Here it is, everyone, my annual Best Books post. But this time I couldn’t pick just 10, so I’m featuring my 14 favorite books from 2022.

As always, please note that these aren’t necessarily books that came out in 2022, just ones that I encountered and very much enjoyed.

I read 70 books in 2022. This is more than usual – I often average about a book per week. Apparently reading was a useful coping mechanism for me while grieving and when I was quarantined with Covid in November. 

Here are the books that stood out the most and became my 2022 favorites:

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. This book, which was gifted to me last year, speaks perfectly to where I am in my life currently. My spirit guides told me to read it this autumn, and they were right (of course). Sometimes it helps to have a bird’s eye view of where we are in life, and May provides just such a perspective for those undergoing a “wintering” experience. 

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton. This book beautifully combines historical fiction with a touch of the paranormal. I loved the evocative language. The story carries you forward with just enough insight to keep you guessing. The ending was perfect. I want to read more by Morton.

Mastery by Robert Greene. As part of the WEALTH course, I’d already read Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power. A friend handed me this book and I devoured it. As a creative entrepreneur, it was fascinating to read this study of people from history who stayed focused on their craft for a lifetime. When you follow your callings, despite distractions and difficulties, you gain access to your unique magick. This book inspires me to stay focused on my most powerful creations. 

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. This was the first fiction of Gilbert’s I’ve read, and it was enchanting. It is historical fiction, but with a hint of the otherworldly (this seems to be a genre I resonate with lately). It also turns out to be a meditation on love. The ending was unexpected, but stays true to the characters and their nature. 

The Three “Only” Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence, and Imagination by Robert Moss. I’ve long enjoyed the works Moss has written on dreamwork. In this book, he expands his repertoire into the use of synchronicity and imagination in living a purposeful life. I highly recommend it. 

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill. I’d read Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters, which is mainly poetry, and knew Gill was a powerful poet. But this book was also a coming of age story. I loved it. The contrast between the main character’s daily life and the presence of divine magick leading her onward was exquisite. The lyrical language lights me up. Read it!

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: the Journals of Alice Walker, 1965-2000 by Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd. Alice Walker is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I’m a lifelong journal keeper, so when I heard she was releasing her journals, I had to read them. I wasn’t disappointed. This tome shows the balance of creative genius and human flaws that all of us bear. As a writer, I found it inspiring and uplifting. As a human being, it touched me deeply. 

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This book blew my mind. I can’t imagine creating such an epic tale of time travel and having it make sense to the reader, but Niffenegger manages it with aplomb. It was a fascinating story, with characters who felt authentic. This is powerful writing. I was captivated and swept along until the final word. 

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem. This book is powerful medicine. I feel like its philosophy and techniques (should) form a huge part of the future of our society. Despite the heaviness of the topic, Menakem brings hope and caring to the discussion of the healing we need, individually and collectively.

Circe by Madeline Miller. I have a fond spot for the Greek myths, which I studied in high school and college. Miller takes a relatively minor character from The Odyssey and creates an epic tale of love, loss, and identity. This is well worth reading, both as a highly entertaining story and as a parable for magickal women. I loved it.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. I also want to give an honorable mention to her book The Once and Future Witches, which is the one I heard of first. But of the two, this one is my favorite. The theme in my favorite books recently seems to be “modern or historical fiction with a touch of magick,” and this book fits that bill. Well, there’s more than a touch of magick here. Trust me – it works. 

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link. I don’t often read collections of short stories, but this one drew me in. This is a collection of strange modern faery tales. It is intended for a teenage audience, but I found all of the stories both entertaining and thought-provoking. Some of them were hilarious. 

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I’ve been enjoying the weird worlds that Murakami conjures, since discovering his writing a few years ago. This is one of my favorites so far, and not just because it has a cat in it. Reading a Murakami novel is like entering a dream world, where everything makes sense in a strange way until you wake up. When you leave the world of the novel, it lingers in your imagination like a rare perfume. If you enjoy the unusual, you’ll like this one.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Being a long term bookwyrm makes it extremely hard to pick favorite books. But I would venture to say that this book is in my top favorites of all time. It is a masterpiece of lyrical prose. It touches all the inner and outer senses. I’m in love with her writing. I’ve ordered her other novel, The Starless Sea, and look forward to diving in. 

What did you read last year that you loved? What’s on your to-read list for 2023?