My Reading Year 2022

I started 2022 with optimism and hope that, after two long pandemic years, we would be 'back to normal' and the worst was behind us. How naive! In many ways this was the worst year, as Covid took hold, draining my last reserves of resilience, and finally catching up with me in August. But I managed to leave my fortress of solitude and venture out in the world, attending the Sydney Writers' Festival for the first time since 2019. In the end however, it wasn't the pandemic that disrupted my reading, but the FIFA World Cup as the late night and early morning matches gave me little time for reading.

My reading goal for 2022 was 30 books, which I achieved, reading 31 titles this year. When planning for 2022 at the start of the year, I did not really name any specific titles, which served me well as I roamed wherever my interests took me. Instead I used the reading bingo card I created to help me diversify my reading and my achievements are highlighted below. 

20th century modern classic	Retelling of  another story	Novel in  Translation	Poetry  Collection	Women's Prize  Longlister
First Nations  author/issues	Essay Collection	New to me author	Biography or memoir	Book on the 1001 list
Debut  Novel	19th Century Classic	Published in 2022	By a favourite author	Non-fiction bestseller
Short Story Collection	Australian Literary  Prize Longlister	Current Affairs / Politics	Protagonist  is over 50	LGBTQIA+ Author/issues
Pre-19th Century  Classic	Non-fiction history	Book in my To Be Read pile	Booker prize longlister	Novella in November

So here's what I read in 2022:

Fiction

I wanted to read some classics this year. I had chosen several to read but somehow didn't go further back than the 20th century as there was so much contemporary fiction to enjoy. I am so pleased that I was able to read two modern classics I had been longing to read but had a hard time tracking down. Evan S Connell's Mrs Bridge and Mr Bridge companion novels tell the story of a marriage in brief vignettes from the perspective of a wife and her husband. I waited until I had both volumes before I began and absolutely loved spending time with the Bridges. 

I continued my interest in feminist retellings of ancient myths which I started with Madeline Miller's Circe in 2020. I read two more Miller's this year - her award winning The Song of Achilles and her short story Galatea. I also purchased two books by Jennifer Saint, and read her novel Ariadne this year. I really enjoyed these books and have lined up Saint's Elektra and Natalie Haynes' Stone Blind for next year.

I love a good crime/mystery novel and this year I read plenty. As planned, I read Chris Hammer's Treasure and Dirt, a welcome departure from the Martin Scarsden series. I also enjoyed Jane Harper's latest novel, Exiles, the third (and perhaps final) in her Aaron Falk series. A new addition to the Australian noir genre is Matthew Spencer and his debut novel Black River, set in Sydney. Finally, after hearing Garry Disher speak at the Sydney Writers' Festival, I started his Hirschhausen series with Bitter Wash Road. I really enjoyed this novel and have acquired the next novels in the series. I also enjoyed Robert Galbraith's latest Cormoran Strike novel, The Ink Black Heart.

I pre-ordered books by some favourite authors. I love Tara Moss' Billie Walker series and inhaled her second instalment The Ghosts of Paris. She is currently writing the third book so I have that to look forward to. Likewise Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait arrived upon publication and I have been a huge O'Farrell fan throughout her career and enjoyed her tale of Lucrezia de' Medici's brief life. Jennifer Egan did not disappoint with The Candy House, a follow up to her incredible A Visit from the Goon Squad. Emily St John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility was a marvel, weaving complex themes and timelines to craft a wondrous tale of a time travelling detective in search of a rupture in time.  Each of these titles is highly recommended.

Award longlists provide me with much reading inspiration. I always hope to read the nominated books before the award winner is announced, but I never manage to get through more than a few. The Stella Prize Longlist and the Women's Prize Longlist are both announced on International Women's Day. From these two lists I was introduced to new authors: Miranda Cowley Heller (The Paper Palace), Meg Mason (Sorrow and Bliss), Jennifer Down (Bodies of Light) - each of these titles are among my favourites for the year. From the Miles Franklin Award Longlist I purchased Claire Thomas' The Performance which I have not yet read, and started Michael Winkler's Grimmish, which I had to return to the library before I finished. Jennifer Down won the Miles Franklin for her incredible novel Bodies of Light. The Booker Prize Longlist included many titles which I have, but not yet read. I did manage to read Graeme Macrae Burnet (Case Study) and Claire Keegan (Small Things Like These) before the winner was announced.

This year there were a handful of incredible novels which made a lasting impact that I have most often recommended or gifted to friends. Douglas Stuart's Young Mungo is a heartbreaking story of young love in Glasgow that I could not stop thinking about. Julie Otsuka's The Swimmers was a surprising little novel about a mother/daughter relationship and the sanctuary of a swimming pool. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a riot. Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel about a reclusive movie star was so enjoyable. Before I had even finished it I ordered a copy for a friend. One of the books I have long had on my shelf is Frank Moorhouse's Grand Days - the first in his Edith trilogy about a young Australian woman working for the League of Nations. I look forward to Edith's adventures.

Of all the novels I read this year it is really hard to pick a favourite. But if I had to select just one, it would be Jennifer Down's Bodies of Light a truly magnificent novel about a woman who reinvents herself time and again after trauma. Unforgettable. 

Non-Fiction

This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to. There were just too many great novels clamouring for my attention!

Most of the non-fiction I read had to do with Australian politics. Amy Remeikis' On Reckoning is a pocket-sized book of rage about the treatment of women particularly in light of the rape allegations by Brittany Higgins and the Kate Jenkins review into sexual harassment in Parliament House. Katherine Murphy's Quarterly Essay 'Lone Wolf - Albanese and the New Politics' was a fascinating dissection of the 2022 election. Nicki Savva's recently published Bulldozed explores the downfall of Morrison and the rise of Albanese. The only Australian non-fiction book I read which was not on contemporary politics was Elizabeth Macarthur's Letters, as edited by Kate Grenville which I wanted to read having enjoyed Grenville's novel A Room Made of Leaves.

While I really appreciated all the non-fiction I read this year, if I had to choose one favourite, without hesitation I would select Dave Grohl's memoir The Storyteller, about his life and music. I am a huge fan of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, and loved reading about Dave's life. 

Other Genres

I didn't get around to essay collections, short stories or graphic novels this year, but I did read a play and a collection of poetry. Zadie Smith's play The Wife of Willesden was written for the Borough of Brent, London's 2020 'Borough of Culture', a modern take on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Maxine Beneba Clarke is a gifted poet and her collection How Decent Folk Behave is magnificently thought-provoking. 

Best of 2022
I read so many great books this year. I loved and highly recommend:

• Maxine Beneba Clarke - How Decent Folk Behave
• Jennifer Egan - The Candy House
• Tara Moss - The Ghosts of Paris
• Douglas Stuart - Young Mungo
• Taylor Jenkins Reid - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Evan S Connell - Mrs Bridge
• Miranda Cowley Heller - The Paper Palace
• Meg Mason - Sorrow and Bliss
• Niki Savva - Bulldozed 

If I had to choose my absolute favourites, I would pick Jennifer Down's Bodies of Light  and Dave Grohl's The Storyteller.

Plots and Prayers

Journalist Niki Savva has a deep understanding of Australian politics. She served in the Canberra press gallery as a writer for The Australian, and then later for The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, and worked within government as an advisor for then federal treasurer Peter Costello and Prime Minister John Howard. She knows the ins-and-outs of the Liberal party. Drawing on her experience and her extensive contacts, Savva has chronicled the past decade of Coalition government in a series of books, the latest of which has just been published. 

Bulldozed (2022) tells the inside story on how Prime Minister Scott Morrison lost the 2022 election and trashed his own legacy. It is also about the rise of Labor leader Anthony Albanese, the success of the Greens, and the independents set to shake up Australian politics. Along the way she explores Morrison's pathetic bushfire response ('I don't hold a hose, mate'), vaccine stroll out (It's not a race), and how he became minister for everything (when he secretly appointed himself as Minister for five portfolios). By making everything about himself, Morrison failed to govern. He also ensured that those loyal to him, like Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, were burned from being too close to his flame.

It is clear from the outset that Savva doesn't think much of Scott Morrison. She paints a portrait of a petty man - a pathological liar who will throw anyone under a bus to further his own objectives. She laments the way in which Morrison has wielded religion and hatred to push the Liberal party further to the right, surrendering the tenets that have underpinned the party's philosophy. It is also apparent that many of those closest to Morrison questioned his behaviour privately but failed to act. 

The contrast with Anthony Albanese is stark. Consultative, committed and competent, Albanese has taken a different path. He relies on his team - Penny Wong, Jim Chalmers, Tony Burke, Chis Bowen, Linda Burney, Jason Clare, Mark Butler, Clare O'Neil, and so many more. He is also prepared to tackle the important issues. From his first speech on election night, he set the tone for his government and brought hope back to the nation.

I really enjoyed Bulldozed and could not put it down. Savva has crafted a fascinating book. My only quibble would be that it needs an edit to remove the repetition. I imagine that has something to do with last minute inclusions of the revelations about Morrison's secret ministries as Savva had to go back to people she had interviewed previously to seek their views. Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand what happened under the Morrison reign and how the political landscape has dramatically changed.

My reviews of two of Savva's previous books are available on this blog:

• The Road to Ruin (2016) - about the downfall of Prime Minister Tony Abbott
• Plots and Prayers (2019) - about the fall of Prime Minister Turnbull and the rise of Scott Morrison 

The First Stone

 In Greek mythology, the story of Pygmalion has inspired countless films, plays, paintings and other creative works. In Metamorphoses, Roman poet Ovid tells the story of a sculptor named Pygmalion who carves his ideal woman in ivory and falls in love with her. The goddess Venus brings this statue, Galatea, to life. The epitome of womanhood, Galatea lives happily ever after with Pygmalion and their daughter Paphos. 

Madeline Miller has written a short story, Galatea (2013), that flips this myth on its head. While Ovid does not explore what happens after Paphos is born, Miller takes advantage of this gap in the tale and explores their story  from the perspective of Galatea, ten years after she was created.

Pygmalion created Galatea to represent the ideal woman with cool ivory skin, striking beauty and every line and curve of her body a perfection. His creation was a response to the women of loose morals he saw around him; his misogyny and hatred forcing him to celibacy and disgust. 

In creating Galatea, he confined her to her room to keep her pure and submissive. Separated from her daughter, she is attended to by nurses and a doctor, in between visits from Pygmalion where she must be attentive and compliant, re-enacting scenes from their past to please him. Can she ever be free of Pygmalion? Will she ever be reunited with her daughter?

American novelist Madeline Miller has crafted a brilliant short story, which modernises an ancient myth. The edition I have is a beautiful hardback book, gifted to me by my mother (Thank you!). While it can be read in half an hour, the story lingers long after.  It is a little gem of a book.

Reviews of Madeline Miller's novels The Song of Achilles (2011) and Circe (2018) are available on my blog.