Last week, I enjoyed sharing a list of titles I’ve added and am looking to add to my classroom library in the coming year. Since that was such a fun post to write, I also wanted to share 22 books I’m excited to read in 2022. As you read through my recommendations, please share your suggestions, too!
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Fiction to Read in 2022
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld came out in 2020. At the time, I wasn’t prepared to read about what could have been if things had turned out differently four years previous. In this speculative novel, Sittenfeld imagines a world in which Hillary Rodham never marries Bill Clinton and pursues her own political ambitions earlier in life. Sittenfeld is one of my favorite authors because of her ability to name and describe small moments and emotions. Her earlier novel American Wife gave a similar (though not the same) treatment to First Lady Laura Bush, so I’m excited to read this one!
There There by Tommy Orange, who is Cheyenne and Arapaho, features a large Indigenous cast. Ensemble stories are among some of my favorites, which is part of what drew me to this text. I’m trying to make an effort to create space in my reading habits to make room for Indigenous authors!
That Hair by Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida has such an interesting premise! Once I read this excerpt from LitHub, I knew I had to add this title to my TBR. Partway through the excerpt, the narrator says “I come from generations of lunatics.” If one of my high school students wrote that, it would have been drenched with sarcasm and punctuated with an eye roll, but de Almeida’s narrator seems sincere in a way that has me intrigued.
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher updates the epistolary form, which is one of my favorite literary tropes (Hello! Pride and Prejudice). Plus, it sounds like this is going to be a satire of academia, which would be right up my alley!
The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan is the sequel to The Royal We, which offers a fictionalized version of Kate Middleton’s story. This is probably the most straightforward romance on this list. I’ve already read this one. It flew by!
Young Adult and Children’s Literature
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah is on this list for an odd reason. Like any good bureaucracy, my school district purchased my department a class set of this book without much consultation from teachers. Since this is one of the books I can now choose to use with my students, I want to read it first. While it’s not clear exactly where to fit this book in our curriculum, I’m excited to include more diverse voices in our classroom. If you teach this book or read it with your students, please share some ideas and best practices.
The One Thing You’d Save by Linda Sue Park is a children’s book. The premise is straightforward: a teacher asks their class “If the place you live was on fire and you knew that all the people and animals were safe, what one thing would you save?” While this is a book written for children, that question would still resonate with high school students. I’m excited to read this book and see how I can fit it into a writing lesson or activity!
Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal came out toward the end of 2021. The story focuses on a cheerleading team that takes a knee during a football game. Two best friends deal with the aftermath of this action in addition to all the other stressors related to being a high school senior. Honestly, the town in this book sounds a lot like where I live. I’m curious to see how everything plays out in this book!
How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation by Maureen Johnson was gifted to me by a former student! Those kinds of gifts are my favorite, so I’m excited to add this to my TBR for 2022!
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Kindred: The Graphic Novel by Octavia E. Butler is on my list to read because I’m so curious to see how Butler’s Kindred looks like a graphic novel! I often recommend Butler’s writing to students who enjoy science fiction but are ready for something with a little more emotional heft. Having a graphic novel available should help make some of those recommendations stick!
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull was on NPR’s annual list of Books We Love. The premise overlaps human problems (police brutality) with the revelation that monsters are real. I’m curious to see how Turnbull uses the monsters to comment on human problems and failings.
Levithan Falls by James S. A. Corey is the ninth and final book in The Expanse series (which is also a TV show that’s worth watching). After nine books and so many twists and turns, I’m excited to see how the authors bring everything to a satisfying conclusion!
Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington features a collection of stories updating Arthurian legends. Scrolling through the table of contents reveals stories from exciting contemporary writers. I’m excited to see the Round Table become a more inclusive setting for adventure!
Short Stories and Poetry to Read
July: Poems by Kathleen Ossip was also on NPR’s list of Books We Love. Contemporary poetry is something that amazes and inspires me, so I’m excited to read this collection!
Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith came out in July 2021, and I’m surprised I haven’t read it yet. Smith’s previous collection Good Bones is among my favorite poetry collections. I even use two of her poems in class: “What I Carried” and “You Could Never Take a Car to Greenland.”
On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim is the first publication from the Well-Read Black Girl Book Club, which Edim launched in 2015. The reading list is impeccable, so I knew this book had to be on my TBR for 2022!
Memoirs to Read
This is an unusual category for me! Memoirs are not usually high on my to read list, but these two titles caught my attention!
Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo follows up on Crazy Brave, which I really enjoyed. In recent years, students and I have returned to the idea of poetry as activism. I’m curious to see how the definition of “poet warrior” plays through that connection.
Aftershocks: A Memoir by Nadia Owusu was on every year-end best-of list. Even though memoirs aren’t my usual cup of tea, this excerpt is captivating.
Nonfiction to Read in 2022
The 1619 Project created by Nikole Hannah-Jones expands on the work of The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project. Each time I read an article about schools and school districts fretting about critical race theory, the 1619 Project appears. Being more informed about the 1619 Project is a good way to combat false narratives about its purpose and goals.
Wonderful Women of the World by Laurie Halse Anderson caught my eye because I usually enjoy Anderson’s books. However, this is not the kind of book I expect from her. Nevertheless, it looks like this is going to be a wonderful book about different womxn who have made a significant impact on the world!
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell is an exploration of the language we use to build the world around us, especially when the language creates “cults.” Sometimes those cults are literal like Heaven’s Gate, but sometimes they are less expected like the cult of SoulCycle. As a language arts teacher, I’m particularly interested in how language works.
Book of the Other: Small in Comparison by Truong Tran was not originally on my list of books to read. However, as I was pursuing NPR’s Books We Love list, I was struck by book critic Thúy Ðinh’s description of Tran’s work. Ðinh wrote: “Tran invokes the three questions that serve as framework for his classroom teaching and cultural identity, ‘what haunts you. what hunts you. what are you hunting.'” Those questions are too relevant to our current world and to my classroom to leave this book off the list!
Honorable Mentions: Annual Re-reads
Finally, these are books I can pretty much count on to re-read or re-visit each year! If you pulled these books off my shelf, you would find dog-eared pages and lots of margin notes!
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley defies categorization. Part fantasy, part horror, and part humor, this is a unique read! Plus, this book offers its own take on epistolary style. (PS: Skip the TV show.)
Collected Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins is a timeless favorite! Gerard Manley Hopkins is my favorite poet. His use of inscape and sprung rhythm remains unmatched. I even use some of his poems in my classroom: “Spring and Fall: To a Young Child” and “God’s Grandeur.”
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster is one of those books that rattles around in my head. Foster’s book is one that I revisit all too often! It’s a quick read and fits well with both pleasure reading and classroom reading.
Discourse and the Construction of Society by Bruce Lincoln is one book that changed my view of the world. I was first assigned this book in college, and I re-read the prologue at least once a year.
