Books

These were the best reads of 2022, according to the staff at Boston Public Library

“We hope this list inspires you to keep reading!”

By Dialynn Dwyer

December 2, 2022

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It’s that time of the year again, when everyone reviews the books they’ve read since January and picks their favorites. 

On Thursday, staff members at the Boston Public Library released their picks for the best reads of 2022. The titles recommended by the staffers of the public library system range across genres — from fantasy to nonfiction to historical romance — and are not limited to just books published in 2022. 

“We hope this list inspires you to keep reading!” the library wrote. 

Below, check out the list of books recommended by the BPL staffers. View why each title was recommended by the staff member who put it forward here. 

Fiction

• “The Winners” by Fredrik Backman (2022)
• “When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Regan Barnhill (2022)
• “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler (2019)
• “Greenwich Park” by Katherine Faulkner (2022)
• “The Witch and the Tsar” by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (2022)
• “The Lottery and Other Stories” by Shirley Jackson (2005)
• “The Ballad of Perilous Graves” by Alex Jennings (2022)
• “The Jade Temptress” by Jeannie Lin (2020)
• “Nona the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir (2022)
• “The Marriage Portrait” by Maggie O’Farrell (2022)
• “Winter Counts” by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (2021)

Nonfiction

• “Timefulness” by Marcia Bjornerud (2018)
• “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari (2022)
• “White Too Long” by Robert P. Jones (2020)
• “Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe (2019)
• “More Myself” by Alicia Keys (2020)
• “For the Table” by Anna Stockwell (2022)
• “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams (2021)

YA Fiction

• “Bloodmarked” by Tracy Deonn (2022)
• “White Smoke” by Tiffany D. Jackson (2021)
• “Ophelia After All” by Racquel Marie (2022)