Marcus Kazmierczak

Reading List 2022

A look back at what I read in 2022, split into fiction and non-fiction books. You can see my previous years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

You can see my Goodreads Year in Books 2022 for the full list. I set out with the goal to read 25 books in the year and ended up reading 27, for a total of 9,646 pages.

Fiction

The Paris Apartment

The Paris Apartment

Lucy Foley
★★★★
The Murder on the Links

The Murder on the Links

Agatha Christie
★★★
A classic Hercule Poirot story by Agatha Christie, a bit dated and quaint
A Spindle Splintered

A Spindle Splintered

Alix E. Harrow
★★★★
Audiobook - An enjoyable modern remix of the Sleeping Beauty story that goes into a literary multiverse.
Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers

Stephen King
★★★★
The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Kelly Barnhill
★★★★
Mr. Mercedes

Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King
★★★★
The Girl In Times Square

The Girl In Times Square

Paullina Simons
★★★★
Doll Bones

Doll Bones

Holly Black
★★★
My daughter checked this one out of the library and it sounded interesting enough that I ended up reading it and she didn't. It's a good story and enjoyable, probably good for late Elementary or Middle School age kids and up.
Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark

Riley Sager
★★★★
Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances

Sheldon Siegel
★★★★
A really enjoyable courtroom drama, good story, good characters kept me hooked all the way through
The Institute

The Institute

Stephen King
★★★★
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Grady Hendrix
★★★★
A good fun thriller, I enjoyed it. There is not much horror and vampires, a few good scenes, but is mostly about the families and what happens when a vampire comes to the prim-and-proper suburbs in the South.
Orphan X

Orphan X

Gregg Andrew Hurwitz
★★★
I enjoyed the story and character, a fun read! I was worried about too much extraneous details at the start; the details work okay for shaping his character, but too much about the various weapons and fighting techniques.
The Final Girl Support Group

The Final Girl Support Group

Grady Hendrix
★★★★★
From the title alone I loved the premise, and the book lived up to it. An homage to horror movies with a similar fun style as Scream or Cabin in the Woods. I blew through it in two days, if you enjoy horror movies, I definitely recommend it.
The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu
★★
I'm missing something, so much praise for this book, I found it meandering and confusing
Legendborn

Legendborn

Tracy Deonn
★★★
The Immortalists

The Immortalists

Chloe Benjamin
★★★★
The 25th Hour

The 25th Hour

David Benioff
★★★
Good characters, well written and interesting, but feels more like an introduction and not a full story.

Non-Fiction

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear
★★★★★
A clear and pragmatic approach to habit formation. It explains each step, and gives good examples on how to apply in your life, while recognizing reality and challenges we all face.

If you are only going to read one, I would recommend Atomic Habits over Charles Duhigg's Power of Habits. If you are going to read both, read Duhigg's first and then this book, James Clear references the earlier book.
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt

Michael Lewis
★★★
Bobby Fischer Goes to War

Bobby Fischer Goes to War

David Edmonds
★★★
An interesting look at the history and battle between Fischer vs Spassky and US vs USSR through chess. The book itself is a bit repetitive and overly detailed. Worth a read for the history of the event and people.
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

Tom Kelley
★★★★
A good overview of the design process used at IDEO and Stanford's design school. The main tenet is that everyone is creative and tapping into this can unleash great gains. I'm not sure how much new I got out of it, human-centered design and fast prototyping aren't new concepts for me. It's good to reinforce and one of the last chapters includes some exercises that might be useful.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Matthew Walker
★★★★★
Pretty amazing to read about all the power of sleep, and how important it is for probably every aspect of our lives.

My 2023 To Read List

I'm exploring more horror, the two Grady Hendrix books I read last year were good.