Books I Read in 2022

There was, finally, a slight uptick in books read.  I am reading more at lunch these days, so finding a little more time and commensurately getting through a few more books.  I read 38 books, five more than the prior two years.

January

The Korean War: The West Confronts Communism - Michael Hickey
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth - William Shakespeare

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

February

I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
The Elves of Cintra - Terry Brooks

March

The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdown - Tui Sutherland
The Book of Mormon - Various

April

The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
Vietnam: A History - Stanley Karnow
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Positive Intelligence - Shirzad Chamine

May

The Book of Mormon - Various
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Gypsy Morph - Terry Brooks

June

Wings of Fire: The Dark Secret - Tui Sutherland
Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait - Norman Friedman

July

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
The Tragedy of King Richard III - William Shakespeare
The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
Bearers of the Black Staff - Terry Brooks

August

Wings of Fire: The Brightest Night - Tui Sutherland
Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity - Barry Robert Bickmore
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

September

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Measure of the Magic - Terry Brooks
Wings of Fire: Moon Rising - Tui Sutherland

October

Dynasty of the Holy Grail - Vern Swanson
Doctrine and Covenants - Various
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

November

Wards of Faerie - Terry Brooks
The Book of Mormon - Various
Wings of Fire: Winter Turning - Tui Sutherland
The Kolob Theorem - Lynn Hilton

December

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Bloodfire Quest - Terry Brooks

I really admire you folks that read more than 50 books a year.  My time is so limited I just can't seem to get much higher than 45 or so.  Just 18 more years to retirement!  Ah well.  Such is life.

I have completed my single-volume history of all U.S. wars.  I didn't go into the current century on the basis that they are too close in time for good historical perspectives.  Now that I have done biographies of Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all U.S. presidents, and now U.S. wars, I need a new history reading project.  I am thinking of doing single volume histories of ancient civilizations.  Additionally I would like to broaden my academic reading a bit and perhaps read in fields other than my own academic pursuits.

Anyway.  Still in the midst of reading the Shannara series by Brooks and still enjoying that.  Lots of books, though.  I have a long way to go.

The read classics project started going off the rails with One Hundred Years of Solitude, which I despised.  It has led me to reevaluate what constitutes a "classic" and I am going to be a bit more selective and likely going a bit older.  On that score I read Treasure Island, which I somehow made it to 43 years old having never read.  It deserves the reputation.

As for rereads, obviously going through the Harry Potter series again.  I'm happy to report that it remains excellent.  

My favorite this year was probably Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity.  This was actually a reread.  Halfway into my mission I had read the entire mission approved reading list three times over, being a voracious reader with lots of study time in the morning.  So I asked the mission president for permission to branch out, which he graciously allowed.  One of the books I read at the time was that book, but it is now in a second edition, so I revisited it.  I really appreciate the scholarship and effort of that work.  Good stuff.

Perhaps in 2023 I will clear 40.

Thanks for reading very best friend.