Our 2022 year-end reading roundup continues today with our Best Books of 2022 Genre Awards with Susie Boutry (@NovelVisits). We reveal our Overall Best Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) and we have a full breakdown by genre, including: Best Literary Fiction, Best Backlist Read in 2022, Best Romance, Best Brain Candy, Best Genre Mash-Up, and more! Plus, this year I’m sharing the winners for these same genres as chosen by the Sarah’s Bookshelves Live Patreon community!

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Announcements

• Check out my 2022 Holiday Gift Guide!
• My 2023 Reading Tracker is out! This year, the Tracker will ONLY be available to $7/month Superstars patrons (i.e., I will no longer be selling it for $14.99 here on my website). Learn more about the Tracker here and become a Superstars Patron to purchase here!

Highlights

• My thoughts on 2022 for the podcast — including top episodes based on download stats.
• Overview of Susie’s and Sarah’s 2022 year in reading — including trends and stats.
• Favorite books of the year: overall and by genre, including the SBL Patreon Community’s picks.

2022 Genre Awards [18:13]

Sarah

• The Measure by Nikki Erlick | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:42]
• Finding Me by Viola Davis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:18]
• The Golden Season by Madeline Kay Sneed | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:39]
• Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:19]
• Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:36]
• Dilettante by Dana Brown | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:35]
• Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:27]
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:53]
• Bad City by Paul Pringle | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:27]
• Never Simple by Liz Sheier | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:20]
• The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:01]
• Upgrade by Blake Crouch | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:52]
• More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:22]
• The One by John Marrs | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:02:51]

Susie

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:04]
• Solito by Javier Zamora | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:53]
• Vladimir by Julia May Jonas | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:15]
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:53]
• Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:10]
• Cover Story by Susan Rigetti | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:21]
• Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:16]
• Trust by Hernan Diaz | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:16]
• Dilettante by Dana Brown | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:45]
• Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:57]
• The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:24]
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:59]
• The Change by Kirsten Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:07]
• Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:57]
• Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:48]
• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:44]
• We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:00:49]
• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:03:08]

Patrons

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:06]
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:14]
• Finding Me by Viola Davis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:41]
• Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:11]
• Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:21]
• Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:17]
• Bad City by Paul Pringle | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:53]
• Finding Me by Viola Davis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:33]
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:06]
• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:36]
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:31]
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:46]
• Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:23]
• Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris | Amazon | Bookshop.org [55:43]
• Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:00]
• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:00:04]
• Beartown by Fredrik Backman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:03:54]

Other Books Mentioned

• Love & Saffron by Kim Fay [9:41]
• People Person by Candice Carty-Williams [9:51]
• Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley [11:09]
• Flight by Lynn Steger Strong [11:12]
• Trespasses by Louise Kennedy [11:13]
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab [20:45]
• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller [20:53]
• Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid [23:36]
• The Winners by Fredrik Backman [23:47]
• Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott [25:50]
• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy [25:57]
• Honor by Thrity Umrigar [29:40]
• Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson [29:50]
• The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka [29:53]
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid [30:44]
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt [35:47]
• The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb [39:17]
• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell [42:04]
• These Precious Days by Ann Patchett [43:38]
• How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis, LPC [44:42]
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid [47:13]
• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez [49:19]
• The Bodyguard by Katherine Center [49:22]
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch [50:02]
• Recursion by Blake Crouch [50:03]
• The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger [51:50]
• How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu [52:22]
• Babel by R. F. Huang [52:42]
• A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross [53:55]
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna [54:03]
• Hide by Kiersten White [54:25]
• Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon [55:38]
• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez [57:54]
• The Cartographers by Peng Shepard [58:14]
• The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes [1:00:27]
• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes [1:00:31]
• Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow [1:02:24]
• These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant [1:04:20]
• Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh [1:04:36]
• Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer [1:04:44]