3 Great Books I Read in 2022

I've written a few times about my desire to get back to reading. I have some friends who are prodigious readers these days — some who can even finish more than one book a week. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get to that level.

I can share that after two years of trying, I finally hit my reading goal! No, it was not pretty. Yes, I read some pretty short books in order to make it happen. And yes, I was reading all the way until 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve, too. But it still happened and I finished 12 books in 2022, one book a month!

I'll try to share some lessons on that later. Even though some of the books were short, some were silly, one was even a book I read from when I was a kid, the thing I learned is the more you read, the more you love to read. It's like any habit or hobby. It's hard at first because you have to change your routine and make time for it. You have to be patient — you're not going to finish one book in one setting. But once you make time for it and adjust your body and mind, you find yourself getting accustomed to it and loving it!

All this is to say, there were only a few great books I read last year and so I wanted to highlight them for anyone who might be interested. Here are three great books I read in 2022:

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

By Hunter S. Thompson

If you know Thompson, you know what you're in for (be warned, it's a lot of cussing). Thompson pioneered a form of journalism called "gonzo journalism." The idea, for him at least, was to break down the wall of journalism as some sort of objective retelling of the events. Thompson was never a passive observer and he was not afraid to give you his opinion. He might even fight you if he got mad enough about it. And then he'd write it into his book.

Thompson said he was attempting to record how the campaign felt at the time, rather than piecing together how this campaign fit into the larger piece of history. But that larger history is fascinating, especially in terms of politicians and the electoral process. Suffering defeat in 1968 to Nixon, the Democrats had a bit of a leadership void. Ted Kennedy, who everyone wants to run, is restrained, waiting for his right moment to run. And the Democratic party is in a bit of an identity crisis as well, with George Wallace running as a Democrat in 72, trying to whip up Southern Democrats who defected to Nixon because of integration.

This is also at a time when the Democratic nominee wasn't actually elected until the convention. There were only a handful of primaries, and they were just a way to build up your momentum going in to the convention. They also helped you with delegates, but the majority of delegates would cast their votes at the convention.

Needless to say, for an election that we overlook so quickly in history class because of Nixon, this actually has a fascinating place in history. Thompson's writing can be downright poetic and terrifying. I don't think he is a figure to be admired but I do think he's one heck of a tour guide for the campaign of 1972.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

By: J.R.R. Tolkein

For all my burgeoning love of all things fantasy, and my particular love of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I've never read the books. I've read The Hobbit a handful of times. But something about this book has always been intimidating. And then when you finally get into it, you realize that it's a book that takes it's time.

It's important to know that you are entering into a world of lore when you read this. Yes, the movies are action packed and exciting. The books are too, but in a different way. This is a world of myth-making and world building. There are foreign languages and poetry and songs and storytelling.

And walking....lots of walking!

Behind all that is the incredible, imaginative, rich and in-depth world of Tolkein. I so enjoyed this book and even more, I enjoyed finishing it.

I think in general, if you can get through the first 100 pages of a book, it's all downhill from there. That's especially true for this book. The couple times I've tried to read this, I've always hit a wall when they meet a character named Tom Bombadil. My tip: push through. That's when it really starts to take off!

The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho

In a more cynical time in my life, I would probably have dismissed this little book as silly pop psychology. But the simple, hopeful tale it tells of a boy going on his life's adventure is something I sincerely needed right now. I think we could all use it.

The story is about a shepherd boy named Santiago, who simply wants to get enough money and marry the woman he loves. But he's interrupted in that pursuit when he asks a fortune teller to interpret a dream he keeps having. The fortune teller reveals that the dream means there is treasure waiting for him in the Egyptian pyramids, and all he needs to do is go there and get it.

Santiago weighs the situation — staying versus leaving — and decides he will do it. And off the adventure goes. Along the way, he learns some simple but important lessons about pursuing your purpose. He learns that anything worth pursuing brings hardship. He learns that every time you get one step closer to what you want, there will be things calling you to stay put, rather than go on further. And he learns that life is a great adventure, meant to be pursued.

At 20, I would've loved every bit of this book. At 30 I would've dismissed it out of hand as some poppy feel-good self-help book. But to be a bit candid, at 35, after lots of hurts and hardships, I needed it. In the book I saw myself far too often in the people who didn't set out on their live's quest, who stopped when the journey got difficult, who gave up and said it was never going to happen.

It was good encouragement that everyone, no matter how small, is living out a great adventure. So we should embrace it.

This was probably my favorite book of the year and definitely a great one to end the year on.