2022 on Goodreads

END OF THE YEAR BOOK OVERVIEW2022 – the year I got back into reading My thing this year (and the years to follow as I build my taste in books) has been people. Messy people. Strange people. Lonely people and misfits. Somehow this theme has aligned itself with the works of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor, and the genre of gothic. More precisely southern gothic. A considerable number of books I've read this year were, coincidentally, set in the south of the United States. Besides the works of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor (The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, and The Complete Stories respectively) I also read an emotional memoir, which I don't know how I stumbled upon but I am glad I did, of a man's journey away from his fundamentalist upbringing (the book that made me cry the most) and the journal of a journalist's quest through the Deep South to see for himself the struggles of African-Americans amid racial segregation.Other nonfiction books I read this year include an overview of the earth's history and a very interesting book on the origins of language (rocks and words, two of my all-time interest – readings on natural science are so fun)I also read some classics such as The Invisible Man, Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm. And poetry. My first time reading proper poetry on my own enterprise. Brad Aaron Modlin and Pádraig Ó Tuama are two of the poets that graced my readings. Science fiction has made it on to the list again with the latest installment of an action-packed series I started in high school and Ted Chiang's collections of short stories.And talking about short stories, this has been the genre (apparently, I can call it that) that I enjoyed the most this year and has made a lasting impression on my taste in literature.The gothic novel The Devil All the Time (which I devoured) and the-most-beautiful One Hundred Years of Solitude (I couldn't imagine such a charming story could exist – I'm a rational person and all but a word permeated by magic like Macando doesn't sound bad at all) count among the books read in 2022. . . .Some conclusions I feel like this year I've been the most conscious and intentional with my readings and choices of books. I think it's safe to say that I've read the most beautiful literature of my life these past months and I hope this will be true in the years to follow as well.I've also extended my horizons this year, discovering some gems along the way and starting to build my taste in literature, and I learned some things about myself (or at least had them brought to my attention), which is definitely a win.In matter of books, this year has been a great one and I'm looking forward to the next one. . . .[bc:The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 37380 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385265834l/37380.SY75.jpg 860196][bc:One Hundred Years of Solitude 320 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327881361l/320.SX50.jpg 3295655][bc:The Complete Stories 25630779 The Complete Stories Flannery O'Connor https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432988398l/25630779.SY75.jpg 886814][bc:The Dawn of Language: Axes, Lies,Midwifery and How We Came to Talk 58874484 The Dawn of Language Axes, Lies, Midwifery and How We Came to Talk Sverker Johansson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630157220l/58874484.SY75.jpg 71244753] [bc:Everyone at This Party Has Two Names 31851874 Everyone at This Party Has Two Names Brad Aaron Modlin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479244671l/31851874.SY75.jpg 52522532][bc:The Country Funeral 41713579 The Country Funeral John McGahern https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552103254l/41713579.SX50.jpg 65061353][bc:A River in Egypt 41713584 A River in Egypt David Means https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552103388l/41713584.SX50.jpg 65061357][bc:The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories 45791 The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories Carson McCullers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388247157l/45791.SY75.jpg 952665][bc:Black Like Me 42603 Black Like Me John Howard Griffin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311696842l/42603.SY75.jpg 2444552][bc:In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World 23398580 In the Shelter Finding a Home in the World Pádraig Ó Tuama https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414558660l/23398580.SY75.jpg 42955181][bc:Dark Age 29226553 Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525464420l/29226553.SY75.jpg 49464237][bc:The Name of the Rose 119073 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415375471l/119073.SY75.jpg 3138328][bc:Întotdeauna diavolul 55260466 Întotdeauna diavolul Donald Ray Pollock https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599495800l/55260466.SY75.jpg 15005760][bc:Lord of the Flies 55304668 Lord of the Flies William Golding https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599874805l/55304668.SY75.jpg 2766512][bc:Where the Light Fell 56637947 Where the Light Fell Philip Yancey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617074089l/56637947.SX50.jpg 88500928][bc:Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind 23692271 Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595674533l/23692271.SY75.jpg 18962767][bc:A Little Life 22822858 A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858.SY75.jpg 42375710][a few of the books I enjoyed - visible on the Desktop Version]