Today, we are going to look at the top 10 best books of 2022. We split these books into two categories: best selling and highest rated. Let’s take a look!
Best Selling Books of 2022
These are the highest selling books of 2022. Since these are just the books that sold the most, some of them were published even before 2022.
This list was curated by a combination of the New York Times Bestseller List, and the most sold list on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in 2022.
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
It Ends with Us was written by Colleen Hoover, published in 2016, and is 384 pages in length. The book has spent the last 77 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was the most sold book in 2022.
It Ends with Us follows Lily Bloom, who just graduated college and moved to Boston, Massachusetts to start a floral business. Life couldn’t get any better for Lily, especially after she meets Ryle Kincaid, a beautiful neurosurgeon.
He has a soft spot for Lily even though he is assertive, stubborn, and arrogant. Lily becomes completely infatuated, but sadly Ryle has a no dating rule. Soon she finds herself to be the exception to that rule.
Here’s where things get spicy. Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, suddenly reappears in her life to threaten this amazing relationship that has been built with Ryle. Can their relationship take it?
Fun fact: You may have noticed this book was published in 2016. Colleen Hoover’s books got extremely popular on TikTok at the end of 2021, which carried into 2022. She actually had several books on the best seller list including It Starts with Us (the sequel to It Ends with Us), Verity, Reminders of Him, Ugly Love, and November 9! Five of these books were in the top 10 best selling books of 2022.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Crawdads Sing was written by Delia Owens. The book was published in 2018, and is about 400 pages long. It was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, and it has sold a total of over 15 million copies.
Where the Crawdads Sing is written in a very interesting way. The story is split into two timelines that eventually come together and intertwine.
The first timeline follows young Kya as she navigates her life in the marshes of North Carolina. Rumors circulate around the town of a so-called “Marsh Girl”, who has survived years alone in the marshes.
The second timeline gets into the details of the murder of a local celebrity named Chase Andrews. Many of the local people of the town suspect that the one who murdered Chase was the mysterious Marsh Girl.
The stories become intertwined when two young men from the town venture into the marshes, find her, and become intrigued by her wild beauty. Kya doesn’t mind, though, as love is what is missing from her life.
Fun fact: While this book was published in 2018, the reason it got so popular in 2022 is because back in July it was released as a movie with the same name. I guess everyone wanted to go out and read the book in preparation for the movie!
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
I’m Glad My Mom Died was written by Jennette McCurdy. The book was published in August, 2022, and has 320 pages. The book was at the top of the New York Times Bestseller list for 17 weeks (so far).
You may remember Jennette McCurdy from Nickelodeon, where she played as Sam on iCarly and Sam and Cat. I’m Glad My Mom Died is her memoir.
The book is about Jennette McCurdy’s relationship with her abusive mother, as well as her career as a child actress and even a country music career.
Starting off when she was 6, her mom’s dream was for her daughter to become a star. Jennette didn’t want to disappoint her mother, so she would do anything to make her happy. This included calorie restrictions, weighing herself 5 times per day, and insane makeovers where her mom ridiculed everything about her body.
Once she actually did start getting famous, getting cast in the show iCarly, her mom was ecstatic, even getting on a first name basis with the paparazzi. However, Jennette couldn’t say the same.
Jennette McCurdy was full of anxiety, self-loathing, and shame that caused her to develop addictions, eating disorders, and even unhealthy relationships.
Her mom died in 2013 of cancer, and her issues got even worse. This was around the time she was cast on Sam and Cat. Jennette needed to do something to take charge of her life.
The book is split into two parts, “Before” and “After”, each describing the events of her life during the period of time.
Jennette McCurdy actually talked about how she came up with the front cover of the book. In an interview she said, “Confetti spilling out of an urn felt to me like a good way of capturing the humor in the tragedy, but I knew I didn’t want to go as far as throwing the confetti or jumping in the air with a huge smile on my face or doing any other kind of body language or facial expression that could read as flippant. Ultimately I chose a facial expression that I think reads as sincere, a little pained, and a little hopeful.”
The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
The Light We Carry was written by Michelle Obama and published in 2020. It has 336 pages. The book spent some time in 2022 at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was also on a list of Time’s Top 100 Must Read Books of 2022.
This is Michelle Obama’s second book after her first, Becoming, which she published back in 2018. That book was mainly about her life and everything she did to get to where she is today.
The Light We Carry is about taking the experiences and tools that Michelle Obama uses in her life to navigate change and live a steady life despite turmoil.
She asks and answers questions about building relationships, setting aside our differences, and what to do when we have feelings of hopelessness or self doubt.
Michelle Obama believes we all carry a light, and if we light up for others then we can illuminate new pathways and discover a potential for new pathways that may have not otherwise been there.
She explores practices that she uses like “starting kind,” “going high,” and having a “kitchen table” of trusted friends. The Light We Carry also delves into race and gender and encourages those who fear to find courage.
We can light each other up and make the world and your life a better place with The Light We Carry.
Fun fact: This book was recommended by Barack Obama! Hmm… Bias much?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel was written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and is another book that was not published in 2022. Instead, it was published in 2017, and is 400 pages in length. Back in 2017 it was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows the scandalous life of Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo. Finally, she wants to come out with all the craziness that has happened in her life over the years and chooses an unknown magazine reporter, Monique Grant, for the job.
Monique is extremely excited about the opportunity to report on a famous actress. She believes that it will be the thing that launches her career to become a well known reporter.
When Monique goes to Evelyn’s amazing, luxurious apartment, she hears all the stories of Evelyn’s life. From her time in Los Angeles in the 1950s to the 1980s, and most importantly, all about the seven husbands that she has had over the years, and all the drama that they brought into her life.
As Evelyn continues to tell her stories, Monique finds herself drawn and connected to the mysterious woman. Though, towards the end of Evelyn’s stories, Monique finds out that their lives are somehow intertwined.
Fun fact: One of the reasons that The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo got popular enough to get on the bestseller list in 2022 is because Netflix will be adapting the book into a movie soon!
Highest Rated Books of 2022
These books have been accumulated from the highest average of times seen from many reputable sites across the web including The New York Times, Barnes and Noble, Time Magazine, and more.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry was written by Bonnie Garmus. The book was published in April of 2022, and has 400 pages. It took a number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was one of the most popular picks in the Good Morning America Book Club. Multiple publications, including Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, and Entertainment Weekly, called it the best book of 2022.
Lessons in Chemistry follows a chemist named Elizabeth Zott, who works with an all male team that doesn’t really take equality all that seriously.
However, there is one man who does. His name is Calvin Evans, a brillant, Nobel prize nominated scientist. He ends up falling in love with Elizabeth’s mind. Lucky Elizabeth! Or maybe not.
Years pass and she finds herself having a completely different life. Now, she is a single mother, and the star of a cooking show on TV. People are captivated by the way she cooks like she is doing chemistry.
Though her cooking show is extremely popular, many people are not so happy about it. It turns out her show is more than just cooking, but also challenging the women who watch to change the status quo.
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man by Paul Newman
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is a memoir written by Paul Newman and published in October, 2022. The book is 320 pages long. It claimed a spot on the New York Times Bestseller List almost immediately.
Together with his closest friend, Stewart Stern, Paul Newman start a wild project of getting all of his friends and family to tell stories about the actor’s life. This was a five year long project of the truthful accounts of Paul Newman from both himself and his family.
What they got was over 1,000 pages of transcripts, which they filtered down to the best 300 in this memoir, The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man. In his memoir, the goal is to feel his powerful, funny, and even the pain in his voice.
Learn about Paul Newman’s life by hearing from the many people in his life including his childhood friends, people he was around during his time in the Navy, family members, and people that he has met and collaborated with during his acting career.
We get to really learn everything about Paul Newman in this book, from going through his traumatic childhood, into his teenage years, and finally his adult life where he struggled with drinking and a series of bad relationships. He talks about the death of his son and how it affected his life, and messages for his daughters about the man that their father was. Lastly, he talks about Joanne Woodword and the impact that she had on his life.
Paul Newman doesn’t hold back in The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi was a book that was published in May, 2022. It has 288 pages, making it one of the shortest books on this list. The book was picked as the best romance book of 2022 by The New York Times and The Washington Post, but also received praise from Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed, Business Insider, and The Guardian.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty follows Feyi Adekola five years after the love of her life died in a tragic accident.
She is learning to be alive again and finally recovering from the terrible event in her life. Now, she is an artist with her own studio, and an apartment with her best friend, Joy, who has been trying to convince Feyi to get back into the dating scene.
The thing is Feyi isn’t really ready to date anyone seriously. However, things may change when she meets someone at a rooftop party. Then amazing things start to happen in her life including a trip to a tropical island, tasty meals made by a celebrity chef, and meets a curator that wants to launch her art career.
Her new guy is the perfect guy for her, but sadly her relationship may be sabotaged before it even gets starts by an overwhelming feeling of desire for the guy’s father.
As her life gets more and more complicated, she is trying to find the answer to one main question – is she ready to love again?
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan was published in April of 2022. It has 352 pages. The book was on the New York Times’ top 10 best books of 2022, as well as Time, Oprah Daily, and The New Yorker. It also received great reviews from Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and People Magazine.
The Candy House follows Bix Bouton whose wildly famous tech company releases a new technology called Own Your Unconscious. This new tech allows you to access all of the memories that you have ever had. It also lets you share your memories with others in order to see their memories.
The technology basically takes over the world allowing anyone to experience pretty much anything. However, seeing someone else’s memories isn’t always a good thing.
There are two types of people in this new world, the “counters” who all for exploiting people’s desires, and the “eluders” who know better than to take a bite of what’s called “The Candy House”.
The Candy House explores human connection, family, privacy, and love. It’s creatively written with many narrative styles including a very interesting chapter told completely through tweets.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
The Marriage Portrait was written by Maggie O’Farrell and published in September, 2022. The book is 352 pages long, and immediately took a spot on the New York Times Best Seller List.
The Marriage Portrait is set in Florence, Italy in the 1550s. The book follows Lucrezia, the daughter of the grand duke who lives a wonderful life of being able to pursue her own artistic talents.
However, everything changes when her older sister dies the day before her wedding day who was to marry the ruler of Ferrara. Now, Lucrezia is the one set to marry the ruler as her father quickly accepts the marriage proposal on her behalf.
After having moved into the life of her new husband, Alfonso, the ruler of Ferrara, she can’t seem to figure him out. One minute he is the playful man she knew from before the wedding, the next a ruthless politician, next charismatic around musicians and artists.
The biggest problem with her new life is that her husband’s family wants her for just one thing – to bear an heir. All the while, Lucrezia just wants to paint a beautiful portrait to preserve her image forever.
The backdrop of Renaissance Italy is just beautiful in The Marriage Portrait.
Fun fact: This book was Reese Witherspoon’s December pick for her book club! She was quoted as saying, “I could not stop reading this incredible true story.”