The past year brought some good, some bad and some fantastic books into my life. And I thought it would be a shame not to introduce you my favourite books of 2022 (even though we’re already well into 2023). At the end of this post, I’ll also share some honourable mentions of other great books that I read last year.
In 2022, almost all of my favourite reads have been nonfiction books. So it’s fair to say that we see a trend there. Nonfiction (especially about body, gender + race topics) is one of my favourite genres after all. But there have also been some wonderful novels, short story collections and graphic novels that made it onto my personal list of best books 2022. But see for yourself.
My Favourite Reads of 2022
Linus Giese – Ich bin Linus. Wie ich der Mann wurde, der ich schon immer war
Translation of the title: I am Linus. How I became the man I always was.
An intimate and wonderfully written memoir about Giese’s coming out, transition and life. It’s also available as an audio book on Spotify narrated by the author himself.
Louisa Lorenz – Clit. Die Kulturgeschichte der Klitoris
Translation of the title: Clit. The cultural history of the clitoris
A very informative and interesting book about the clitoris and the cultural history that shaped how we think about gender, relationships and sex. You can find my full review of the book here.
Nicole Seifert – Frauen Literatur. Abgewertet, vergessen, wiederentdeckt
Translation of the title: Women’s Literature. Degraded, forgotten, rediscovered
Seifert’s book dismantles the misogyny within the literary business and shows how it shaped the reception and treatment of women’s writing.
Şeyda Kurt – Radikale Zärtlichkeit. Warum Liebe politisch ist
Translation of the title: Radical Tenderness. Why love is political
“Radical Tenderness” explores live and relationship from an intersectional, feminist and philosophical perspective. It was very interesting and gave me a lot of food for thought.
This book is also available on Spotify as an audio book.
Sabrina Strings – Fearing the Black body. The racial origins of fat phobia
In “Fearing the Black body” the sociologist Strings explores how fatness and Black bodies were seen throughout (Western) history and the constructions of race and body types intersected.
María Hesse – Lust
Translation of the title: Pleasure, Original Title: El Placer
In “Pleasure” Hesse connects personal anecdotes and feminist nonfiction to take her readers on a journey about pleasure and the development of her very own relationship with sexuality. The beautiful illustrations and the mix of personal, historical, mythological, and pop cultural elements really made the graphic novel stand out to me. You can find my full review of the book here.
Honourable Mentions: Other great books I read in 2022
Here are saome more books that I really enjoyed reading last year. While they weren’t quite as interesting or fascinating as my 2022 favourites all of these were amazing reads as well:
Annie Ernaux – Happening
Asako Yuzuki – Butter
Elena Ferrante – The Lost Daughter
Cho Nam-Joo – Miss Kim weiß Bescheid (Miss Kim knows): You can find my review of the book here.
Mithu Sanyal – Identitti: Check out my review of the novel or the German audio book on Spotify.
JJ Bola – Mask Off. Masculinity redefined: The German audio book on Spotify.
Flo Perry – How to have Feminist sex
Do you have any questions about these books? Were any of them on your radar already?
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