Whew! It’s already the second week of January and I’m still recovering from all the amazing reading in 2022. Whatever your goal was last year, or even if you didn’t have one, I hope you enjoyed some books last year.

My Top 5 Reads from 2022:

  • The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
  • Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
  • Friends, Lovers, & the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

If you don’t already, follow me on Instagram for all the book nerd, Boise, writing, travel, etc. stuff you can handle @blondierocket. You can also follow me and my fellow book friend, Laura, @tealeavesandbooksleeves on Instagram where we share in the moment book finds and reads. The following is our collective top 10 list from ’22 (I have not read two of these books but they are high on my list for this year).

It’s been awhile since I gave a recap of my reading and I hope to do more of it in the future. I think 2022 was a record year for me on a few fronts. Without doing a lot of digging back in history (something I might do this coming year), I believe I a record year in books read, pages read, and the most books read in one month.

Here are some of the stats from 2022:

  • Total Books Read – 237 (goal was 222)
  • Total Pages Read – 67,230
  • Total Oldest TBR Books – 69 (goal was 50)
  • Highest Reading Month – September (23 books)
  • Oldest Published Book – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (published in 1859)

At the beginning on 2022, I had 667 books I owned that I have no read. One of my long running goals is to read more books that I own, eventually getting it down to a less daunting number. That also means buying less books. [INSERT GASP HERE]. With books added and read in 2022, I am happy that my the current number of books owned and not read (ie. TBR) was at 602 on January 1, 2023.

Here’s the breakdown of where my reading in 2022 came from:

  • Books Owned – 122
  • Borrowed Books (ie library and friends) – 62
  • ARC/NetGalley (ie advanced reader copies) – 38
  • Kindle Books – 16
  • Audiobooks (ie Audible or Libby) – 30

The author I read the most was Gertrude Chandler Warner who pens the Boxcar Children series. Fun and easy reads, however, I was trying to finish the collection I currently have which left me reading 19 of her books this past year. Second highest was James Patterson at 13 books. Not really a surprise.

To see a complete list of everything I read in 2022, head over to my Goodreads shelf here!

I am SUPER excited for reading in 2023. I have some goals and some challenges I’m working toward. I would love any recommendations and if anyone wants to buddy up as accountability partners or to create a bookclub, count me in!

To finish up, some of my goals for 2023 include:

  • Reading Goal – 250
  • Oldest TBR Goal – 100
  • Read more of my purchased Kindle books
  • Read all books added in 2023 … in 2023
  • Finish all borrowed books and return them to their owners

While this is just my reading roundup, I’m very excited to share more about an epic 2022 and more goals and things to look for in 2023.

It’s going to be an amazing year!

Happy reading, friends!
<3, Lauren