In our second annual “best books” episode, I invite my dear friend Carla Jean back to run down the best books of 2022, nonfiction and fiction—and what we’re both looking forward to reading in 2023.

Here are the books mentioned in the episode (there are a LOT of them!):

Books Carla Jean Wrote:

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music by Carla Jean Whitley

Birmingham Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Magic City by Carla Jean Whitley

Balancing Act: Yoga Essays by Carla Jean Whitley

Carla Jean’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2022:

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz (also mentioned—Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep)

The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser (also mentioned by me—Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed and by Carla Jean—Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl)

In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom

A late add Carla Jean forgot to mention on the show—Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott

Carla Jean’s Best Fiction Books of 2022:

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro (also mentioned—Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by the same author)

My Fiction Pick of 2022:

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin

Books Carla Jean is Looking Forward to Reading in 2023 (Or Already Has Read and Recommends):

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li (fiction)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (fiction)

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (fiction)

The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Bozoma Saint John (nonfiction)

Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May (I cosign this, and also another book by the same author, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times—both nonfiction)

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (fiction, and also Dear Edward by the same author)

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (nonfiction)

Midwest Shreds by Mandy Shunnarah (nonfiction)

Losing Music by John Cotter (nonfiction)

Books I Am Looking Forward to Reading in 2023 (Or Already Have Read and Recommend, All Nonfiction Naturally):

And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of an Icon by Kate Andersen Brower

Spare by Prince Harry and J.R. Moehringer

8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty

Whew! Happy reading! And happy new year!