I have always loved reading because I have felt it makes me a better person.
I find that reading broadens my horizon, deepens my insights, and exposes me to unique perspectives that differ from my own experience.
In fact, as I have come to study vertical development and vertical developed people/leaders, I have come to learn that it is essentially impossible to vertically develop without reading books.
By the end of 2022, I will have read/listened to 90 books during 2022.
To close the year, I want to share the top five books I have read across three genres and the value I have gained from reading them:
- Fiction (12/20)
- Non-Fiction (12/27)
- Business/Leadership (1/3)
Interesting to note: Research is finding that reading fiction helps improve peoples’ emotional intelligence. Books allow you to step into the lives of others and gives you a greater capacity to get in touch with your own emotions as well as those of others.
The Five Best Fiction Books I Read in 2022
5. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
I am not sure why, but I love reading historical non-fiction and historical fiction from the WWII time period. Most of the historical fiction that I read in this genre is based on true stories. This book is no exception. This book isn’t the “craziest” book I have read in this genre, but it was a fun and well-written read. It takes place in France, near the Swiss border, and involves the efforts of people in a community to help Jewish children escape German-occupied France and seek refuge in Switzerland.
4. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Stephen King is a masterful writer. While he is known for writing horror, many of his books are not horror books. While I wouldn’t say that this book involves an amazing story, King’s ability to build characters and paint the scenes sucked me into this book and transported me to a different place. This was a really fun read.
3. Midnight Library by Matt Haig
This was the winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction. The main character, Nora Seed, finds herself in a library with an infinite number of books that represent different lives she could have lived. As she picks the book, she gets to live that life. It is a journal of the soul for Nora, and it left me, the reader, on my own journey of the soul, wondering about the life I am yet to live and now to make the most of it. It felt a lot like The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom or The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews.
2. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn has become one of my most favorite authors. I love all of her books. She does historical fiction from the WWII time period. This one, based on a true story, focuses on the world’s most deadly female sniper, a Russian woman known as “Lady Death.” The story is remarkable. Given her nickname, I expected the book to feature a cold-hearted killer, but found a person, Mila Pavlichenko, a mother and history-changer, instead.
1. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
Mark Sullivan wrote perhaps my most favorite historical non-fiction that I have ever read: Beneath a Scarlet Sky. So, when he came out with a new historical non-fiction, I knew I had to pick it up. This book involves an unreal story of a family of German descent, who were living in Ukraine, and their journey to move west as Russia and Germany began fighting during WWII. It is moving, heart-breaking, and soul-wrenching. But, it is also so good!
