10 Books I Want to Read in 2022

Happy New Year, everyone! One thing I love about the start of a new year is that it also means the start of a new reading year. There’s something very exciting about a fresh reading year to me – not in the least because of the fact that I can put together a new list of 10 books I want to read that year!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you might know that I make one of these lists every year. The books on this list are my top priority for the year and I view them as the books that I have to read, no matter what. I usually choose books that have been on my shelves for a long time, or ones that I find intimidating, but there’s only one actual rule: they all have to be books that I already own. This list is basically my way of making sure I’m reading books from my physical TBR.

Last year, there were quite a few books on the list that were intimidating to me for one reason or another. Because of that, I’ve decided to make things a little bit easier for myself this year by also adding a couple of books that I’ve acquired recently and I’m just really excited about. I don’t want this list to become a chore – it has to be fun and exciting!

So, enough with the introduction, let’s get to the actual books!

• The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld: A recent acquisition! My parents got me this book as a birthday present in October and I’d never heard of it before, but it sounds absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I tend to forget about books I haven’t bought myself, so in order to make sure I actually read this one soon, I decided to put it on this list. I can’t wait to read it!
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: I’ve been curious about Never Let Me Go for a long time, even before I read my first Ishiguro (The Buried Giant) in 2020 (and adored it). Back in November, I found a pristine copy of Never Let Me Go in the little free library at the end of my street, so I’ve decided to take that as a sign to actually read it soon. I love Ishiguro’s writing style and I find it fascinating how he moves between different genres, so I’m looking forward to reading this one.
• Beyond Time: Classic Tales of Time Unwound edited by Mike Ashley: Another second hand find! I found this collection of classic sci-fi stories in a bookstore in October and it sounds amazing. However, short story collections tend to languish on my shelves unread, which is why I added it to this list. I was so excited when I found this book, so I want to make sure I read it soon.
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green: The first book that’s actually been on my shelves for quite some time. I’m excited to read this, but I simply keep forgetting about it, or when I do think of it, other books take priority over it anyway. Well, not this year! The premise of this book sounds quite unique and fun, and I love Hank Green’s YouTube videos, so I’m looking forward to reading this.
• The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris: This is the fourth book in the Chocolat series, and the book that prompted me to reread all three previous books (with mixed results; I still loved book 1, but wasn’t a fan of 2 and 3). This reread has taken me about two years, so it’s time to finish up this project and actually bloody well read the book that started it all. I’m hoping my experience with this one will be more like Chocolat, and less like its sequels.

• Renegades by Marissa Meyer: I absolutely love Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, so I was excited to start her new YA sci-fi series when I picked this one up, but it has remained unread on my shelves for a couple of years now. Time to change that! I’m not particularly hyped for this book, probably because I haven’t seen many people talking about it (at least not in a while), but I have a feeling that I just might end up loving it.
• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys: This is such a short book, and I keep thinking I’ll read it in between some other books – and then it never happens, even though this sounds fascinating and right up my alley. Wide Sargasso Sea tells the story of one of literature’s most interesting characters: the madwoman in the attic in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. I am genuinely so excited to finally read this one this year because I think I’ll absolutely adore it.
• Anna by Annejet van der Zijl: Another book that’s been on my shelves for a long time – and also the only Dutch book on this list. Anna is the biography of Annie M.G. Schmidt, arguably the Netherlands’ most famous children books writer (although she wrote many other things too). She passed away only a few years after I was born, but I’ve always been fascinated by her, which is why I bought this book in 2017. It’s quite a big one, though, which is probably why I haven’t read it yet – until this year, that is!
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: I figured it was time to pick up another Austen! This one and Emma are the only ones I haven’t read yet, and I chose Northanger Abbey purely because my friend wants to read it too, so we’ll probably end up buddy reading it. I love Jane Austen and her writing, but I always need a bit of a push to pick up one of her novels, which is why I added it to this list.
• The Brontës: a Life in Letters by Juliet Barker: And then, finally, the book that might possibly be the book that’s been on my TBR the longest – out of all of them, not just the books on this list. I’m pretty sure I picked up this book on holiday in England in 2011 (!). I have honestly been wanting to read it (and there’s a bookmark at page 9, so I did start it at some point), but I simply never pick it up. I think it will be a fascinating read and I’m very ready to learn more about my favourite literary family.

And that’s it! Those are all of the books on my list of books I “have” to read in 2022! Have you read any of these? Do you have any top priority books for 2022? Let me know in the comments and we’ll chat about it!