I don’t think I ever actually set a reading goal for 2022. If I did, I have no idea what it was, haha. However, as usual, I spent most of my free time reading. If you’re new around here, I don’t own a TV. Once every few months I’ll do a netflix binge of a new show, but for the most part, once the kids are in bed for the night I’m reading or working. I finished the year with 30 books, sneaking in book 30 right in the nick of time. Without further ado, here’s the list of books I read in 2022! 🙂

The Book List

1. Maybe Now by Colleen Hoover
2. How Are You, Really? by Jenna Kutcher
3. Dream Big by Bob Goff
4. Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller
5. Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover
6. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
7. It starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
8. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
9. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
10. Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker
11. Play with Fire by Bianca Juarez Olthoff
12. Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
13. Sexless in the City by Kat Harris
14. Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen
15. Dirt by Mary Marantz
16. Raising Critical Thinkers by Julie Bogart
17. Body Love by Kelly LeVeque
18. The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene
19. Embrace Your Almost by Jordan Lee Dooley
20. I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi
21. Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley
22. Badass Habits by Jen Sincero
23. Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
24. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
25. Growing Boldly by Emily Ley
26. The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel
27. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
28. Inferno by Dan Brown
29. Everybody, Always by Bob Goff
30. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

If you didn’t notice, I discovered Colleen Hoover last summer and holy smokes have I become obsessed with her! She has so many books though, so I started going down a rabbit hole of her books and really enjoying them. However, a lot of her books at the library have a zillion holds so it’s going to be a while before I read another one of hers!

Stand-out books

The book that wrecked me the most was American Dirt. This was absolutely heartwrenching to read. I know it was fiction, but was based on some very real elements. It really put into perspective what some people are willing to go through to come to America.

I think the most impactful book I read was The Explosive Child. Over the last couple of years, Lily has been struggling with some very intense tantrums, and this book really gave some solid strategies that I was able to start implementing. And here’s the kicker – they actually have been working for us. It also really helped shift my mindset about the behaviors we’ve been struggling with.

I Will Teach You to be Rich and Habits of the Household were another two favorites in terms of practical application. I already felt pretty solid in my money habits (see posts about that here and here), but this book really helped me get a lot of things squared away. Habits of the Household was so good and my goal this year is to start applying what I read from that one!

Inferno, Digital Fortress, and Wish You Were Here all had me in their grips and totally blew my mind. SO good!!!

All of the books I read in 2022 were so freaking good, but I think these ones I mentioned really took the cake for me! For 2023, I’ve set a goal for reading 35 books and I’m already 3 down and January isn’t over yet!

Linda is a Portland-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies from Portland to Boston and across New England. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com.

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