ZeZee’s Favorite Reads of 2022

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for blogging, because this is the time of year when everyone puts out “best of” lists and share their reading stats. I’m always eager to read such posts to see what worked or didn’t work for folks and to see what book recommendations I can get or reading event to partake in.

Of course, I like to create such posts as well, so the majority of these early days in January will be filled with reflecting on my reading and blogging progress in the past year, starting with my favorite reads of 2022.

(Also see my most memorable reads of 2022 and my disappointing reads.)

These are the books I loved the most — not necessarily the best written or crafted works I read in the year, although writing and composition of the book do play a part in my consideration of these as favorites. They are not listed in order, but the first is my most favorite book of the year.

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Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky ★★★★★

I think this is the first that a sci-fi book has topped my favorites list. Elder Race is a sci-fi novella about a lonely scientist at a secluded outpost on another planet who gets caught up in the affairs of the planet’s inhabitants, although he’s just supposed to observe them. And it’s also about a princess who goes off on a quest to seek help from a sorcerer of an ancient race to defeat the demon terrorizing her people. The character perspective you read from determines what genre you’re reading — sci-fi or fantasy. Sometimes you get both characters’ perspectives at the same time on the same page. This was a wonderful, amazing reading experience, and I love the emotional depths the story explores too. It had to make my top list. It’s a favorite and also one of the best things I read in 2022.

Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey (Phèdre’s trilogy, book 3) ★★★★☆ ½

This set of books by Jacqueline Carey is one of my favorite fantasy series. As a whole, this is a fantasy trilogy with some erotic bits about a courtesan who’s trained as a spy and who uses her skills to save her country and the people she cares about many times. Those skills are strongly drawn upon in this last book in the trilogy as the protagonist, Phèdre, and her consort, Josceline, must enter several dangerous situations where Phèdre’s clandestine and sensual skills, as well as her aptitude for languages, are what keep them alive and help them escape. I had some difficulty with the pace in this book, but I loved it by the end because of the various countries and cultures explored and how the story wraps up.

Every Tree Has a Story by Cécile Benoist, illus. by Charlotte Gastaut, transl. from the French by Sylvia Rucker ★★★★★

This is such a stunning book! At just over 40 pages, this nonfiction children’s picture book contains about 20 stories or entries about trees around the world and the people who nurtured them, tried to save them, or destroyed them. So we’re told about Julia Butterfly Hill, who protected a 1,000-year-old tree called Luna from being cut down by a lumber company in California; the dragon’s blood tree, which has sap so red that it seems to bleed when cut; what the tallest, largest, and oldest trees in the world are; and other things. And all this information is accompanied by gorgeous, detailed, patterned illustrations that do a great job of depicting the structure, foliage, and texture of the trees discussed. This is one that both kids and adults can enjoy and learn from.

DCeased: Unkillables by Tom Taylor, illus. by Karl Mostert ★★★★★

The DCeased comic-book series is one of my favorites. It’s basically about a zombie apocalypse that takes place in the DC universe, causing humans, superheroes, gods, and villains to become infected. The first volume, DCeased, tells us how the zombie apocalypse began and focuses on the superheroes who become infected. Unkillables, however, focuses more on the villains. Unkillables sees some villains teaming up with orphans to survive the wave of zombie attacks. It was entertaining, such a fun read with lots of action. I loved it.

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie ★★★★☆

I had no idea I’d like this book as much as I did. It’s the movie adaptation that led me to it, and despite having seen the movie, I was still hooked, on edge, and wondering who the murderer is. There are so many twists that I almost suspected everyone, lol. This is a classic mystery about noted detective Hercule Poirot getting swept up in yet another murder case despite his best efforts to be on vacation in Egypt. It was a delightful read that I could hardly break from.

Book Love by Debbie Tung (illus.) ★★★★★

I think this is one all book lovers will get a kick out of. It’s a graphic novel about being a reader and a lover of books. In a series of often unconnected panels, this book presents a character I presume to be the author in various situations that book nerds can all relate to, like packing more books than you could possibly read for a short trip. The situations are all light and fun and allow us laugh at ourselves about our bookish antics. It’s a sweet, fun read, and it’s obvious it would be on my lists of favorites.

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Well, that’s my list of favorite books for 2022. It’s quite short — just six — since I didn’t read much in 2022. I struggled to read last year and often focused on shorter works as a result.

Next up are my most memorable reads.

What’s your favorite book of 2022?