22 books to read in 2022: novels, works for children, etc.

MARYLAND – Books can make a great last-minute holiday gift for a friend or family member, or a gift for yourself to start the New Year off with a great story. We’ve compiled a collection of books – great reads of 2021 and highly anticipated releases in 2022 – that make up our “22 Books to Read in 2022” list.

They range from memoirs to magical realism novels, from poems to cookbooks. We have also included some children’s books.

Did you read a good book this year that other Patch readers would enjoy? Let us know in the comments and share the love of a good read.

Fiction

“The School of Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan
Release date: June 10, 2021
Chan’s debut novel tells the story of Frida, the mother of a little girl named Harriet who brings her joy she couldn’t find elsewhere. That’s until they’re having a bad day, and Frida is faced with the possibility of the state taking Harriet away from her. “Societal assumptions and stereotypes about mothers, especially mothers of color, and their consequences are woven seamlessly,” writes Publishers Weekly. “Chan’s imagination makes the vulnerability of mothers to social pressures and governmental whims nightmarish and palpable. It’s a powerful story, made even more so by its empathetic and complicated heroine.

“Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead
Release date: August 23, 2021
Pulitzer Prize-winning Colson Whitehead tells the story of Ray Carney, a man living in Harlem who is involved in a heist. “We take the people, sights and sounds of Harlem from his perspective, chapter by chapter, year by year,” writes NPR’s Denny S. Bryce. “Whitehead has created a character that exemplifies the classic heist anti-hero while giving the reader a penetrating look into a black man’s life in 1960s Harlem and the circumstances he might not be able to to avoid. No matter how many issues he finds, we can’t help but support Ray Carney every step of the way.

“In Paradise” by Hanya Yanagirara
Release date: January 11, 2022
Submitted by Christine Bollow of Silver Spring Loyalty Bookstore
Expansive, entirely original and utterly captivating, To Paradise is a masterpiece. Fans of A Little Life of Yanagihara will find themselves making a little more room in their hearts for this wonderful, moving, and brilliant story.

“In the etherby David Sherer
Release date: February 4, 2021
Readers looking for a local author and a story with a familiar setting can turn to “Into the Ether” written by a Bethesda resident. It follows the story of Adrian Wren, a DMV area doctor who learns top secret information that leads him to flee the country. “There must be literally 75 to 100 references to the region here – in Bethesda, Glen Echo, Kensington, DC,” Sherer said in an interview with Patch earlier this year.

nonfiction

“Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance” by Mia Bay
Release date: March 23, 2021
Bay tells the story of “mobility and resistance”, writes the New York Times. She writes about the wooden Jim Crow car on trains and about transport segregation more broadly. The Times calls this account of history “superb”.

“All Troubles Frequent Today: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of German Resistance to Hitler” by Rebecca Donner
Release date: August 23, 2021
Donner tells the story of his great-great-aunt, Mildred Harnack, an American sentenced to death by the Nazis. The New York Times writes that the book is “astonishing” and shows “what it feels like in real time to experience the tightening noose of the Nazi regime”.

“All She’s Worn: Ashley’s Bag Trip, A Black Family Keepsake” by Tiya Miles
Release date: June 8, 2021
Miles writes about the mid-19th century cotton bag – a slave woman named Rose gave it to her daughter Ashley, and Miles is trying to rebuild what she can, writes The New York Times. He was a National Book Award winner.

Memory, Biography

” To find me “ by Viola Davis
Release date: April 5, 2022
Award-winning actress Viola Davis reflects on her childhood in Rhode Island, leading up to her current success as an actress. She’s been nominated for countless awards for her performances in ‘Fences’, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, ‘How To Get Away With Murder’, ‘The Help’ and more.

“In the Eye of Nature” by Nastasja Martin
Release date: November 16, 2021
The author tells the story of his near-fatal encounter with a Kamchatka bear in the mountains of Siberia. The event causes him to rebalance his way of thinking about the world, and with exquisite prose and pointed observations, Martin reveals how curiosity can uncover the most vivid aspects of the human condition,” writes Publishers Weekly. “It’s a deep look at the violence and beauty of life.”

“Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner
Release date: April 20, 2021
Barnes and Noble named this memoir one of the best books of 2021. Zauner writes about growing up and his relationship with his mother, up until his mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer. She remembers the “gifts of taste, language and history” bequeathed to her by her mother.

“I came all this way to meet you” by Jami Attenberg
Release date: January 11, 2022
Submitted by Hannah Oliver Depp, owner of Silver Spring’s Loyalty Bookstore
No book about the life of a writer is as honest about money, time, and personal relationships, both strained and glorious, as “I Came All This Way To Meet You.” Reading a memoir is a truly intimate act and Attenberg relishes it, telling us how a writer is done time and time again. An engaging read and deceptively simple, this sharp book will stay with you long after you put it down.

“Scientist: EO Wilson: A Life in the Wild” by Richard Rhodes
Release date: October 2021
Considered one of the most revolutionary and controversial scientists, EO Wilson was born in Alabama and raised to publish “Sociobiology” in 1975, which said that all animal and human behavior is governed by the laws of evolution and of genetics. This was named a Barnes and Noble book of the year.

Children’s books

All of these books are recommended by the Association for Library Service to Children, which has provided synopses for these and more on its website. These books were published in 2020, and selected as best books in 2021.

“The bear in my family“ by Maya Tatsukawa
Can you learn to live with a big bossy bear? Read this book to see.

“If You Take Out the Otter” by Susannah Buhrman-Deever
This book tells the story of the Pacific Coast habitat and what happens when an animal is thrown off balance by hunters.

“Lupe Wong Won’t Dance” by Donna Barba Higuera
Lupe rallies against square dancing in gym class when it threatens her chance to meet pitcher idol and fellow Mexican/Chinese, Fu Li Hernandez.

“Before the Ever After” by Jacqueline Woodson
This book tells the story of a community that rallies around a family when the father exhibits alarming medical symptoms that turn out to be the results of old football injuries.

Poetry and Essays

“Those Precious Days” by Ann Patchet
Release date: November 23, 2o21
This writer reflects on family, friendships, marriage and more in his collection of personal essays. “Patchett has a knack for friendship and celebrates many of those friends here,” writes The New York Times of his collection. “She writes with pure love for her mother…”

“Bless the Girl Raised by the Voices in Her Head” by Warsan Shire
Release date: March 2022
This collection of poetry tells stories about migration, femininity and trauma. “Warsan Shire is an expert carver,” said author Vivek Shraya. “She shapes words in clay, her poems in statues – each a wonder to which I return, with reverence.”

“Many Different Types of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS” by Michael Rosen
Release date: March 18, 2021
The author tells the story of his COVID-19 diagnosis and illness in this collection of poetry. He has been in a coma for six weeks, and his wife, doctors and nurses are helping him recover. “The much-loved writer gives a memorable account of illness from a patient’s perspective, in poems, notes and emails – and expresses what it feels like to come back from the brink “, writes The Guardian.

Cookbooks

“Mort & Co Welcome Home” by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald and David Kaplan
Release date: November 2021
If you love cocktails and want to learn how to make them like a high-end bartender, this book is for you. Aimed at teaching drink lovers the habits of the Death and Co. cocktail bar, this book includes obscure ingredients that even a fanatic is unlikely to have in their home bar.

“Boards: stylish boards for casual meetings” by America’s Test Kitchen
Release date: March 15, 2022
Whether you’re looking for an appetizer to please at a party or a small get-together of friends, a charcuterie board or vegetable platter is usually a great solution. With creative ways to organize your cheeses, nuts and more, this book has great ideas for your next entertaining adventure.

“101 Thai Dishes You Must Cook Before You Die” by Jet Tila
Release date: January 25, 2o22
Tila’s recipes range from classic dishes to street vendor delights and more. The book contains “authentic, accessible and ultra-appetizing” recipes.