Books You May Have Missed in 2022

1.     Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

The present, the past, and the future. This book will have you time traveling between centuries, following a man named Gaspery, who is on a mission to determine if the universe is real or a simulation. Readers will be transported from Vancouver Island in 1912 to the moon, five hundred years in the future, and everywhere in between as the lead character searches for his answers.

2.     The Maid by Nita Prose

Are you a fan of Clue? This is a fun “whodunnit?” mystery that takes place in the setting of a luxury city hotel. Somehow in the midst of the chaos of a dead hotel guest, 25-year-old maid Molly Gray becomes the prime murder suspect. Follow along with her as she works to find the murderer before landing herself in jail.

3.     The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She took home the accolade for her 2011 book, A Visit From the Goon Squad. In her latest novel, she explores the idea of a new technology called “Own Your Unconscious,” which allows a person to access past memories and share them in exchange for the ability to access the memories of others. It’s a wild ride through one technology business owner’s dream.

4.     The School of Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Frida Liu goes on an unexpected journey in this debut novel by Jessamine Chan after making a parenting mistake that lands her in a government re-education center filled with robot children. Faced with losing her daughter as the result of her actions, the protagonist does everything in her power to navigate this unknown world and prove herself worthy of parenting. It’s been described as an “intense” and “captivating” page-turner.

5.     Trust by Hernan Diaz

This book is a collection of four manuscripts that tell different versions of the (fictional) legendary Wall Street tycoon Benjamin Rask and his wife Helen in the face of The Great Depression. Each section of the book takes readers on a ride that has them trying to piece together what really happened. It’s been called “a genre-bending, time-skipping story about New York City’s elite in the roaring ’20s and Great Depression,” was a New York Times bestseller for 2022 and won the 2022 Kirkus Prize.

6.     The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman

Who wasn’t captivated by Paul Newman? This book is the result of a five-year experiment that the celebrated star and his screenwriter friend Stewart Stern undertook. Stern compiled an oral history of Newman, talking to his family and friends along the way. The author dug through thousands of pages of these transcripts to bring this memoir to life. It features commentary from everyone from family members to Tom Cruise, touching on Newman’s childhood, teenage insecurities, ups and downs in the dating world, drinking, charity, family life and rise to fame.

7.     An Immense World by Ed Yong

Animals are unique creatures, all experiencing the world in different ways. This book dives into that, touching on how a crocodile’s scaly face is actually very sensitive to its surroundings, how scallops have complex vision, how dogs interpret smells during a walk, and how plants sing songs inaudible to humans that lure bugs their way. Nothing is off limits in this nonfiction journey through the sights, sounds, textures, smells, tastes, and vibrations of our planet.

8.     Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Ever wondered what goes into making a video game? That’s the world that Gabrielle Zevin explores in her latest novel. This eccentric novel follows two friends who secretly lust over each other as they team up in the world of video game design. It spans 30 years, from college to adult life, and times in between, bringing the story of the duo’s video game, and feelings for one another, to life.

9.     Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

If you’re looking for a fun, unusual, feel-good book, this is it. It’s narrated by an octopus named Marcellus who lives in an aquarium. His observational skills come in handy when a widow whose son has disappeared starts working the night shift as an aquarium cleaner. Marcellus ultimately helps to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing child. What could be more original than that?

10.  Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

Ever feel like you have a hard time focusing? You’re not alone. Commercials are getting shorter, Tweets are only 280 characters, there aren’t as many 3-hour movies being made. This is not a coincidence. Apparently, as a society, our ability to pay attention is collapsing. In this book, author Johann Hari goes on a quest to determine why this is happening and provides useful solutions for troubleshooting this phenomenon.