The 15 Best Books I Read in 2022

Posted: 12/20/2022 | December 20th, 2022

For the last five years, I’ve concluded the year with a list of my favorite reads. As a writer, reading comes with the territory. Writers just tend to read a lot. Then again, I’ve always been into reading ever since I was a little kid. I devour books. In a good year, I’ll read close to 80.

This year was not one of those years. I only read about 50 books.

As I compiled this list, I couldn’t help but notice that I gravitated a lot more to history, literature, and self-improvement than I had in the past. Though this is a travel website and I like to read a lot of travel books, I’ve found that so many fall into the same narrative arc that I just needed a break from another book on someone quitting their job to travel.

Instead, I’ve gotten a lot more into destination-specific travelogues rather than personal travelogues. That got me down a history rabbit hole and it’s where I’ve stayed most of the year.

I wonder if that will change in the new year. What will next year bring? Who knows!

Here’s what I loved this year though:

1. Sahara Unveiled, by William Langewiesche

Written by journalist William Langewiesche in the 1990s, this book is beautifully detailed and wonderfully written. I was hooked by the punchy prose from page one. Langewiesche travels from Algeria through Niger and Mali before finishing in Dakar. Along the way, he offers deep insight into the culture and history of the region at a time when there was a lot of change happening. A fascinating snapshot in time.

2. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing

This iconic book is about Ernest Shackleton’s epic journey to cross Antarctica in 1914. While trying to reach the South Pole, his boat got stuck in the ice and he and his crew were forced to abandon ship and walk north in hope of being rescued by a passing whaling boat. This book highlights their journey and survival as they spend over a year on the ice. It was absolutely riveting to read and a testament to the strong will and skill of the men involved.

3. The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi, by Richard Grant

Richard Grant is a UK writer who moved to Missisppi and has been writing some great stuff about the state for years (check out his last book, which is one of my all time favorites). This book is about the beautiful town of Natchez, a place I visited about…