Cheyenne Roche: My 2022 reading wrap-up

Dec. 29—For many years, I set a new year's resolution to read 50 books the following year. The problem was, I was trying to get back into reading at the time, and I quickly fell behind and discouraged.

Finally, last year I made my goal 25 books. By May, I had hit the number, and by the end of the year, I read 62 books.

Going into 2022, I was more confident and set my goal at 75 books.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to hit 75, but with a few days left in the year, I'm at 60, and between my audio book and my current read, I may just tie last year's total.

I wanted to share a recap of my year.

The shortest book I read this year was "Under One Roof," a 112-page novella by Ali Hazelwood. My longest book was Warrior Fae, a 989-page series finale by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. Should I finish my current read "Sorrow and Starlight" in time, its 1,244 pages would take the lead.

I gave 17 books a 5-star rating — two of them being re-reads.

Two books topped my list this year, "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens and "A House of Sky and Breath" by Sarah J. Maas.

I have already written a column on my thoughts of "Where the Crawdads Sing." I'm typically not a fan of slow paced books, but this one felt like taking a step out of reality and into a simpler life where wealth and status were irrelevant, but love and nature reigned supreme.

"A House of Sky and Breath" is the second in the "Crescent City" series and the 15th book in the Sarah J. Maas universe. The urban fantasy is the viral author's only release of the year. I re-read the first book prior to prepare myself for its release and I was quickly swept back into the world she created. Now to struggle with that cliff-hanger ending until the next book is released. The book won Goodreads' fantasy book of the year.

My favorite new author this year is Christina Lauren. Interestingly enough, the pen name actually refers to co-authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. "Unhoneymooners," "Love and Other Words" and "In a Holidaze," were the three books I read by the authors. Their books are fun, quirky romances that fly by. "Love and Other Words," a story about childhood love coming back around as an adult, was my favorite of the three.

My best re-read of the year was my last year favorite, "The House in the Cerulean Sea" by TJ Klune. While I could never pick a favorite book, this one always comes to mind when someone asks the question. Reading this book feels like being wrapped in a blanket next to a warm fire sipping hot chocolate while music plays softly. It is the sweetest, most wholesome fantasy book about a man finding his voice and his ability to fight for those whom he loves. I would recommend anyone of any age read this novel.

"Verity" by Colleen Hoover was the most surprising book I read this year. The novel is a psychological thriller; and I am not a fan of horror or thrillers. I don't typically read anything in this genre, but the book kept popping up, so I went for it. I read the book in one sitting, too spooked to put it down. While I rated it five stars, I had to watch some trash reality TV before bed to get myself to sleep.

My most overrated book unfortunately goes to "Book Lovers" by Emily Henry. While I have enjoyed many of Henry's books including this one, this book was hyped up to be an incredible romance. It even took the title for Goodreads best romance release of 2022. While a good read, it was not the best. The plot was predictable and the miscommunications between the main characters could have been easily avoided.

I'm unsure what my reading goal will be for 2023. I will likely choose 75 again, but this year I want to focus more on reading what I enjoy, not what or how much I feel I should be reading.