I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I have a ridiculous job.
I get to read books, talk to authors and creatives, and write about it all so that others can listen and learn, rage and wonder, contemplate and cause trouble.
I read things I love. Things that interest me. Things that matter. Things that I would read and write about for free (shhh, don’t tell my publishers).
Really, it’s a ridiculous vocation. A calling that I am immensely humbled to have.
One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is look back on all the things I read, the ideas I encountered, and reflect on the people I interviewed or interacted with along the way.
This year, I read a total of 25,353 pages, including numerous news pieces, 63 journal articles, a behemoth of blogs, countless chapters, and 84 different books (including 19 works of fiction).
The following are some of the books that moved me, made me smile, or that I think matter in a world swimming with competing and contrasting ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. They are, you could say, my Top 25 Books of 2022.
Perhaps you’ll find something that piques your interest in the list as well.
A lot of the books below featured in my research and writing over the year, but others just caught my attention (and more importantly, held it). Among them are my usual themes and interests: religion, borderlands, interreligious encounters, Berlin and Germany, spirituality, James Bond, Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, and travel (this year, to places like Italy and Scotland, Morocco and Mexico).
And so, here are my Top 25 Books of 2022, in the order I finished them throughout the year. Many of the hyperlinks connect you to reviews or other relevant works. Others take you directly to the publishers’ webpage, where available (be sure to support your local bookstore!):
My Broken Language: A Memoir, by Quiara Alegría Hudes
A Traveler in Italy, by H.V. Morton
The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, by Lindsay Chervinsky
Journeys toward Gender Equality in Islam, by Ziba Mir-Hosseini.
Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier, by Kirk D. Farney
Berlin Global, from the Humboldt Forum.
Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and their History, by Simon Winder.
What We Owe the Future, by William MacAskill
Theater Unser: Wie die Passionsspiele Oberammergau den Ort verändern und die Welt bewegen, by Anne Fritsch
The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, by Simran Jeet Singh
Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde, by Erich Kästner
Race and Rhyme: Rereading the New Testament, by Love Lazarus Sechrest
Borders and Belonging, The Book of Ruth: A Story for Our Times, by Pádraig Ó Tuama, Glenn Jordan
Religion in 50 Words: A Critical Vocabulary, by Aaron W. Hughes and Russel T. McCutcheon
Casablanca: Colonial Myths and Architectural Adventures, by Jean-Louis Cohen and Monique Eleb
Islamic Empires: The Cities that Shaped Civilization: From Mecca to Dubai, by Justin Marozzi
Christianity’s American Fate: How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular, by David A. Hollinger
An Odd Cross to Bear: A Biography of Ruth Bell Graham, by Anne Blue Wills
Berlin Alexanderplatz, by Alfred Döblin
Peaceful Families: American Muslim Efforts against Domestic Violence, by Juliane Hammer
Manifold Destiny: Arabs at an American Crossroads of Exceptional Rule, by John Tofik Karam
Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland, by Francesca Sobande and layla-roxanne hill
Undocumented Saints: The Politics of Migrating Devotions, by William A. Calvo-Quirós
Trainspotting, by Irvine Welsh
The 007 Diaries: Filming Live and Let Die, by Roger Moore
Let me know if you also read any of the books above, want to share your thoughts on titles you enjoyed in 2022, or if you have any book recommendations for 2023 (yes, please!).
Until then, Happy New Year friends. Here's to more good reads in the year to come.