Happy Holidays: I appreciate your videos and your very thoughtful reviews. I do not have many friends who read. Just hearing people talk about their love of books is a precious gift that makes the holidays brighter.
Thank you! I think there are so many of us who can't get the same sort of book discussion in real life that we can find online. Happy holidays to you! 😊📚
I’ve got such lovely recommendations from you and appreciate you gushing about books that moved you. I gave Elizabeth Strout a chance because of you and my god, I could not be more grateful, Eric. Her writing and her stories have been such a light in my life and I would’ve never given her a read were it not for you❤️ thank you, truly🤗
🎉🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations on 30K!!! Thank you so much for sharing your reading life with us - your thoughts are always valued and appreciated. So grateful you are part of the book vlogging community!
Very excited to read The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. I read The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor was Divine and loved them both. Her writing is so spare and her voice is unique. I am so glad you included this title.
My top ten of the books I read in '22, some old, some new: Enjoyed your list, Eric! 1. Grant - Rod Chernow 2. KIN - Miljenko Jergovic 3. You Can't Go Home Again - Thomas Wolfe 4. The Passenger/Stella Maris - Cormac McCarthy 5. Elizabeth Finch - Julian Barnes 6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 7. The Dreamed Part - Rodrigo Fresan 8. The Remembered Part - Rodrigo Fresan 9. Voices After Evelyn - Rick Harsch 10. The Books of Jacob - Olga Tokarczuk
We live in a world filled with empty content these days. A person like you should get millions of subscribers. People do brain freezing content on social media and get millions of subscribers. Keep shining my friend. You have my undivided support. Merry Christmas 🎄
HOORAY 30k subs, SO well deserved . You are so patience in your explaining , so it also becomes reachable for beginners, and so knowledgeable about it all, Well done to you , Love and Light from Holland 💞🥂
Demon Copperhead and The Great Circle topped my list this year. Was another magnificent reading year for me, too….40 books in all and just started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow with Seven Moons on order at library! Thanks Eric for all your content and happy new year and reading joy in 2023. Looking forward to Charles Frazier’s new one to be released in April. Cold Mountain still a favorite after all these years since I absorbed its wonder.
Finally Eric's own list!!!...after exhausting all other end-of-the-year lists 😉 Of these, I'm still reading through Copperhead. I normally don't resonate with Kingsolver, because she can get really preachy at times, but I've found this one pretty engaging so far. I also read the sample of the Colony and the Swimmers but couldn't afford them at the time. Blessed holidays!
Thank you for your selection of books. I'm also an avid reader, but none of these books were among the many I read last year. However, Orhan Pamuk is a favorite author of mine and I enjoyed Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic several years ago, so I will definitely look for their books which you recommended.
Eric, I look forward to your top 10 books every year! Congrats on 30K subscribers. My favorite book of the year was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I loved the writing, and was both emotionally involved and entertained by the story. My other favorites include Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, and Fairy Tale by Steven King, and The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. Please don’t judge me for reading King, I love his stories.
Fairy Tale was a five-star read for me. I think Stephen King is a master at his craft. Not all of his books land for me, but he has some excellent ones (11/22/63, The Shining, The Stand, etc.).
What a great list! I completely agree with you on Maali Almeida, Elena Knows, Tomorrow and The Colony, such interesting reads and I'd include them as well. Not as much a fan of Maps or Trust, but I do understand why you like them. To your list I'd add Our Wives Under the Sea, as well as Ghost Town, both of which blew me away. Such a good reading year! I've been reading more classics lately (a bucket list, since health crises have helped me understand how limited my remaining reading time may be), and feel like I have so many incredible books to catch up on. And now we're entering a whole new year with new possibilities, it's overwhelming! Very glad publishing typically slows down a bit over the winter. Wishing you the happiest of holidays, Eric! Your videos are always such a gift. 🥰
I admire your reading perseverance and your dedication to review so many books with so much passion, but wonder one thing: how do you not get too much distracted by the huge amount of distraction these days offer🙂
Thanks! I definitely get distracted on occasion but often find the content of books much more exciting and engaging than other kinds of online or media content.
Fittingly I just finished Bolla yesterday!!! Really really loved it. One of those magical novels where you can hate the narrator and still love the book. Plus, along the lines of what you said, I felt like it invited me to research more about that conflict, and I am more knowledgeable now because of it! Great choice.
From your list I've read The Colony, The Swimmers and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. All strong novels from my year...but didn't make my top ten cut! My list is coming out probably next week. I hope to read Demon Copperhead and Seven Moons in 2023. Congrats on reaching 30,000, that's fantastic.
We have three books in common for our top 10. My favorite 2022 fiction: 1. Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes 2. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout 3. Trust by Hernan Diaz 4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 5. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy 6. Liberation Day by George Saunders 7. Trees by Percival Everett 8. The Colony by Audrey Magee 9. Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty 10. Horse by Geraldine Brooks Honorable Mentions: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St. John Mandel I had a great year in reading, thanks in no small measure to your recommendations, Eric!
Many congratulations on 30K subscribers and here's to many more. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka was such a beautiful, poignant read. Reading Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk now. Very different to My Name Is Red which is one of my favourites but still a very good book. Happy reading and happy holidays!
Oh this was a brilliant list. Maps & Moons are on my faves of the year too!! I forward to checking some of the others you mentioned. Thank you for sharing the list with us. I hope you and your husband have a Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄❤️
I just finished reading Jessica Machado’s Local: A Memoir. It’s really staying with me. A friend went for a vacation in Hawaii, so that’s what made it catch my eye. It’s her story of growing up in the 80s and 90s on Oahu, and a lot of it is interwoven with aspects of Hawaiian culture she didn’t recognize while events were unfolding - it’s a lovely way to reach back in time and have a sort of conversation with her younger self. Mostly, it’s about finding a sense of belonging, of being an outsider looking in, of reckless attempts to distract from the pain of isolation and trauma. A fast read, and occasionally preachy, but mostly raw and vulnerable and intense.
I loved Bolla! Looking forward to reading the others. Most are already on my TBR. Thank you for a wonderful list of recommendations! Happy Holidays, Eric! ❤
Loved The Swimmers and The Colony too. Also The Books of Jacob, A Passage North and Tomb of Sand. .. and shout out to The Power of the Dog, deservedly getting attention following the magnificent film. Can also recommend another Trollope, Can You Forgive Her.... Really enjoying reading my way through his works
Thank you for your enthusiastic talk! I picked up Elena Knows and The Swimmers. I will let you know okay? Currently reading Demon Copperhead. Very impressive, poor kid.
14:29 I was hoping this would be on the list! I was so impressed with how this novel was executed. I am not much into video games as reading is my preferred hobby but I have enough experience to understand the underlying metaphor. This was so good!
As a quadriplegic, from a chronic, progressively debilitating disease, similar to Parkinsons, I feel I can speak from Elena's viewpoint in Elena Knows. I have also been called "rude", "mean," " grouchy," and "insensitive." They're all true. When you can't use the toilet, bathe, eat, walk, drive, scratch and maybe even breathe, without someone's help, you tend to put empathy for the feelings of the able bodied, on the back burner. Just a thought. Love your reviews.
I haven't read any of these books and now I want to read all of them 😬 Particularly Elena Knows. And I've never even heard of Trust, but it sounds fascinating!
8:56 I’m excited to read Demon Copperhead! I read the first few paragraphs and I was already quite excited! I’ve never read Barbara Kingsolver but I have a feeling she will be a new favorite!
Congratulations on 30k subscribers! I appreciate your thoughtful and thorough reviews. I just started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow for a book club and was relieved to hear your review because I’m not into gaming and thought it might not be for me. You gave me hope. 😂
“Trust” seems to be a raw presentation of our times, also it's going to be made into a series this year. Got me intrigued. I have my eyes on “The Colony” and “Bolla” as well, give me a devastating story and have me captive. Interesting selection 😁
Lots of my favourites on your list - although I would put The Trees on my list (instead of The Colony which was disappointing). I have Demon Copperhead to read over my summer holidays.
Great list! There is some overlap with my Top 5: 1. Liska Jacobs THE PINK HOTEL 2. Shehan Karunatilaka THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA 3. Hernan Diaz TRUST 4. Patrick Modiano SCENE OF A CRIME 5. Antoine Wilson MOUTH TO MOUTH
5 of yours would also get into my books of the year, though I'm doing mine by categories this year as I don't really have a book of the year. Festive bests Eric and here's to a great 2023 reading year.
Great list Eric! I'm so excited to see Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies on here. That book easily was my favourite read of 2022 (probably one of my top 10 books of all time) and I haven't heard too many people mention it. I adored Maddie Mortimers writing, and the book also struck a very personal note to my own experiences. Other contestants for my favourite read were Ghost Music by An Yu, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. I'm currently waiting for my library-holds on Demon Copperhead and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida to come through, so maybe those will make my list for next year.
A great and varied list. I love best books of the year lists and how varied they are from reader to reader. I am still thinking about mine but it will include Companion Piece, The Whalebone Theatre, Trespasses and To Paradise.
thank you for your videos. I watch them all. My favorite reads this year, which definitely fit into your reading style, are The Dolphin House by Audrey Schulman, Norwegian By Night by Derek Miller, and Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura. Have a great New Year!
Great list! Wow 100 books I only read 35! I just started trust which I’m excited about, demon copperhead I also need to read, my ten fav books read in 2022 were, The colony, Rebecca, The Nightingale, The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The sentence, The marriage portrait, Young mungo, Notes to self, The island of missing trees, The trees
Elena, The Colony and Trust were all on my favourites list too. I have n`t got round to Barbara Kingsolver yet - but really liked The Marriage Portrait and Lucy by the Sea. On the non fiction front, Otherlands was very good.
A fascinating list, Eric. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Nights of the Plague and The Swimmers are going on my TBR. I'm currently listening to Demon Copperhead and I suspect it will make my top 10 this year. I read Seven Moons and listened to Maps of our Spec.bods. I'm actually not sure if they will make my top 10 this year, they may. Top of my top 10s is still currently Here Goes Nothing by Steve Toltz.
Congratulations Eric on 30k subscribers... Elena was a great read and one of my favourite of the year too Many of the books that you mentioned are on my tbr and hopefully will read them soon 😊
Thank you for sharing! I enjoy someone who reads about any topic. I like "heavy" authors but my first language is Spanish and I believe some books should never be translated (Ex: "Cien años de soledad" by Gabriel García Marquez) so recommendations from you, with experience and good taste, are valuable. Please be safe, enjoy the New Year and looking forward all your videos.🎉
Hi Eric, I have visited your site from time to time but it only recently that I got truly hooked. I am so happy about that. Like many others, I don't have that many people to talk about books with. Your reviews are so thoughtful and insightful and I love the caring and kind way that you present the reviews and always ask for comments and feedback from your viewers. I so enjoyed your interviews with JCO and am currently reading Night, Sleep, Death, the Stars and just loving it. She is amazing. Also, enjoyed Damon Galgut's The Promise. Are you familiar with this South African author? Looking forward to Spring from snowy Ontario.
Thank you so much, Jennifer. That's kind of you to write. I'm glad you're enjoying that big JCO novel. I thought The Promise was a very striking and powerful novel. I made a video about it here: th-cam.com/video/x3MRnH2g5Y4/w-d-xo.html
My favourite books were Colm Toibin:The Magician, Percy Everett:The Trees, Bulawayo:Glory, Pineiro: Elena Knows, Robert JonesJnr: The Prophets, Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry, Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead , Shree: Tomb of Sand, Sally Heyden: My 4th Time We Drowned and Sally Morland : A Fortunate Woman
haven't read any of those books lol！but all sounds interesting！add to my tbr！also you bookshelf looks amazing！hope to see a bookshelf tour of all the books
I would name The Colony as best new novel I read in 2022; it's almost perfect in my opinion. By far the best on the Booker prize list of the ten that I've read (all except Mortimer (which I abandoned), Fowler, and Schwartz.
I loved Demon Copperhead…..I have read everything Barbara Kingsolver has written ever since I read The Poisonwood Bible, one of my favorite novels of all time….love her writing!
Some of my top reads of 2022: Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, Women's Work by Elizabeth Barber, Say Nothing by Patrick Keefe, The Ukrainian Night by Marci Shore, and Red Notice by Bill Browder.
I'm listening to the Say Nothing audiobook and I love it. It's explaining so much about the fighting. For instance that Catholics were hated even if they were English soldiers.
Am reading Vermelho, Branco e Sangue Azul (Red, White and Blue blood) at the moment. As for recommendations: I have mentioned it a few times I think, you should really read The cook of Castamar as soon as it is translated! Elena Knows sounds like a book I would enjoy. The colony and The swimmer sounds wonderful.
@@EricKarlAnderson Me too, the author Fernando J. Muñez deserves world wide recognition As a cineast he really knows how to build a world You simply get transported to that time and place
It is too difficult to choose 10. I have read 6 of your 10 and while I disagree with the inclusion of Trust which I did not get along with the others are high on my list too. Interesting to see you include Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow which I have not yet read but which seems to be everywhere. I can't believe 2022 is almost over, each year seems to speed past so quickly. Wishing you and your husband a lovely Christmas and New Year.
I've read some good books this year but I'm not sure if they were great. Two that really stuck with me were 1) "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke because the protagonist was both analytical to the extreme and innocent and good to the extreme. I loved how in the end his former personality and his Pirenasi personality coexisted in him. It was such a strange and sad book for me. 2) "A wild sheep case" by Haruki Murakami. I don't even know how to explain how this one affected me. Such an odd book, but it comes to me every now and again- The whale member in the museum, the girlfriend with the beautiful ears... It captured something true about the human existence. I think I might try the seven moon book. I like reading about ghosts... Happy holidays.
Interesting list. Demon Copperhead and Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies were among this year's favourites. I tried Trust via audio twice, I listened to 5-6 hrs, but I decided to give up, as I found it just OK. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was one of the books that disappointed me this year. The Seven Moons and Colony were excellent reads as well. I need to get to Elena Knows, I've heard only good things. Enjoy your Christmas break, thanks for all the informative videos.
Eric, Thank you for reviewing books that you found remarkable. I read Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver and thoroughly agree😅 with you. It is a winner. I appreciate your expertise in recommendations of books. Keep on keeping us informed on noteworthy books.
Hello Eric. I have Demon Copperhead on Audio for Christmas leave! Loved Seven Moons as well. Other favourites to make up my Top 10 fiction were The Arsonists City - Hala Aylan Love Marriage - Monica Ali Things we do not tell the people we love - Huma Qureshi Seven Steeples - Sara Baume That Green Eyed Girl - Julie Owen Moylan The Sentence - Louise Erdrich Best of Friends - Kamila Shamsie These Impossible Things - Salma El-Wardany Whereabouts - Jhumpa Lahiri A Ghost in the Throat - Dioreen Ni Giorfa
28:41 Whenever you make a list, I haven’t heard of a lot of the books but I always love to hear about books other people don’t normally talk about. My question is, how do you usually discover these books? How do you decide which to pick up?
I find out about books from a number of different sources. Some books I find out about here on TH-cam or on other social media. I have some favourite publishers like Granta Books, Faber and Picador who tend to publish fiction I really like. Often I'll read books nominated for book prizes. Sometimes I get personal recommendations from friends. And sometimes I'll just go to a bookstore and browse for ages to discover new books.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and The Colony are in my top ten as well. A few others are Candy House, Young Mungo and while it wasn’t the highest rated of my books Our Wives Under the Sea has had one of the biggest impacts for me as a book this year.
You aren’t alone on Our Wives….I haven’t read it myself but I’m seeing it crop up on many, many end of year lists in my book tube and podcast diet. I’ve added it to my TBR for 2023.
I haven't read Nights of Plague but I did listen to Snow by Orhan Pamuk earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It sounds like it grapples with similar themes to NoP but also about the role of writers and artists during politically tense times - I think you'd like it if you haven't read it before ☺️
I can’t make up my mind about my best books of the year. I’m looking through my book journal while watching your list. I’ve read 90 books so far. I’m still trying to finish two books before new year. So many of my best books were not published in 2022. Foster by Claire Keegan Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart What Willow Says Elena Knows The Colony by Audrey Magee Tresspasses by Louise Kennedy The Trees The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Arsonists City Interpreter of Maladies The Secret Lives of Church Ladies The Sleep Walkers Guide to Dancing The Innocents by Michael Crummey Oh William The Poisonwood Bible The Lacuna Demon Copperhead War Doctor Lessons in Chemistry After The Parade by Lori Ostlund Happy Christmas Eric 🍀👋☘️🤗😍
What a wonderful list! I usually only include books published in the past year because that's what I read the most. But I thought Ostlund's novel was excellent too.
Hello Eric - I was wondering about which your favourite books are and I got this video. So, thank you. I read a book last year, which made a lot of impression on me. It's called - Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville by Akash Kapur. It's on the hippies and how they chased utopia and wanted to build an alternate way of life. How they shunned institutional conventions about marriage, kids, and even about currency and how difficult it was for them. To me, it's a great book on those who did not sit on the fence; they made bold choices and paid a heavy price. Incredibly moving. Do read it if you haven't. For some reason, it's not as popular in India as it should be.
What a great list and have read a lot of them and some to get to. Can I just say In The Distance by Hernan Diaz is such a great book I read Trust but it is such a different type of book. I want to give shout out. In addition Memento Moi Spark Liquid Land Edelbauer The Year Of The Zinc Penny DiMartintis Wyoming. Gifford The Housekeeper and The Professor. Ogawa Forest of Wood and Steel Miyashita On Chesil Beach McEwan Are a random list of some sleepers I enjoyed
Hi Eric, on my channel, I have reviewed recommendations that the vinyl community have made. I would like to expand into books and comics. Please let me know if you’d be willing to let me use a clip about a book you review. Then I’ll read it and make a video. I have been enjoying your Booker coverage. I also loved Trust. I really need to read Elena Knows. Demon Copperhead sounds amazing - added to my list. I’m adding every one of these I haven’t read to my audio playlist - you are very convincing. I loved The Colony too - so good! Bolls is definitely a must read!!! I’m glad my library has it. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies was not one of my favorites, but I understand why you would like it - the writing is great; but for some reason, I wasn’t drawn in. A friend loves Pamuk and really liked Nights of Plague. I have read another book by him a long time ago, and will also give this a try. The Swimmers is available now, so I will start it very soon. Thank you for so many great recommendations. I just realized that I’d read another book by Julie Otsuka about Japanese Internment camps and it was excellent. I was able to visit three internment camps over the course of the last two summers - it is my goal to visit all (I’m visiting as many American National Historic Sites and Monuments as I can, when I can). Sorry, I was very wordy, but your review inspired me.
Happy Holidays: I appreciate your videos and your very thoughtful reviews. I do not have many friends who read. Just hearing people talk about their love of books is a precious gift that makes the holidays brighter.
Thank you! I think there are so many of us who can't get the same sort of book discussion in real life that we can find online. Happy holidays to you! 😊📚
I’ve got such lovely recommendations from you and appreciate you gushing about books that moved you. I gave Elizabeth Strout a chance because of you and my god, I could not be more grateful, Eric. Her writing and her stories have been such a light in my life and I would’ve never given her a read were it not for you❤️ thank you, truly🤗
Thank you! That’s so wonderful to hear. 😊📚
🎉🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations on 30K!!! Thank you so much for sharing your reading life with us - your thoughts are always valued and appreciated. So grateful you are part of the book vlogging community!
Thanks so much! 😊📚 Happy New Year!
Very excited to read The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. I read The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor was Divine and loved them both. Her writing is so spare and her voice is unique. I am so glad you included this title.
My top ten of the books I read in '22, some old, some new: Enjoyed your list, Eric!
1. Grant - Rod Chernow
2. KIN - Miljenko Jergovic
3. You Can't Go Home Again - Thomas Wolfe
4. The Passenger/Stella Maris - Cormac McCarthy
5. Elizabeth Finch - Julian Barnes
6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
7. The Dreamed Part - Rodrigo Fresan
8. The Remembered Part - Rodrigo Fresan
9. Voices After Evelyn - Rick Harsch
10. The Books of Jacob - Olga Tokarczuk
Good mix! Thank you! 😊📚
We live in a world filled with empty content these days. A person like you should get millions of subscribers. People do brain freezing content on social media and get millions of subscribers. Keep shining my friend. You have my undivided support.
Merry Christmas 🎄
HOORAY 30k subs, SO well deserved . You are so patience in your explaining , so it also becomes reachable for beginners, and so knowledgeable about it all, Well done to you , Love and Light from Holland 💞🥂
I’m so glad you mentioned The Swimmers. It was one of my favorites and deserves more attention.
Definitely!
Demon Copperhead and The Great Circle topped my list this year. Was another magnificent reading year for me, too….40 books in all and just started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow with Seven Moons on order at library! Thanks Eric for all your content and happy new year and reading joy in 2023. Looking forward to Charles Frazier’s new one to be released in April. Cold Mountain still a favorite after all these years since I absorbed its wonder.
Finally Eric's own list!!!...after exhausting all other end-of-the-year lists 😉
Of these, I'm still reading through Copperhead. I normally don't resonate with Kingsolver, because she can get really preachy at times, but I've found this one pretty engaging so far. I also read the sample of the Colony and the Swimmers but couldn't afford them at the time. Blessed holidays!
Glad you’re enjoying Demon Copperhead. Very happy holidays to you!
Just finished Demon Copperhead last night. Holy smokes! What a fantastic novel. The voice was brilliant. Such a good read!!!!
Thank you for your selection of books. I'm also an avid reader, but none of these books were among the many I read last year. However, Orhan Pamuk is a favorite author of mine and I enjoyed Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic several years ago, so I will definitely look for their books which you recommended.
Eric, I look forward to your top 10 books every year! Congrats on 30K subscribers. My favorite book of the year was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I loved the writing, and was both emotionally involved and entertained by the story. My other favorites include Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, and Fairy Tale by Steven King, and The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. Please don’t judge me for reading King, I love his stories.
Fairy Tale was a five-star read for me. I think Stephen King is a master at his craft. Not all of his books land for me, but he has some excellent ones (11/22/63, The Shining, The Stand, etc.).
Thank you! I still need to get to The Candy House.
I just finished Seven Moons and I cannot stop thinking about it. THANK YOU for putting it on my radar back when you did your Booker videos!
Ah, I’m so glad it made such an impression on you!
What a great list! I completely agree with you on Maali Almeida, Elena Knows, Tomorrow and The Colony, such interesting reads and I'd include them as well. Not as much a fan of Maps or Trust, but I do understand why you like them. To your list I'd add Our Wives Under the Sea, as well as Ghost Town, both of which blew me away. Such a good reading year! I've been reading more classics lately (a bucket list, since health crises have helped me understand how limited my remaining reading time may be), and feel like I have so many incredible books to catch up on. And now we're entering a whole new year with new possibilities, it's overwhelming! Very glad publishing typically slows down a bit over the winter.
Wishing you the happiest of holidays, Eric! Your videos are always such a gift. 🥰
Thank you, I still need to get to Our Wives under the Sea and Ghost Town. Very happy holidays to you! 😊📚
Six books on your list are definitely on my TBR. The Swimmers sounds intriguing and it’s new to me so adding that one too. 😊💙
I admire your reading perseverance and your dedication to review so many books with so much passion, but wonder one thing: how do you not get too much distracted by the huge amount of distraction these days offer🙂
Thanks! I definitely get distracted on occasion but often find the content of books much more exciting and engaging than other kinds of online or media content.
Elena Knows was also on my favorites video this year!!! LOVED IT SO MUCH and connected to it because my dad has Parkinson's too.
It’s such a moving book.
Fittingly I just finished Bolla yesterday!!! Really really loved it. One of those magical novels where you can hate the narrator and still love the book. Plus, along the lines of what you said, I felt like it invited me to research more about that conflict, and I am more knowledgeable now because of it! Great choice.
Thanks! I’m so glad you found it such a powerful and striking novel as well.
Thank you, I'm adding Bolla, Maps of our Spectacular Bodies, and The Swimmers to my TBR!
Great! I hope you enjoy them. 📚
Looking forward to reading a few of these books. Reading wuthering heights again at the moment.
Ah, it’s such a wild story! Hope you enjoy!
From your list I've read The Colony, The Swimmers and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. All strong novels from my year...but didn't make my top ten cut! My list is coming out probably next week. I hope to read Demon Copperhead and Seven Moons in 2023. Congrats on reaching 30,000, that's fantastic.
Thank you! Definitely worth reading those two when you have time. Happy New Year!
We have three books in common for our top 10. My favorite 2022 fiction:
1. Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
2. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
3. Trust by Hernan Diaz
4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
6. Liberation Day by George Saunders
7. Trees by Percival Everett
8. The Colony by Audrey Magee
9. Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty
10. Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Honorable Mentions:
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St. John Mandel
I had a great year in reading, thanks in no small measure to your recommendations, Eric!
Great list! 😊📚 I’m still looking forward to reading Liberation Day and Horse.
Many congratulations on 30K subscribers and here's to many more.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka was such a beautiful, poignant read.
Reading Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk now. Very different to My Name Is Red which is one of my favourites but still a very good book.
Happy reading and happy holidays!
Thank you! Happy holidays!
Oh this was a brilliant list. Maps & Moons are on my faves of the year too!! I forward to checking some of the others you mentioned. Thank you for sharing the list with us. I hope you and your husband have a Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄❤️
Yay, we have great taste! 😜😊📚 Merry Christmas! 🎄
I just finished reading Jessica Machado’s Local: A Memoir. It’s really staying with me. A friend went for a vacation in Hawaii, so that’s what made it catch my eye. It’s her story of growing up in the 80s and 90s on Oahu, and a lot of it is interwoven with aspects of Hawaiian culture she didn’t recognize while events were unfolding - it’s a lovely way to reach back in time and have a sort of conversation with her younger self. Mostly, it’s about finding a sense of belonging, of being an outsider looking in, of reckless attempts to distract from the pain of isolation and trauma. A fast read, and occasionally preachy, but mostly raw and vulnerable and intense.
I loved Bolla! Looking forward to reading the others. Most are already on my TBR. Thank you for a wonderful list of recommendations! Happy Holidays, Eric! ❤
So glad you agree! Happy holidays!
Great list Eric! Happy New Year!
Loved The Swimmers and The Colony too. Also The Books of Jacob, A Passage North and Tomb of Sand. .. and shout out to The Power of the Dog, deservedly getting attention following the magnificent film. Can also recommend another Trollope, Can You Forgive Her.... Really enjoying reading my way through his works
Ah great! I’ve got a copy of Can You Forgive Her. I’ll look forward to it.
Thank you for your enthusiastic talk! I picked up Elena Knows and The Swimmers. I will let you know okay? Currently reading Demon Copperhead. Very impressive, poor kid.
Maps of our Spectacular Bodies blew me away.I was literally breathless, and had tears running down my face when I finished it. I felt raw.
14:29 I was hoping this would be on the list! I was so impressed with how this novel was executed. I am not much into video games as reading is my preferred hobby but I have enough experience to understand the underlying metaphor. This was so good!
I will definitely look into this list! Thank you
As a quadriplegic, from a chronic, progressively debilitating disease, similar to Parkinsons, I feel I can speak from Elena's viewpoint in Elena Knows. I have also been called "rude", "mean," " grouchy," and "insensitive." They're all true. When you can't use the toilet, bathe, eat, walk, drive, scratch and maybe even breathe, without someone's help, you tend to put empathy for the feelings of the able bodied, on the back burner.
Just a thought. Love your reviews.
My favorite books of the year
When We Lost Our Heads: Heather O'Neil
The Cherry Robbers: Sarai Walker
The Colony
Heartsease: Charlotte Mary Yonge
Great! 😊📚
Lovely to see Elena Knows in your list. Overtones of Hitchcock; the ending had me gripped.
I appreciate how you spoke of The Colony and Elena Knows. Both books were so meaning to me.
Thanks, I’m glad you found those books impactful
I haven't read any of these books and now I want to read all of them 😬 Particularly Elena Knows. And I've never even heard of Trust, but it sounds fascinating!
Hope you enjoy them!
Currently reading The Shell Seakers and truly enjoying it.
You've brought so much motivation and positivity this year, thank you and Happy Holidays!
That's wonderful to hear! Happy New Year! 📚
I want to read ALL of these. Thank you for sharing!
😊📚
Thank you so much. So many wonderful recommendations to choose from.
8:56 I’m excited to read Demon Copperhead! I read the first few paragraphs and I was already quite excited! I’ve never read Barbara Kingsolver but I have a feeling she will be a new favorite!
This was so inspiring! I’m looking forward to reading many of these, which were not on my radar. They all sound so interesting.
Congratulations on 30k subscribers! I appreciate your thoughtful and thorough reviews. I just started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow for a book club and was relieved to hear your review because I’m not into gaming and thought it might not be for me. You gave me hope. 😂
Thank you so much! I don't think not being into gaming matters that much for reading this book and I hope you still enjoy it!
“Trust” seems to be a raw presentation of our times, also it's going to be made into a series this year. Got me intrigued.
I have my eyes on “The Colony” and “Bolla” as well, give me a devastating story and have me captive.
Interesting selection 😁
I have maps of our spectacular bodies waiting for me at the library and I’m very excited. Thank you for all your creative work this year. Aloha
Great! Hope you find it as impactful as I did.
Lots of my favourites on your list - although I would put The Trees on my list (instead of The Colony which was disappointing). I have Demon Copperhead to read over my summer holidays.
The Trees was up there for me to.
Great list! There is some overlap with my Top 5:
1. Liska Jacobs THE PINK HOTEL
2. Shehan Karunatilaka THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA
3. Hernan Diaz TRUST
4. Patrick Modiano SCENE OF A CRIME
5. Antoine Wilson MOUTH TO MOUTH
Great! 😊📚
5 of yours would also get into my books of the year, though I'm doing mine by categories this year as I don't really have a book of the year. Festive bests Eric and here's to a great 2023 reading year.
It's interesting to do them in categories and glad we have a lot of crossover. Happy New Year, Marc!
Great list Eric! I'm so excited to see Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies on here. That book easily was my favourite read of 2022 (probably one of my top 10 books of all time) and I haven't heard too many people mention it. I adored Maddie Mortimers writing, and the book also struck a very personal note to my own experiences.
Other contestants for my favourite read were Ghost Music by An Yu, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. I'm currently waiting for my library-holds on Demon Copperhead and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida to come through, so maybe those will make my list for next year.
Thank you! I still need to read those books by Yu, Armfield & St John Mandel.
A great and varied list. I love best books of the year lists and how varied they are from reader to reader. I am still thinking about mine but it will include Companion Piece, The Whalebone Theatre, Trespasses and To Paradise.
Thanks, I need to get to The Whalebone Theatre.
thank you for your videos. I watch them all. My favorite reads this year, which definitely fit into your reading style, are The Dolphin House by Audrey Schulman, Norwegian By Night by Derek Miller, and Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura. Have a great New Year!
Thank you! 😊 And I’ve not read those three so I’ll look them up. Happy New Year!
Great list! Wow 100 books I only read 35! I just started trust which I’m excited about, demon copperhead I also need to read, my ten fav books read in 2022 were, The colony, Rebecca, The Nightingale, The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The sentence, The marriage portrait, Young mungo, Notes to self, The island of missing trees, The trees
Great! I’ve just started The Marriage Portrait. I’ll probably be reading it till New Year
Elena, The Colony and Trust were all on my favourites list too. I have n`t got round to Barbara Kingsolver yet - but really liked The Marriage Portrait and Lucy by the Sea. On the non fiction front, Otherlands was very good.
I’m reading The Marriage Portrait now and really enjoying it! And, yes, Otherlands is so good!
Thank you for this fab 10! Heartwarming to see The Colony still on your list. It's on mine, too. I have not read Bolla and look forward to it.
Yes, The Colony is so good! It should have appeared on more of the newspaper ‘best of’ lists. Hope you enjoy Bolla!
A fascinating list, Eric. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Nights of the Plague and The Swimmers are going on my TBR. I'm currently listening to Demon Copperhead and I suspect it will make my top 10 this year. I read Seven Moons and listened to Maps of our Spec.bods. I'm actually not sure if they will make my top 10 this year, they may. Top of my top 10s is still currently Here Goes Nothing by Steve Toltz.
I'm so glad you're appreciating Demon Copperhead and I still need to get to reading Toltz's new novel.
Congratulations Eric on 30k subscribers...
Elena was a great read and one of my favourite of the year too
Many of the books that you mentioned are on my tbr and hopefully will read them soon 😊
My favorite from this year is Demon Copperhead!❤
Thank you! 😊📚
The Swimmers is now highly up my tbr, being a swimmer myself. Thanks for your brilliant reviews ✨
Great! Hope you connect with it.
Thank you for sharing! I enjoy someone who reads about any topic. I like "heavy" authors but my first language is Spanish and I believe some books should never be translated (Ex: "Cien años de soledad" by Gabriel García Marquez) so recommendations from you, with experience and good taste, are valuable. Please be safe, enjoy the New Year and looking forward all your videos.🎉
Hi Eric, I have visited your site from time to time but it only recently that I got truly hooked. I am so happy about that. Like many others, I don't have that many people to talk about books with. Your reviews are so thoughtful and insightful and I love the caring and kind way that you present the reviews and always ask for comments and feedback from your viewers. I so enjoyed your interviews with JCO and am currently reading Night, Sleep, Death, the Stars and just loving it. She is amazing. Also, enjoyed Damon Galgut's The Promise. Are you familiar with this South African author? Looking forward to Spring from snowy Ontario.
Thank you so much, Jennifer. That's kind of you to write. I'm glad you're enjoying that big JCO novel. I thought The Promise was a very striking and powerful novel. I made a video about it here: th-cam.com/video/x3MRnH2g5Y4/w-d-xo.html
My favourite books were Colm Toibin:The Magician, Percy Everett:The Trees, Bulawayo:Glory, Pineiro: Elena Knows, Robert JonesJnr: The Prophets, Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry, Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead , Shree: Tomb of Sand, Sally Heyden: My 4th Time We Drowned and Sally Morland : A Fortunate Woman
Fantastic list! 📚 I still need to read Lessons in Chemistry.
haven't read any of those books lol！but all sounds interesting！add to my tbr！also you bookshelf looks amazing！hope to see a bookshelf tour of all the books
Thank you! I did a bookshelf tour just a couple of weeks ago and you can watch it here: th-cam.com/video/I641F9K3Cbg/w-d-xo.html
I would name The Colony as best new novel I read in 2022; it's almost perfect in my opinion. By far the best on the Booker prize list of the ten that I've read (all except Mortimer (which I abandoned), Fowler, and Schwartz.
Great! 📚
I loved Demon Copperhead…..I have read everything Barbara Kingsolver has written ever since I read The Poisonwood Bible, one of my favorite novels of all time….love her writing!
Some of my top reads of 2022: Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, Women's Work by Elizabeth Barber, Say Nothing by Patrick Keefe, The Ukrainian Night by Marci Shore, and Red Notice by Bill Browder.
I'm listening to the Say Nothing audiobook and I love it. It's explaining so much about the fighting. For instance that Catholics were hated even if they were English soldiers.
Not finished with it yet, but Cormac McCarthy The Passenger is quite different and interesting.
I've heard many good things about Orhan Pamuk and I really need to start reading his books. Nights of Plague looks interesting!
Looking forward to reading the Colony after hearing your review. It sounds stunning.
Hope you enjoy it!
Am reading Vermelho, Branco e Sangue Azul (Red, White and Blue blood) at the moment.
As for recommendations: I have mentioned it a few times I think, you should really read The cook of Castamar as soon as it is translated!
Elena Knows sounds like a book I would enjoy. The colony and The swimmer sounds wonderful.
I hope that book gets translated soon!
@@EricKarlAnderson Me too, the author Fernando J. Muñez deserves world wide recognition As a cineast he really knows how to build a world You simply get transported to that time and place
It is too difficult to choose 10. I have read 6 of your 10 and while I disagree with the inclusion of Trust which I did not get along with the others are high on my list too. Interesting to see you include Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow which I have not yet read but which seems to be everywhere. I can't believe 2022 is almost over, each year seems to speed past so quickly. Wishing you and your husband a lovely Christmas and New Year.
It has gone very quickly! Hope you had a very merry Christmas. Happy New Year, Janet!
I've read some good books this year but I'm not sure if they were great. Two that really stuck with me were
1) "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke because the protagonist was both analytical to the extreme and innocent and good to the extreme. I loved how in the end his former personality and his Pirenasi personality coexisted in him. It was such a strange and sad book for me.
2) "A wild sheep case" by Haruki Murakami. I don't even know how to explain how this one affected me. Such an odd book, but it comes to me every now and again- The whale member in the museum, the girlfriend with the beautiful ears... It captured something true about the human existence.
I think I might try the seven moon book. I like reading about ghosts... Happy holidays.
Interesting list. Demon Copperhead and Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies were among this year's favourites. I tried Trust via audio twice, I listened to 5-6 hrs, but I decided to give up, as I found it just OK. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was one of the books that disappointed me this year. The Seven Moons and Colony were excellent reads as well. I need to get to Elena Knows, I've heard only good things. Enjoy your Christmas break, thanks for all the informative videos.
Definitely read Elena Knows! Happy holidays! 🎄
Pamuk's plague story sounds like something I'd read, and I'm curious to see how it stands up against Camus and Lewis. Happy New Year
Happy New Year!
Gosh darn it. There go two more purchases and two more on my wish list…
I absolutely adored Trust! Glad you liked it too!
👍📚
Two books in your top ten just tied for the Pulitzer Prize. That is very lucky.
Both quality! So we’ll deserved.
great to hear your top 10 and congrats on 30k! :-)
Thanks! Happy New Year! Hope to see you soon.
Eric, Thank you for reviewing books that you found remarkable. I read Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver and thoroughly agree😅 with you. It is a winner. I appreciate your expertise in recommendations of books. Keep on keeping us informed on noteworthy books.
Hello Eric. I have Demon Copperhead on Audio for Christmas leave! Loved Seven Moons as well.
Other favourites to make up my Top 10 fiction were
The Arsonists City - Hala Aylan
Love Marriage - Monica Ali
Things we do not tell the people we love - Huma Qureshi
Seven Steeples - Sara Baume
That Green Eyed Girl - Julie Owen Moylan
The Sentence - Louise Erdrich
Best of Friends - Kamila Shamsie
These Impossible Things - Salma El-Wardany
Whereabouts - Jhumpa Lahiri
A Ghost in the Throat - Dioreen Ni Giorfa
I loved Ghost in the Throat! Hope you enjoy Demon Copperhead.
Great list!!
I read so many books thanks to your reviews. I am very grateful, but my bank account is not too thrilled 😄
28:41 Whenever you make a list, I haven’t heard of a lot of the books but I always love to hear about books other people don’t normally talk about. My question is, how do you usually discover these books? How do you decide which to pick up?
I find out about books from a number of different sources. Some books I find out about here on TH-cam or on other social media. I have some favourite publishers like Granta Books, Faber and Picador who tend to publish fiction I really like. Often I'll read books nominated for book prizes. Sometimes I get personal recommendations from friends. And sometimes I'll just go to a bookstore and browse for ages to discover new books.
I loved Maps too.
Super excited to get to Demon Copperhead 😁
👍📚
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and The Colony are in my top ten as well. A few others are Candy House, Young Mungo and while it wasn’t the highest rated of my books Our Wives Under the Sea has had one of the biggest impacts for me as a book this year.
You aren’t alone on Our Wives….I haven’t read it myself but I’m seeing it crop up on many, many end of year lists in my book tube and podcast diet. I’ve added it to my TBR for 2023.
I keep hearing so many great things about Our Wives Under the Sea. I really ought to get to it.
I also loved elena knows!! i'd like to read seven moons and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow soon
Hope you find time to get to them! 😊📚
I haven't read Nights of Plague but I did listen to Snow by Orhan Pamuk earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It sounds like it grapples with similar themes to NoP but also about the role of writers and artists during politically tense times - I think you'd like it if you haven't read it before ☺️
Ah great! I should read Snow.
I can’t make up my mind about my best books of the year. I’m looking through my book journal while watching your list. I’ve read 90 books so far. I’m still trying to finish two books before new year. So many of my best books were not published in 2022.
Foster by Claire Keegan
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
What Willow Says
Elena Knows
The Colony by Audrey Magee
Tresspasses by Louise Kennedy
The Trees
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Arsonists City
Interpreter of Maladies
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
The Sleep Walkers Guide to Dancing
The Innocents by Michael Crummey
Oh William
The Poisonwood Bible
The Lacuna
Demon Copperhead
War Doctor
Lessons in Chemistry
After The Parade by Lori Ostlund
Happy Christmas Eric 🍀👋☘️🤗😍
What a wonderful list! I usually only include books published in the past year because that's what I read the most. But I thought Ostlund's novel was excellent too.
Thanks!
Just put a hold on 'Tomorrow and...' Should be available in about fifteen weeks.
Hope you enjoy it when it arrives!
Hello Eric - I was wondering about which your favourite books are and I got this video. So, thank you. I read a book last year, which made a lot of impression on me. It's called - Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville by Akash Kapur. It's on the hippies and how they chased utopia and wanted to build an alternate way of life. How they shunned institutional conventions about marriage, kids, and even about currency and how difficult it was for them. To me, it's a great book on those who did not sit on the fence; they made bold choices and paid a heavy price. Incredibly moving. Do read it if you haven't. For some reason, it's not as popular in India as it should be.
That sounds so interesting, thank you!
0:12 so excited for this!!! 😊
🤗📚
What a great list and have read a lot of them and some to get to. Can I just say In The Distance by Hernan Diaz is such a great book I read Trust but it is such a different type of book. I want to give shout out. In addition
Memento Moi Spark
Liquid Land Edelbauer
The Year Of The Zinc Penny DiMartintis
Wyoming. Gifford
The Housekeeper and The Professor. Ogawa
Forest of Wood and Steel Miyashita
On Chesil Beach McEwan
Are a random list of some sleepers I enjoyed
Ah, great! I'm looking forward to Diaz's first novel. Momento More is so good! And I really enjoyed that Ogawa novel too.
Would you recommend Nights of Plague in audio or book form?
Yes, I partly read it by listening to some chapters on audio.
I'll pass on Trust. I'm currently reading Demon Copperhead, so worthwhile and engaging. A few of the others are on my list.
Glad you're enjoying Kingsolver's novel!
Hi Eric, on my channel, I have reviewed recommendations that the vinyl community have made. I would like to expand into books and comics. Please let me know if you’d be willing to let me use a clip about a book you review. Then I’ll read it and make a video. I have been enjoying your Booker coverage. I also loved Trust. I really need to read Elena Knows. Demon Copperhead sounds amazing - added to my list. I’m adding every one of these I haven’t read to my audio playlist - you are very convincing. I loved The Colony too - so good! Bolls is definitely a must read!!! I’m glad my library has it. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies was not one of my favorites, but I understand why you would like it - the writing is great; but for some reason, I wasn’t drawn in. A friend loves Pamuk and really liked Nights of Plague. I have read another book by him a long time ago, and will also give this a try. The Swimmers is available now, so I will start it very soon. Thank you for so many great recommendations. I just realized that I’d read another book by Julie Otsuka about Japanese Internment camps and it was excellent. I was able to visit three internment camps over the course of the last two summers - it is my goal to visit all (I’m visiting as many American National Historic Sites and Monuments as I can, when I can). Sorry, I was very wordy, but your review inspired me.
demon and tomorrow, all thanks to you!!! happy holidayz and best for 2023
That's great to hear! Happy holidays! 😊📚
Cold War great movie.
It's worth watching
👍
So good but so many spoilers :(
If i am not interested in gaming, would i enjoy Tomorrow T…
I think so. It’s more about the characters and friendship.