What I’ve Read So Far in 2022

I’m behind. I’m behind. I feel like the White Rabbit every time I look at how many books I’m behind on my Goodreads’ Reading Challenge. I set an ambitious goal for 2022 because I would like to read one book a week (seems like something to do once in a lifetime, right?). At the very least, I’d like to read half of that and I’m afraid I’ll read less if I lower the number.

I was the complete opposite as a child. Reading equaled homework, and I detested doing homework. It wasn’t until I entered a small bookstore in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., with a friend when I was eighteen or nineteen years old that I picked up my first book. It wasn’t the first book I read; it was the first book I wanted to read.

There was nothing spectacular about this book. I liked the cover, and the back-cover blurb interested me. My friend, seeing me smile as I read the blurb, gifted it to me. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella opened the doors to a world of words I continue to enjoy in almost every genre. 

I studied Political Science and International Relations, so my reading selections are geared towards books in those fields; however, I’m open to reading almost anything (except romance novels).

Without further ado, here’s what I’ve read so far (reverse chronological order). Any book I’m currently reading will be added to the Reading widget on the Me section.

Book List:

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport

The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century – Peniel E. Joseph

So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love – Cal Newport

The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life – J.L. Collins

Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required – Kristy Shen

Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall – Heather Demetrios (fun read)

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport (highly recommend)

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power – Rachel Rodgers

I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works – Ramit Sethi

Rockets and Revolution: A Cultural History of Early Spaceflight – Michael G. Smith

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them – Jason F. Stanley

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work – Reshma Saujani

Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer (in the top five books I’ve read in my life)

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure – Jonathan Haidt

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom – Jonathan Haidt

Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy – Judd Apatow

Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City – Robin Nagle (recommend)

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism – Anne Applebaum

Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America – Mark Follman

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love – bell hooks

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents – Isabel Wilkerson

Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena – Jordan Salama

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance – Zora Neale Hurston

Aha!: 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas – Jordan Ayan

Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

Against Interpretation and Other Essays – Susan Sontag

I read a lot of great books the past two years, and I want to share those titles with you in this post.