We read to learn. To feel. To imagine what it might be like to live in a different era. We read to experience more than what one person could possibly live in one lifetime. I read over 30 books in 2022, and these are my book recommendations: the ones I recommend to everyone, the ones offering a different perspective, the ones that made me mad and left an imprint on my heart. May you enjoy them as much as I did.
Here are my 2022 book recommendations
You’ll learn what each book is about (all the “About” sections are from Amazon.com), why you’ll love it, and whether the book is secular or faith-based.
The book I recommend to everyone
Immune by Philipp Dettmer
About: “You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door. In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice.”
Why you’ll love it: For those of us who love to learn but just can’t handle an academic, heady science book, this is for you. The illustrations are stunning and helpful. The stories and analogies help you to make sense of a ridiculously complex subject. And learning what great care God used to create you, will help you appreciate your flesh and blood in a whole new way.
Secular or faith-based: Secular, but God’s design work shows up on every single page.
The book that caused me to see nature differently
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
About: “Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland.”
Why you’ll love it: Trees can teach us about community. In Western culture, it seems as if the weak and vulnerable and old hold no value. And yet, trees would shake their crows at us. As Wohlleben writes, “Every tree, therefore, is valuable to the community and worth keeping around for as long s possible. And that is why even sick individuals are supported and nourished until they recover.” Now, this is beautiful stuff.
Secular or faith-based: Secular, and God’s care + creativity show up on every page.
The book that made me think about what it means to be remembered
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
About: “France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.”
Why you’ll love it: The writing is exquisite, and the concept of what it means to be remembered and to remember others is original and creative. I find my mind coming back to the reality that truly living involves being remembered.
Secular or faith-based: Secular
The book that revolutionized how I worked this year
Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor
About: “We don’t need just another approach to changing our habits. What we need is an operating system that takes into account the full scope of our lives. In these pages, bestselling author Jordan Raynor presents this system, using seven powerful time-management principles drawn from the example of how Jesus lived.”
Why you’ll love it: You are an efficient, organized woman who doesn’t waste her time. Why do you need this book? I loved Raynor’s breakdown of how Jesus spent His time, and how we can be like Jesus as we spend our time. Raynor’s style is practical with a bit of humor. His time-blocking examples revolutionized how I worked this year.
Secular or faith-based: Faith-based
The book that broke my heart and gave me a new point of view
Putin Country by Anne Garrels
About: “In Putin Country, Garrels crafts an intimate portrait of Middle Russia. We meet upwardly mobile professionals, impassioned activists who champion the rights of orphans and disabled children, and ostentatious mafiosi. We discover surprising subcultures, such as a vibrant underground gay community and a circle of determined Protestant evangelicals. And we watch doctors and teachers trying to cope with inescapable payoffs and institutionalized negligence. As Vladimir Putin tightens his grip on power and war in Ukraine leads to Western sanctions and a lower standard of living, the local population mingles belligerent nationalism with a deep ambivalence about their country’s direction. Through it all, Garrels sympathetically charts an ongoing identity crisis.”
Why you’ll love it: With world events in 2022, we can paint Russia as the bad guy, unworthy of our sympathy. And yet… Russia is not what meets the eye, nor is it what is often portrayed on the news. If you’re willing to see Russia from a different viewpoint, give this book a chance. I went to St. Petersburg in high school on a mission trip and have never seen Russia as the enemy; more like a country with terrible leadership whose people long for freedom and hope.
Secular or faith-based: Secular
The book that beautifully captures WWII
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
About: “As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure, and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?”
Why you’ll love it: If you love books about WWII, first check out this piece. Then, grab a copy of Code Name Verity for masterful storytelling, witty and multi-dimensional characters, and a story arc that will keep you guessing. Yes, it’s YA fiction. And yes, it is a book so good you won’t want to put it down.
Secular or faith-based: Secular
The book that made me mad
Dress Codes by Richard Thompson Ford
About: “In Dress Codes, law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, a walk down history’s red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing—rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes, you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again—and getting dressed will never be the same.”
Why you’ll love it: Thompson Ford writes a compelling case about why fashion is important, how it carries the weight of status, subversion, and innovation, and how it has been used to keep others out of the inner circle. I love this book. I want everyone to read it. And it made me mad because I’m a feminist at heart — feminism, in my life, means men and women are equal in importance and should be paid and treated with equal amounts of dignity and respect — so the laws and social constructs that kept women objectified and immobilized and physically in pain stir anger in my heart.
Secular or faith-based: Secular