Gathering great reads. What makes a book “best”? That question holds within it multiple considerations. At LJ, we consider best books on many fronts, but mostly we are searching for titles that stop us in our tracks for more reasons than we could possibly articulate. Because that is what great reads do. They overwhelm any criteria we can list and reduce us to “Yes, that, and that too, and even more.” We hope you find treasures among these 147 titles, sorted into 15 lists, and that they make you, and the readers you help, stop and say, “Yes, that.”
By Liz French & Lesa Holstine Sisters on the run from racists, senior assassins dodging bullets, and a photographer plagued by ghosts feature in the best crime fiction of 2022.
By Barbara Hoffert The best literary fiction of 2022 embraces a Wall Street tycoon, an Appalachian upbringing, and the women surrounding a jazz musician.
By Liz French The best pop fiction titles of 2022 enable readers to travel to an isolated mountain village where women disappear, to Hollywood during its Golden Age, and to revolutionary-era Saint-Domingue and France.
By Melissa DeWild & Neal Wyatt The best romance books of 2022 feature pitch-perfect dialogue and swoony scenes with well-executed tropes that make for engrossing and deeply satisfying reading.
By Kristi Chadwick, Melissa DeWild, Marlene Harris & Neal Wyatt Witches, spaceships, and dragons appear in the most spellbinding and thrilling science fiction and fantasy books of 2022.
As 21st-century global turmoil persists, readers are finding a safe harbor in mysteries. “People love consistency, familiarity, charm, and humor. That’s the type of stuff that warms readers’ hearts and makes them want to come back time and time again,” says Crooked Lane Books Publisher Matt Martz.
By Tom Batten, Melissa DeWild & Neal Wyatt Masterful visual storytelling and atmospheric illustrations accompany memoirs and inventive tales in the best graphic novels of 2022.
By Jill Cox-Cordova & Kevin Howell Contemporary activism, moments and words of joy, and a memorable debut. The best arts and humanities titles of 2022.
By Sarah Tansley & Neal Wyatt From bagels to liángbàn dòufu and from hand pies to moghrabiyeh, the best cookbooks of 2022 offer delicious food alongside stories, history, and cultural journeys.
By Jill Cox-Cordova A landmark biography about George Floyd, an unprecedented work from Alice Walker, and a first for a Missouri political figure are highlights of the best memoirs of 2022.
By Neal Wyatt Su Blackwell is a visual artist known for her book sculptures and book-based installations. She created the art on LJ’s December Best Books cover and discusses the creation of the sculpture, her work and influences, and reading.
By LJ Reviews Of course we judge books by their covers! Or at least we deeply appreciate the art and design that grabs attention, delights with details, and sets the tone of the story to come. These are our top 10 covers from the 2022 Best Books.
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