2022 marks 10 years since I started tracking my books and reading habits. I’ve always loved to read and read a lot as a child and teenager, but since I finished university I’ve had a lot more time to dedicate to reading and it has become a very important and enjoyable hobby for me. In the past decade I’ve read a whopping 670 books. I decided to look back over the past 10 years and identify the top 10 books that have defined the decade for me. These aren’t necessarily the best books I’ve read in the last 10 years (though some of them definitely are), but they are the books that I’ve returned to the most often and have influenced me the most. I can confirm I have read every book on this list more than once.
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I know, everyone loves this book and it’s been totally overhyped ever since it came out. But I read The Book Thief for the first time in 2012 and I definitely credit it as one of the books that brought me back to reading. I feel like I went through a reading drought in University and The Book Thief inspired me to create a Goodreads account and set me on a never ending quest to find the most compelling and beautifully written books. It’s one of those books that leaves you with the biggest book hangover, but sends you searching for other books that evoke such strong feelings and emotions.
2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was another book I discovered in my early Goodreads days, shortly after I first read The Book Thief and was on my quest for beautiful prose. Both books have a heavy focus on reading and books themselves, which is a great way to appeal to a book lover. However, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was so defining for me because it was a classic that I could relate to. Unfortunately, high school English class seems to turn a lot of people off the classics and this was one of the first classics that I read and loved for myself and not because I was required to read it. I’ve since discovered other classics that I adore, like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, but A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a very accessible classic that gave me an appreciation for the classics and a reminder that old stories can ring just as true as new ones.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
This is one of those books that it pains me a little bit to put on the list. If this was a list of the 10 Best Books I read in the last decade, it would not have made the list, but I can’t deny that Throne of Glass was a defining book for me. This was a series that I read because of the hype and it introduced me to a whole world of fantasy and fandom. These days Throne of Glass doesn’t really get as much press time as Maas’ other series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is literally all over Bookstagram and Booktok, but Throne of Glass always stands out for me as the series that brought me back to fantasy. I always loved Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and Throne of Glass defined a new era in which I was excited to participate in a fandom and able to read along with the books as they were released.
4. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Born a Crime (along with Homegoing) stands out as the best book I’ve read with my book club, which I’ve been a member of for 7.5 years. I didn’t want to read this book and then ended up being totally floored by it and have now read it both as a print book and an audiobook. I constantly recommend this book to people and it taught me that non-fiction can be just as accessible as fiction. I used to be a bit afraid of non-fiction, but this book opened up a whole new world to me and I still think about Trevor’s wonderful blend of humour and history to this day. This is how you write a funny book about something that matters.
5. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
I am obsessed with this book. When I think about it critically I can acknowledge that it has some flaws, particularly towards the end, which is overly dramatized. But The Great Alone is such a good example of how impactful setting and atmosphere can be. Kristin Hannah is a great storyteller and uses the Alaskan setting in this book to maximum effect. Everything about the remoteness of this story sings to my soul and it really highlighted for me how much I enjoy character driven, multi-generational family dramas. As you’ll see from the next 2 books on the list, my love for this book also inspired me to discover a whole litany of other stories.
6. Songs of a Sourdough by Robert W. Service
Songs of a Sourdough is a poetry collection that I was directly inspired to read from The Great Alone. Robert Service writes the most wonderful mix of funny and serious outdoor poetry, that is very much about his love and respect for the land. Despite being 100 years old, I found his poetry so accessible and this was one of my first forays into poetry, a genre that I’ve since come to love very much.
7. The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
The Simple Wild is another book that isn’t going to get nominated for literary awards, but a book that I keep returning to nonetheless. This is primarily a romance novel, but it offers so much more about family and finding yourself, that I found it to be one of the most fun and relatable contemporaries with an excellent cast of well-realized characters. There are books that you read for pure enjoyment to lose yourself in the story and this is definitely one of them. It’s a simple story, but honest and relatable in its storytelling.
8. Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
Speaking of books that are pure enjoyment, there’s no better read I can think of than Nevermoor. I have not been able to stop raving about Nevermoor since I first read it in 2018 because it is the most fun and immersive world I’ve discovered since Harry Potter. It’s middle grade and has a lot of similarities, but offers something entirely different than Harry Potter. Where Nevermoor gains its strength is from the well developed plot and world building and the integration of real life issues into the storyline. The characters in this book are a joy to read about and I love to escape into this series.
9. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Beartown is probably the book I most recommend to people of everything on this list. Fredrik Backman writes the most gorgeous prose and creates the most memorable characters. This book focuses on a small hockey town in Sweden and how one event can create ripples that echo throughout an entire community. There is nothing shocking or crazy about this book, but the way Backman crafts every single one of his characters and their relationships with one another is so real and empathetic that you can relate to each of their heartbreaks.
10. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
There is no question that Jellicoe Road is the book that has had the single most impact on me over the past decade. I’ve read this book more times than I can count, as well as every other book Marchetta has ever written. This is a YA book, which I’ve generally moved away from over the past 10 years, but I think this story will always resonate with me. It is a deeply sad coming of age tale which examines relationships, love, and the families we create for ourselves. The writing is haunting and these characters will stick with you long after you finish reading.
I’ve read every book Ruth Ware has written and I will be reading this one too! I don’t think Ware is the best mystery writer out there, but I find her books so compulsively readable that I’m always thrilled to pick up a new one! Especially because this one sounds SO GOOD! It’s about a woman who takes a live-in Nanny job in the Scottish highlands, which she thinks is going to be a dream job and ends up being a nightmare that lands her in prison for a murder she didn’t commit! This sounds so intriguing and I can’t wait to read it! Goodreads says this book is coming out in early Sep, but Edelweiss is listing the release date as Aug. 6, so we’ll just have to wait and see!
Alice Feeney only has one other book, 
Last year and read and enjoyed Riley Sager’s second thriller novel, 
I’m cheating a bit on this book because I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC and I have already read it, but I’m including it anyways because it releases in March and fans of Lisa See will not be disappointed! The Island of Sea Women is set on Jeju Island in South Korea and takes us through 70 years of history – from the 1930’s to the 2000’s. Jeju Island’s culture is focused around women – where they are the core providers for their families and the men stay home and take care of the home and children. It tells the story of Young-sook and her friend Mi-ja, who are both part of the Haenyeo collective of divers who make a living diving for sealife in the fridgid sea.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo took Booktube by storm last year! I read it back in 2017 with my book club and also loved it – so I’m so excited to pick this one up later this year. Daisy Jones and the Six is about solo singer Daisy Jones and popular band, The Six. I’m not totally clear on the plot of the novel, but it’s set in the 70’s and is guaranteed to include all of the drama of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. I loved how diverse Evelyn Hugo and how good of a story teller Taylor Jenkins Reid is, so I can’t wait to read this one too!
This is a lesser promoted novel that I stumbled upon on Netgalley and became immediately intrigued with. It’s by a Mexican author and has actually been published since 2015, but the English translation is being released in April. It’s about an abandoned baby that was found under a bridge and the impact he has on the small village. It’s set during the Mexican Revolution and the outbreak of the spanish influenza in 1918 and this setting is what really intrigued me about the book. I already have a copy of this from Netgalley and I’m looking forward to learning more about this period of Mexican history.
Romanov is a historical fantasy novel about Anastasia Romanov. It re-imagines history where instead of Anastasia dying, she was tasked with smuggling out a spell on her way to Siberia that might be the only thing that could save her condemned family. I don’t really know much more about the story, but I’ve always been a little obsessed with Anastasia and I pretty much only had to hear the words “Anastasia” and “fantasy” and I was in. In discovering this book, I also discovered that Brandes has another historical fantasy novel about Guy Fawkes plot to blow up the British government, Fawkes, which I must now also add to my TBR because that also sounds amazing!
This is another book where I read a really short description of the book and was immediately like, “I have to read this.” Sherwood is basically a gender-bent retelling of Robin Hood. In this version, Robin Hood is dead and his betrothed, Maid Marion is bereft. The people of Nottingham are greatly suffering, especially with the loss of their hero. In her desire to help her people, she dons Robin’s green cloak and is mistaken to be him. The people are desperate for a saviour and Marion decides to do her best to help them.
This one comes out today, so we don’t even have to wait for it anymore! I am totally shocked at myself for including The Gilded Wolves on this list because I strongly disliked Chokshi’s other book, 
As with many of the books on this list, I’m excited to read this upcoming release because I read Acevedo’s novel, 
I stumbled upon this new release on Netgalley as well and while I wasn’t approved for an ARC on this one, I’m really excited to read it when it comes out in February. It’s about two high school students who are frustrated with the status quo at their school and start a Women’s Rights Club. They get a lot of positive support when they start the club, but they are eventually targeted by online trolls who threaten their club and their voices. I’m here for any and all YA books on feminism so I can’t wait to read this. What makes me more excited is that the two girls on the cover are black and white, so I’m hoping this will be a more intersectional, feminist read than some other similarly plotted books that I’ve read in the past.
This is another book I’m a little surprised to include on the list because I read Ahmed’s debut novel, 
This is a bit of a longer list than I usually make, but there’s just so many good books coming out this year! Lindy West’s new book OBVIOUSLY has to be on this list because just everything about it screams something I must read. I really like Lindy’s writing (along with Jessica Valenti and Laurie Penny) and I’m a here for a book about how the “patriarchy, intolerance, and misogyny have conquered not just politics but American culture itself.” It sounds like this book is going to cover a lot of topics, from the 2016 election to the #MeToo movement, I can’t wait to read West’s observations and critiques.
Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak was published 20 years ago and was monumental in discussing the impacts of rape and sexual assault. She has published many other books since then, although I’ll admit, Speak is the only one of her books I’ve read. Shout is going to be a memoir collection of poems and essays about sexual assault, the progress we’ve made, and some personal anecdotes from the author’s personal life. It sounds like a really great anthology and I’m interested to see what the author has to say 20 years after the publication of her ground-breaking novel.
The Paperback Princess 