Books I Read In 2022

2022 was a very productive reading year. I had set a target of reading 16 books but I ended up surpassing it. And yes, I am pleased with it, given that life started to return to normal this year post-pandemic.

I came across a ton of new authors that I had never read before, so it was an interesting year for reading. The more non-fiction books I read, the more I discovered how much I enjoy that category. As a result, I made an effort to read a variety of books throughout the year, both fiction and non-fiction.

Here are reviews of all the books I read this year. While some of them have been posted on my Instagram page, others are new.

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Genre: Literary Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Summary

The novel, narrated from the viewpoint of Panchaali, is a retelling of the ancient Hindu epic - The Mahabharata. It goes back in time to trace the life of King Drupad's daughter, from her birth from fire to marrying five husbands and the dreadful war to give us a story that is half history and half myth.

Review

The book instantly made my to-read list when I first heard of it. And I am glad it did because this book gives a refreshing perspective to the Hindu epic. It shows Panchaali not as someone who is merely passed on from one husband to another but as a fierce, independent and intelligent woman who wants to define her destiny. Chitra Banerjee sticks to the original script of Mahabharata and still manages to rewrite it wonderfully with a style and language that keeps the readers engaged till the end.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Romance

Rating: 5/5

Summary

Monique Grant, a journalist, has been granted an opportunity to write an article on Evelyn Hugo for Vivant magazine. However, during their first meeting, Hugo reveals that she wants Grant to write her life story. The book goes on to detail the life story of Hugo from living in Hell's Kitchen to becoming successful and famous while being married seven times.

Review

This book made me go through a variety of emotions owing to the complicated, courageous, and determined character of Evelyn Hugo. Taylor Jenkins has given birth to a character that makes you feel sad, happy, loved and admired. While the book has many twists and turns, it predominantly explores true love and the struggles of being a woman in a man's world. It is divided into seven sections, one for each husband, and the narrator switches from Evelyn's story to Monique's story keeping the readers engrossed and on edge throughout.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 5/5

Summary

The Silent Patient is about a woman, Alicia, who shot her husband Gabriel one evening five times in the chest. Since that evening, she has not spoken a single word. On the other side is a psychological therapist, Theo, who is obsessed with uncovering the reason for the violence against her husband.

Review

The Silent Patient is an absolute page-turner that keeps you on your toes while it goes on to discover why Alicia is silent and why did she kill her husband. I assumed I knew how the book would end by the last 50 pages, and thought to myself, "Well, it's a good book but not worth the hype." I was highly mistaken. As I finished the last page, I sat there reflecting on the entire book in my head and concluded, "Wow, that was one heck of a thriller."

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Genre: Romance

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary

Connell and Marianne study at the same school and pretend to not know each other. Connel is popular and Marianne is lonely and private. They develop a strange connection with each other. When they go off to college, Marianne has found her footing in the social world while Connell is shy. Even though they try to stay away from each other, they are drawn together over the years.

Review

Normal People is a beautiful romantic book with an engaging plotline and character dynamics. Sally Rooney has dedicated chapters to each of Connel and Marianne, providing insight into their thoughts and feelings. However, I was turned off by the writing style. Sally chose to write dialogues without punctuation, which slowed down my reading pace. I'd have to read sentences again since I couldn't tell if they were thoughts or dialogues. And that interfered with keeping me engrossed.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: 5/5

Summary

Lily Bloom, a hardworking owner of a flower shop, meets Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon who doesn't believe in children and marriage. As time progresses, the duo cross paths again and they fall in love. However, Lily cannot get her first love, Atlas Corrigan, out of her head and reread old journal entries. And one day, Atlas reappears changing her relationship with Ryle.

Review

The synopsis of the book and the first few chapters create the idea that this is a typical love triangle romance story. But as I went deeper into the book, I discovered that a major theme was concealed: domestic violence. In "Note from the Author" Hoover explains that the first scene of abuse between Lily and Ryle is based on her parents, which lends a raw and emotional quality to the entire book. She has brilliantly depicted the destruction of abuse as well as the survivors' strength in an intriguing story. And leaves a message to the readers saying that it is easy to question the victims, but when a person is in a similar scenario, things are a hundred times more difficult.

Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary

Come As You Are uses research and science to determine the workings of a woman's sexuality. Emily leaves the readers with two main lessons. The first is that every woman is unique and their sexual experiences and reactions are unique. The second says that context largely influences a woman's sex life.

Review

Overall, the book was quite enlightening and provided a unique perspective on the entire notion of women's sexuality. However, I was unable to give it a high rating because I felt I was not the intended audience. The book, in my opinion, appeals to ladies whose sex life has become stale due to long-term partnerships with the same man. Therefore, perhaps in the future, I will be able to provide an accurate rating. Aside from that, the book was extremely easy to comprehend, and Emily explained difficult theories in simple words.

The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Karuna Ezara Parikh

Genre: Romance

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary

The Heart Asks Pleasure First tells a love story between Daya, a ballet dancer student, and Aaftab, a practising lawyer, who meets in Cardiff. As time passes, they both fall in love. But Aaftab cannot because he is a Muslim and there are certain rules in his life.

Review

The plot of this book keeps the readers captivated from beginning to end as Karuna bounces between Daya and Aaftab's love tale and Daya's parents' love story. She has utilized lyrical prose as a creative writing style to tell the story, and I believe it has worked fantastically in her favour. However, I could not give it the full 5-star rating because I felt that her descriptions of political events were extraneous at times. It was also incredibly perplexing for me because she covered so many topics, like racism, Islamophobia, language, 9/11, and others. She should have chosen a few and stayed with them. Furthermore, when speaking about Daya, she went on to describe how magnificent India was and the positive traits it possessed, but she did not do the same when praising Aaftab's nation, Pakistan, which was unbalanced.

Why Men Rape by Tara Kaushal

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 4/5

Summary

In Why Men Rape, Tara Kaushal interviewed nine people who have allegedly committed acts of sexual violence but have not been convicted. She has spoken to the nine men, visited their homes, and spoken to friends and family to discover the underlying reason for the rape. Furthermore, she also presented insights from survivors, experts, a jail inmate who observes the convicted, and more.

Review

This book was very insightful, as it explored an array of issues like pornography, language, childhood, the MeToo movement, religion, gender equality, and more. While some of these issues were known to me due to previous readings, many were shocking. For example, Kaushal showed how women's rights and gender equality are increasing sexual violence.

And while it was a very interesting read, there are some negatives to the book also.

Kaushal has incorporated her opinions, as well as adjectives, at various points throughout the book, lending a bias to the work. This also causes readers to think similarly, instead of forming their views on it.

Her writing style also appeared erratic, as she moved from formal English to millennial acronyms like WTF, etc. And I feel this demonstrates her perplexity about how the work should be perceived by the audience.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 5/5

Summary

And Then There Were None, set in the 1930s, narrates the story of ten individuals who are invited to stay on an island off the Devon coast in England. In the start everything seems normal but, after an audio recording plays, every guest turns up dead one after the other. No one is safe and accusations start, as suspects are narrowed down.

Review

This was my first Agatha Christie novel, and I loved it. The novel contains all of the components of a great murder mystery, and it is no surprise that many people rated it highly. It kept me engaged from the first word to the last, with a very unexpected ending. Christie has successfully used various chapters for each character to offer us insight into their past story and reasoning process using simple language. Overall, it's a short classic novel that can be finished in one sitting. And I can't wait to read more Agatha Christie books.

No Good Men Among The Living by Anand Gopal

Genre: Narrative Non-fiction

Rating: 5/5

Summary

No Good Men Among the Living is a non-fiction book that narrates the story of the US war on Afghanistan from the latter's perspective. Anand follows three people: a US-backed warlord, a Taliban commander, and a housewife, throughout the war to give the readers an expose of how the war was unsuccessful.

Review

This is the finest narrative nonfiction book I've ever read. So much so that I forgot I was reading a non-fiction book at times. The details and descriptions of people and surroundings create the impression that the reader is with Gopal on his journey across Afghanistan.

Also, the on-the-ground reporting has given the conflict a human touch. The media generally showed a political or surface view of the entire war. But Gopal was at the scene talking to people and hearing their stories. And his relaying those stories back to us through the book allows us to see the depths that the media has failed to capture. Additionally, the way he has used the human stories to narrate the bigger story of how the US greatly failed at the war is a hats-off skill. It is a must-read for anyone who loves political or war non-fiction books.

She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 5/5

Summary

Kantor and Twohey give a behind-the-scenes look at their efforts to expose Harvey Weinstein, which sparked the global #MeToo movement. Both investigative journalists reveal new information throughout the book, from identifying sources and convincing them to speak to confronting Weinstein and publishing the article.

Review

She Said is an excellent investigative nonfiction book. You always hear that powerful men have people in their pockets and get away with numerous horrific acts. But to read about it and know that it happened in real life is very astonishing. Readers will feel as though they are in the room with Jodi and Twohey thanks to the author's excellent use of detailing and emotion in narrating their experience of exposing a famous man.

Lastly, the Ford/Kavanaugh story at the end seemed very unnecessary. In my opinion, the book could have done without it and only focused on the Weinstein scandal. Otherwise, a definite must-read.

Pachinko by Lee Min-jin

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Summary

Sunja falls in love with a stranger in Korea. However, she declines to be his mistress when she learns she is pregnant and he is already married. Instead, she agrees to marry a minister who stays at her mother's guesthouse. She moves to Japan with him. What follows is an in-depth character-driven account of the family's four generations, as they survive in the 20th-century discriminatory Japanese society.

Review

Pachinko was a deeply heartbreaking and interesting book that was hard to put down. Min-jin has managed to expertly cover the nuances of the characters by giving readers a deep insight into their thought processes and decision-making. Throughout the book, topics like racism, trauma, and gender discrimination were covered. She has managed to entertain and educate the audience about the culture, politics, and history of Korea and Japan. The most commendable aspect was the writing style. It was very straightforward but laced with emotions that did not confuse readers but rather engrossed them till the end. It is a definite must-read.

Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman

Genre: Graphic novel

Rating: 5/5

Summary

Heartstopper, a young adult LGBTQIA+ novel, follows the story of two teen boys Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. They meet in a British all-boys grammar school and start slowly becoming friends. In this four-series novel, both embark on a journey of exploring love, friendship and teenage drama, together.

Review

I finished the entire series in two days, and I think that says a lot about how much I loved these four books. It was fun. It was light. It was emotional. It was everything you could have hoped for in a graphic novel. But no, it wasn't just an entertaining read. It did have deeper levels to it, as the series also discusses important issues like abuse, bullying and homophobia. These are typical in today's world and important for each and everyone to know about. Oseman has beautifully captured the love between Nelson and Spring diving into friendships and family. I particularly love that she used the graphic novel style which makes it an easy read for young adults and teaches them important topics without being a heavy jargon-filled book.

The Promise by Damon Galgut

Genre: Domestic Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Summary

The Promise is a story of a white South African family, the Swarts, who consist of a husband, Maine, a wife, Rachel and their three children, Anton, Astrid and Anton. The title of the book is about a promise made by Maine to his wife on her deathbed that the black maid, Salome, would inherit the house she is currently living in. Divided into four parts, the book spans from 1986 to 2018 exploring the different characters of the book, the failed promise to the maid and the changing political and social situation in the country.

Review

The book narrates an engrossing tale from the first word to the last. Expect to witness vivid depictions of South African life along with an insight into the character's inner thoughts and workings and much more. Galgut's mastery of this genre is evident in the innovative literary approach he used to transition between points of view, internal monologues, time, and place without disrupting the narrative's flow. Finally, Gaulgut has taught the audience about the complex culture and politics of South Africa during and after apartheid while also masterfully capturing the family drama of the Swarts.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 4.5/5

Summary

Empire of Pain is a narrative non-fiction book that explores the origins of the opioid crisis in the United States of America. The book is a deep dive into the creation of Oxytocin by a company called Purdue Pharmaceuticals, and the family behind it, the Sacklers. The story starts with the family changing the face of medical advertising before turning into the origins and rampant sale of Oxytocin, a powerful opioid. From there it moves on to multiple investigations into the three generations of the family and the tactics they used to evade accountability.

Review

This book is an amazing work of narrative reporting and writing that has exhaustively documented every detail of the opioid crisis. It is a well-written book that made me fall in love all over again with investigative journalism books. However, the only negative point and why I couldn't give a complete 5 stars was that I found the book to be very confusing at times when it came to the timelines. It seemed like there was so much shuffling between years that it was hard to keep the chronological order in my head. Nonetheless, it is a book that everyone should pick up to understand more about the pharmaceutical industry.

The Modern Break-Up by Daniel Chidiac

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: 2/5

Summary

Zara and Amelia visit New York after the latter breaks up with her boyfriend. Both the girls meet two boys, Nick and Jordan, at a bar. While Zara and Jordan hit it off, Amelia and Nick have a rocky start but eventually start talking. This follows an insight into modern relationships and how different characters like Zara, Amelia, Nick, Jordan, Rachel and Amelia's mother feel about it.

Review

I saw quotes on Instagram and decided to add this book to my shelf. But that was a huge mistake. I don't understand the point of writing this book at all. It seems to me that the book was nothing but endless complaining about modern relationships, as there was no storyline. It reached such a point that I was thinking when will it just stop? I was simply irritated with it. Yes, some quotes are good as evident from Instagram but not worth spending time reading it.

Happy reading!