40 Life-Changing Books to Read in the New Year

 

     The end of the year is here, and with it, I have completed my Goodreads reading challenge with flying colors. More important than the number of books one reads is the quality of those books. And while this year I did read my fair share of fluffy chick lit and some comedic nonfiction, a few books stood out from the rest.

     Below are the 5-star books I read in 2022. The only way I give a book a perfect set of stars is if I find it life-changing. The following fiction and nonfiction lists merited that rating. Often, this means that I can't stop talking about the ideas from the nonfiction and that I had my mind blown by the fiction.

NONFICTION

     This was a fantastic year for nonfiction for me, and I found all seventeen of these radically impacted me in one way or another.

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

Contentment: Seeing God's Goodness by Megan Hill

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

Outdated: Finding Love That Lasts When Dating Has Changed by Jonathan Pokluda

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Emotion by Brené Brown

Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life by Erin Gates

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

Patience: Waiting with Hope by Megan Hill

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequest

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

There Are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story by Pamela Druckerman

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom

Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You by John Ortberg

FICTION

     I only read five fiction books this year that merited a full 5-star rating. These take the cake for storytelling and intrigue! I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

The Push by Ashley Audrain

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Honorable Mentions: A Few 4-Star Gems I Loved

NONFICTION

Wintering by Katherine May

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life by Shira Gill

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Omid Scobie

Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France by Sue Monk Kidd

Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul's Path to God by Gary L. Thomas

FICTION

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

The Maid by Nita Prose

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maisy Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Apples Never Fall by Liane Mortiarty

Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

~

     This is my top 40 books from this year. What are your top books? Did you read any that shocked you with their twist endings or changed your life with their principles?

     These are the books we'll return to over and over again. They'll radically change our new year.

     Happy 2023!

~Madeline