108. Our favorite (and least favorite) books of 2022

Today we enter the towering stack of "Best Book" lists, but we like to think our annual episode stands out from the crowd. Instead of narrowing down a list of favorites every year, we share superlatives to include a wider variety of genres, themes, and reading experiences in our year end wrap up episode. Check our stories at @novelpairingspod on Instagram for templates to share your 2022 superlatives, and please do not forget to tag us! We would love to see which books you select in each category. For more superlatives, go to patreon.com/novelpairings. We will share a bonus episode on Friday FULL of more titles we loved this year.    Podcast episodes mentioned: Maryanne Wolf and Ezra Klein discuss "deep reading" All about hyped books Buzzy summer 2022 books we both read   Books mentioned: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle ZevinBabel by R.F. Kuang Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott  Book Lovers by Emily Henry Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Trust by Hernan Diaz Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk Search by Michelle Hunevan Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon Invisible Storm by Jason Kander A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa  The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King The Long Answer by Anna Hogeland The Trees by Percival Everett Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout Recitatif by Toni Morrison Have I Told You This Already? By Lauren Graham Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk These Precious Days by Ann Pachett Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles   Share your own superlatives! Here's the list: Lived up to "the hype" Didn't live up to "the hype" Most likely to become a modern classic Best surprise Biggest disappointment  Most comforting/helped through a hard time Best characters  Best UNlikeable characters Kept you thinking the long after reading Most discussable Best under the radar Best audiobook experience Book you would recommend to a friend