2022 Year In Review

Happy soon-to-be New Year!

As I sit down to write this post and reflect on my reading year, I realize that this year has been the most different for me.  Perhaps because I had a lot going on in both work and my personal life this past year, with the first few months of 2022 being especially chaotic, so I did not get a chance to read as much as I wanted to.  In 2022, I only read 52 books, which is the fewest it has been in years (as a comparison point, the previous years I’ve read between 59-62 books) – not only that, I’ve also had to adjust my reading goal down a few times this year, which I hate doing, but the “completist” in me wouldn’t have it otherwise. 

Looking back through the year, I realize that part of the problem with me not being able to reach my reading goal was too much “indecision time” – basically, spending too much time in between books deciding what to read next instead of just picking up the next book and going with it.  When I reflect on why this happened, I honestly can’t pin it down to one particular reason (though I’m leaning towards having too many choices in terms of books and perhaps being overwhelmed?), but of course, it bothers me enough to want to do something about it.  I’ve been thinking about this for a little while now (I actually came to this realization several months ago) and have come to the conclusion that I didn’t plan my reading well enough this past year.  While I did set reading goals as well as reading intentions at the beginning of the year, I pretty much left it at that and didn’t revisit those goals throughout the year to see if I was making progress.  In addition, even though I did have a list of books each month that I wanted to get to, most on the list were ARCs and new releases – I didn’t think to put some of the backlist books I wanted to read on there as well (seeing that one of my goals last year was to read more backlist books, that I was a huge miss on my part).

So with all that said, going into 2023, I’ve decided it’s not enough to just set my reading goals and reading intentions at the beginning of the year.  Instead, I’m going beyond that by actually planning out my reading for each month in a physical book journal that I can have in front of me all the time, with the added benefit of being able to reflect on each month as I go and make adjustments where necessary.  My hope is, with this intentional planning, I can reduce the amount of “indecision time” and actually get to more of the books that I’ve been wanting to get to but never could (i.e. the books that have been on my TBR for ages).

Speaking of 2023 goals, here is what I would like to focus on for the coming year:

-        Read as many books as possible from my own shelves:  I buy a lot of books, but because I’m not a fast reader (plus I’m only able to read 1 book at a time), my shelves are always bursting with books that I haven’t yet read.

-        Work through my list of backlist “must-read” books: These are books that have been on my TBR forever and I keep meaning to read them, but never seem to get around to it.

-        Read widely and diversely:  Just like in previous years, I always try to incorporate a good number of books by authors of color into my reading and 2023 will be no different in this regard.

-        Re-start my “completist” project:  Last year, I talked about a project I started wherein I wanted to read all the books written by my favorite authors.  The goal was to finish at least 1 author on my favorites list each year.  Unfortunately, this didn’t happen in 2022, so I am hoping 2023 will be better.

-        Incorporate books about Writing into my reading schedule:  A few months ago, I talked about being inspired to finally start my book writing project (yes, I definitely started and it’s slow-going, but making progress).  Because of this, I’ve started to incorporate some books about writing into my reading schedule and I intend to keep this going in the new year.  

 

Okay, so back to 2022 recap.  Similar to past years, I’m starting with stats from my 2022 Reading Log, then will follow that up with my lists of favorite books this year.

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Reads of 2022

Below is my list of favorite reads this year (in no particular order) – all of these books I rated 5 stars:

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

 

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

 

The Unseen World by Liz Moore

 

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

 

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

 

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

 

The following books I rated 4.5 stars, which for me means that they were all excellent books in their own right, it’s just that they didn’t give me the 5 star “vibe” (I still loved these books nonetheless):

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

 

Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton

 

Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

 

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

 

Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean

 

A Map for the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang

 

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

 

Central Places by Delia Cai

 

The following books I rated 4 stars (which means they were particularly enjoyable reads for me).  This year, I actually struggled to rate most of these, as they were technically more than 4 stars, but I didn’t want to get too much into the weeds with the ratings, so I kept them in the 4 star category. Many of these books I still loved as much as my 4.5 and 5 star reads.

 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

 

Phantoms by Christian Kiefer

 

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

 

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft

 

The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser

 

Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

 

Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden by Zhuqing Li

 

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong

 

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

 

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

 

The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris

 

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

 

Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

 

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

 

Indelible City: Dispossession & Defiance in Hong Kong by Louisa Lim

 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

Atomic Habits by James Clear

 

Have You Eaten Yet?  by Cheuk Kwan

 

 

Review: Have You Eaten Yet? (by Cheuk Kwan)

 My Rating:  4 stars

This was a fascinating read that was also very different from the food-themed books I’ve read in the past due to how much ground it covered theme-wise.  While on the surface, this book sounded to me like a travelogue food memoir, I quickly discovered that it was actually so much more than that – the food (especially Chinese cuisine) played a huge role of course, and the author, Cheuk Kwan, also spoke a lot about his personal family history and experiences, however there were also elements related to travel, history, politics, culture, immigration, etc. that made this book stand out.  Cheuk Kwan was born in Hong Kong, but also grew up in Singapore and Japan and at different points in his life, lived in various countries including Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Canada.  As a documentary filmmaker, magazine writer, and activist, Kwan spent most of his career traveling around the world, profiling Chinese restaurants in different countries and documenting the stories as well as experiences of the Chinese diaspora from a global perspective.  Starting off in Canada, where Kwan currently lives, he travels across several continents – from Israel to Madagascar, to the Caribbean, Kenya, Mauritius, Turkey, Norway, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Peru (and so many more) – interviewing a diverse group of restaurant owners, workers, chefs, etc. who were ethnically Chinese, but from different backgrounds.  Many of them had vastly different experiences in terms of how they (or, in many cases, their ancestors and other family members) arrived in the country where they ended up as well as how they got into the restaurant business.   Most fascinating to me though, was learning about the evolution of Chinese cuisine around the world and seeing the different ways in which so many of the Cantonese dishes I was most familiar with were adapted for a variety of reasons (i.e. to fit the tastes of the local population or to accommodate the lack of particular ingredients, etc.).   This was a lot of fun for sure (especially the sections where the author would describe some of the dishes in detail, which made my mouth water) -- but not only that, it also brought back fond memories of my previous visits to Asia and all the wonderful food I got to try. 

As I mentioned before though, this book went beyond just talking about food and restaurants.  On a deeper level, the narrative was also an exploration of immigration, community, assimilation, and ultimately, cultural identity.  This was the aspect that resonated most with me – especially since, like the author, I’m also a “card-carrying member of the Chinese diaspora” and so I was able to relate to many of the experiences that were brought up.  At one point, Cheuk Kwan also explores the question of nationality versus ethnicity – he says that in his travels around the world, “meeting with far-flung members of the Chinese diaspora, one question always came to mind:  Are we defined by our nationality or by our ethnicity?  Nationality is a legal construct that can be easily given – or taken away – while ethnicity always stays with us.  It’s in our blood.”  This intrigued me because, despite struggling with the issue of cultural identity my entire life, it was never something that crossed my mind much, until now.  I appreciate when books make me ponder things that I might not have really thought about before, which this one definitely does.

With all that said, of course, this book wasn’t without flaws – the writing was a bit all over the place at some parts and some sections were in need of further editing (the version I read was missing punctuation at some places and also kept referring to the United States as “the us”, which got a bit annoying after a while), but overall, the content made up for it.  Flaws aside, I still definitely recommend this one (though maybe read the published version instead?), as I found the plethora of insights it provides interesting and invaluable -- even with my familiarity of Chinese history and culture, I still learned a lot, which I absolutely appreciate!

  

Received ARC from Pegasus Books via Edelweiss

Review: Atomic Habits (by James Clear)

My Rating:  4 stars

As I've mentioned in previous reviews of self-help books that I've read, I'm always a bit weary when I pick one of these books up because they can be a real "hit or miss" for me in terms of reading experience.  I would consider myself "picky" about books in general (mostly because I have a problem abandoning a book once I start it), but even more so when it comes to non-fiction reads, which for me in particular, requires extra effort and concentration. 

 

With this mindset, I went into James Clear's popular self-help book Atomic Habits not really expecting to get too much out of it – which is why I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this one.  Of course, as is the case with many self-help books, the concepts that Clear talks about in his book aren't brand new (I'm sure there are dozens of books out there covering the same topic) and in all honesty,  there was nothing particularly mind-blowing about the content itself.  Having said that, what made this book stand out for me was its simple, easy-to-understand format – basically, Clear took what can be a complicated topic and broke it down in a way that was clear, insightful, and practical.   As I was reading, I didn't feel like I had to jump through hoops in order to grasp the concepts or that I had to think too deeply on how to meaningfully apply the ideas to my daily life.  In fact, I already started applying some of it and, seeing the results, am motivated to continue.  I also really liked the structure of the book, with nice short chapters as well as relevant charts and tools interspersed at the right moments.  I also found the summary at the end of each chapter – which listed out main "takeaways" from the chapter in simple bullet points – extremely useful in terms of helping to remember the important points in each section.

 

In a way, I guess this is one of those instances of reading "the right book at the right time".  Given how chaotic the end of the year usually is for me (both at home and at work), finding the time to read at all can be challenging, so it definitely helps to read a book that I can easily get through and parse, for one, and two, can be readily applied to situations I'm working through currently. 

 

While quite a few aspects of this book definitely resonated with me, especially in this moment of my life, I'm sure it will be different for others, so I would say keep that in mind when deciding whether to pick this one up or not.  I found this book to be a worthwhile read, of course, but even if it doesn't particularly resonate with others, I feel like there are some insights that can be helpful.

 

 

Review: Central Places (by Delia Cai)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

It's not often that I come across a book where I'm able to resonate so deeply with the main character that, as soon as I turn the last page, the first thought that pops into my head is: wow, it's been a long time since I've felt so seen!   That's exactly how I felt after meeting Audrey Zhou, the main protagonist of Delia Cai's debut novel Central Places.  

To be honest, Audrey wasn't a likeable character for much of the story — as I was reading, there were so many instances where I found her actions and behavior annoying and frustrating, not to mention I kept wanting to yell at her to stop being so self-destructive and making a mess of her life. With that said however, Audrey was also a character I empathized with immensely — and in some areas, saw aspects of myself in.  With my shared cultural background of being the Chinese daughter of strict immigrant parents as well as growing up in an environment where very few people looked like me, I was absolutely able to relate to so much of what Audrey went through in the story, but more importantly, I was able to understand, on a deeper level, the complicated family and society dynamics that shaped her into who she eventually became as an adult and why she ended up making some of the decisions she did (even ones that I disagreed with).   I'm able to empathize because I went through many of the same struggles myself (some which I am still working through even now).

On a personal level, I know what it feels like to grow up in an immigrant household where there is always an unspoken pressure to prove the worthiness of your existence;  where you constantly have to worry about living your life in a way that justifies the sacrifice your parents made in leaving their prior lives behind and moving to a foreign country where they are largely treated as second class citizens; where you are expected to be obedient, to follow the path your parents laid out for you, to work hard and keep your head down, and no matter what, don't draw attention to yourself, which often involves not reacting when people make fun of you for being different (or, in a real life example, when classmates make a game of deliberately kicking the back of your legs so it looks like you are kneeling and bowing down to them); where there is constant pressure to be perfect, to succeed, and not make any mistakes along the way so as to not give those who don't want you here in the first place the satisfaction of seeing you fail; where you are destined to endlessly strive for approval and acceptance that never comes.  These are just a few examples — both in the story and in my own real life experience, there are way too many examples to list them all out.

The other aspect of the story that really resonated with me was the relationship that Audrey had with her mother — the relationship was a strained one that was plagued with communication issues, misunderstandings, silence as a form of punishment, and, the most destructive of all, an unwillingness to let their true emotions show for fear of letting their guard down and exposing their vulnerabilities.  For someone who may not be familiar with the unique dynamics that often define Asian (especially Chinese) mother / daughter relationships, it can be hard to understand Audrey's immature behavior when she's back in her parents' presence in Hickory Grove. For me, I understood it acutely because I lived that same reality for most of my life (and continue to do so to this day).  Culturally, Asian daughters have a whole set of expectations placed upon them from the moment they are born — expectations that Asian mothers are responsible for reinforcing throughout their daughters' lives…hence the relentless criticizing / nagging / judging / critiquing that we are constantly subjected to, regardless of how old we are or how successful we become.  I've actually lost count already how many of my Chinese female friends (all of whom are around my age, in their 40s, and are strong, successful, financially secure women) complain about resorting to "petulant teenager mode" each time they are in their mother's presence — a sentiment that I resonate with wholeheartedly because I'm the exact same way whenever I'm around my mom.  Even though rationally, we know that arguing is fruitless because, as much as we don't want to admit it, our mothers' nitpicking is their way of expressing their love for us, the hurt and pain we experience in the moment often defies all logical thought.  It's a phenomenon that's very hard to explain, but those who live it (whether daily like me since I live with my mom, or only occasionally like my friends who live separately from their moms and only visit once in awhile) will undoubtedly understand.

One other thing I have to mention is how much I appreciated the realistic portrayal of the characters and what they go through in the story.  Life is messy, complicated, and unpredictable, with both good moments and bad ones that are impossible to fit nicely into a box, to be put away and taken out whenever we feel like it.  This book did an especially great job showing this complexity, which is probably why the story ended up gutting me in ways I wasn't expecting — in fact, it hit so close to home for me in so many areas that, at certain points, I had to put the book down so I could clear the lump in my throat (and actually wipe the tears from my eyes a few times).  For me, there was so much to unpack with this story and in all honesty, I feel like I've only scratched the surface with this review.  While I focused primarily on the aspects most familiar to me, there are actually an abundance of themes in here that are worthy of further discussion (i.e.: themes such as coming to terms with the past, self-discovery and self-reflection, mixed race relationships, etc.).  I definitely found this to be a worthwhile read, but I know that each person who reads this book will get something different out of it, and in some cases, may not be able to relate at all to the story, which is absolutely fine, as that's the beauty of books and reading — they meet you where you're at.

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Review: The Reading List (by Sara Nisha Adams)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

A reading list is found inside a library book with the heading: "Just in case you need it." The same list ends up circulating throughout the small town of Wembley and as the story progresses, we see the impact that this list ends up having on various members of the community. In the story, each character has to deal with various harsh realities that life hurls at them — issues that are difficult and perhaps even unresolvable, since they are part of what it means to be human. Most of the characters come upon reading by chance, but become lifelong readers after witnessing for themselves how much the books they pick up end up helping them work through certain things. As an avid reader myself who has experienced first- hand how finding the right book(s) at the right time can truly be life-changing, I love how the author, Sara Nisha Adams, emphasized this point in the ways she incorporated each of the books on the list into the story line.

This was a story that covered a lot of ground emotionally, as it made me both laugh and cry in turn. The characters were endearing and I absolutely loved spending time with them — to the point that I honestly didn't want the story to end. Like both of the main characters, Mukesh and Aleisha, experienced while reading some of the books on the list, I found myself so completely immersed in the story that I was rooted to the same spot for hours, reluctant to put the book down because I just had to know what would happen to these beloved characters.

This wonderful story is a lovely tribute to books and reading, but more importantly, it's also an ode to libraries and their ability to bring people (readers and non-readers alike) together — a message that is all the more urgent today with so many libraries under threat. I'm deliberately keeping my review short and vague because, with this book, there is honestly not a whole lot that can be said — it needs to be experienced for itself. With that said, my one small regret is that I would've liked to have read all the books on the reading list prior to reading this book, as I'm sure it would've enhanced my experience even further. The good thing is that it's not too late — I already put the books I hadn't read yet on my TBR with the intention of getting to them as time permits, at which point I would love to do a re-read of this book (hopefully before her next book comes out in 2023).