While your taste in books is as personal as what you choose to watch on TV, once in awhile there are books that span genres to captivate the collective consciousness. Between 2021’s “Best” lists and buzzworthy books slated for 2022, we’ve narrowed down our favourites to these top five novels that should grace your nightstand.
1. The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
Winner of the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Prize for Fiction, longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Indigo’s #1 Book of the Year and a Heather’s Pick, The Strangers follows the entwined lives of four Métis women in Winnipeg, exploring themes of race, class, and the heartbreaking reality of intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities.
2. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
Acclaimed author Malcolm Gladwell is back with this New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice and Heather’s Pick History & Political Science exploration into the impact of WWII’s precision bombing and the resulting moral consequences.
3. The Paris Apartment: A Novel by Lucy Foley
Coming February 21, 2022, New York Times bestselling author, Lucy Foley, weaves a tale of intrigue and family drama in the City of Lights. Anyone who binged Only Murders in the Building on Disney+ or love(s) the game Clue will enjoy this thrilling escape.
4. Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
This deeply moving memoir from the 2021 New York Times Bestseller List and Heather’s Pick follows leukemia survivor and author Suleika Jaouad’s cross-country road trip in search of purpose and will leave you feeling inspired long after.
5. Run, Rose, Run: A Novel by James Patterson & Dolly Parton
While the superstar pairing of famed author James Patterson and beloved Country star Dolly Parton just screams “movie in the making”, the plot of this thriller sounds good, too: A young singer-songwriter on the rise is also on the run, and the glitz of Nashville might just be the thing that destroys her — coming March 6, 2022.
From memoir to thriller, historical fiction to touching tales, there’s something for everyone — a perfect start to a new reading routine for 2022. By incorporating reading into your daily routine, you can help reduce stress and prevent cognitive decline, among many other benefits beyond a great escape for the long, dark winter months.