15. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – a quick beach read with great character development!
16. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover- this is an epic beach read. You’ll read it in under 2 days! The story wraps up so well in the end and it’s pretty spicy, too!
17. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune – this is another great beach read. It’s also a little spicy, but not as much as Ugly Love. This love story is super sweet. I read it in less than 2 days because I couldn’t seem to put it down!
18. The People We Keep by  Allison Larkin – meh. This book came recommended by several people, but I was very underwhelmed by it. It didn’t captivate me and I’m not sure I’d recommend it.
19. I Found You by Lisa Jewell – a great thriller and easy read!
20. Voyager (Book 3 in the Outlander series) by Diana Gabaldon – although these books are crazy long, I can’t stop devouring them. I listen to them rather than read them because they’re so long. Y’all, the love story between Claire and Jamie is bar none. This book was so good and will keep you turning page after page.

My Top 5 Books from 2022:

1. Voyager
2. One by One 
3. Ugly Love 
4. Every Summer After 
5. The Choice