Winston Churchill is probably the most quoted man in the world, possibly with the exception of Oscar Wilde. According to some reports he said “the only statistics you can trust are the ones you have falsified yourself.” Another prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, also had a view on statistics, saying there were “three kind of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.”
Nevertheless, it is interesting with statistics, and I have enjoyed reading yours. My last post highlighted some statistics, but I forgot to mention which genres I have read. An interesting exercise, since I had no idea how much I have read from each genre. All in all, I have to be satisfied since I have been reading, more or less, the same number of books from each of the genres.
Top 10 books read in 2022
It turned out to be 13 books, but three of them are in a series, so I count that as one. If Winston Churchill can do it, I can do it. No special order.
Maja Lunde - The History of Bees, The End of the Ocean and Przewalski's Horse (excellent trilogy, fourth is coming, on the future of our planet).
Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet (favourite author who never fails you. This year I will read her latest The Marriage Portrait.)
Jennifer Saint - Ariadne (wonderful tale of Greek mythology. Looking forward to Elektra and Atalanta.)
Ferdinand von Schirach - The Collini Case (a trial where the accused pleeds guilty, but don't want to say why he did it. His defense lawyer looks into his history and find a gruesome story of bravery and sadness.)
Paul Auster - The Brooklyn Follies (Auster does not need any further introduction. As always an engaging story of life in New York.)
Taylor Jenkins Reid - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugh (fascinating story of an aging, popular movie star and her life. Want to read more by her.)
Laura Dave - The Last Thing He Told Me (a different mystery of a husband disappearing, leaving his wife and child without a clue. When the police and security forces start asking about the business of her husband, she realises she does not know much about it.)
Ulf Kvensler - Sarek (a Swedish thriller set in the national park of Sarek in the north of Sweden. Two couple set out, but only two persons return, and their stories do not match. Totally thrilling and beautiful descriptions of wild life.)
Andreas Cervenka - Girig-Sverige (a look on Swedish ekonomic life, and how people can get super rich by legal means. Informative and shocking as well.)
That was my best books for 2022. I did like most of the books I read, in one way or the other. I did start a few other books that I did not read, because I did not find them interesting. One book I read since it was for a book club, The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. I did not like, or understand, this book at all. Found it boring and the story uninteresting, although it is a historical fiction, which I usually love.
The end result is that 2022 was a very good reading year. Looking forward to 2023, new books, new stories and new challenges. My own challenge theme for January will be "Portugal", since we are here for three weeks, travelling around in the north. I have already read one book Lisbon, War in the Shadow of the City of Light, 1939-45 by Neill Lochery, and am now starting A Short History of Portugal by H. Morse Stephens. Hoping also to finish The History of the Siege of Lisbon by José Saramago, and hopefully some poetry by Fernando Pessoa. More about all of them in another post.