My 2022 #BookDNA

In 2021, I read over 165 books — an increase of five books over the 2020 total. I suppose when travel is non-existent and any out-of-home activity is limited, a book is my refuge, my escape. This year I have read 172 books. I do not start the year with a predetermined number of books to read or even have a specific topic or set of books I desire to read. Rather, I let the books pick me — and then, when the time is right, I read the book. Some books lead me to pick up other books because of a reference made by the author or because the title is similar or a natural continuation of a topic and / or narrative. One-by-one the books I consume form my #BookDNA.

My intention this year was not to consolidate my top reads at the end of the year (as I have been doing for more than a decade), but split my #BookDNA post into three — covering the first part of 2022, summer, and the final months of 2022. This did not happen. However, limiting my #BookDNA to five fiction and five nonfiction books is just not possible this year. Not everything I read is worth sharing. Instead, I offer you 30 books — the content of these books have stayed with me; their lessons and messages are now part of me. Give yourself or another the time and space to read any one of these books.

Winter 2022

We started this year in lockdown — the fourth since COVID-19 rocked our world in 2020. Like so many others, my patience was non-existent and I was feeling less than creative. I found myself drawn to books where I might curl up in my Oodie and escape the loneliness of the season. After many recommendations, I finally read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May and gave myself permission to settle into that feeling of wanting to burrow and rest. Letting go gave way to a slow unfolding of power and clarity and wisdom. I used this time of restoration to re-read Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (translated by Edith Grossman) and Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison and reflected on the power of perceptions and of being a fool. I rented a beach hut in mid-February and savored Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and The World Gives Way by Marissa Levin — both tales of a world in freefall. While I read some rather heavy material, I did indulge in the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik beginning with A Deadly Education and followed with the reading of the two remaining books in the summer and fall: The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves.

Spring 2022

It was a bit of a shock to the system to begin traveling again in May. COVID-19 infections were ignored and it seemed as if many people were in a hurry to go back to ‘normal’ (whatever that might be). Navigating interactions with people in this changing environment while attempting to complete work for my third and final post-doc research project was exhausting. With the exception of books like Data Feminism by Lauren F. Klein and Catherine D’Ignazio, Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation by Linda A. Hill et al., Problem Spaces: How and Why Methodology Matters by Celia Lury, I distanced myself from nonfiction. I wanted to read and write about something unrelated to digital and data and organizational culture. So, I took advantage of the on-demand courses from Grub Street (a creative writing center in Boston that I used to frequent when I lived there) and signed up for a science fiction / speculative fiction / fantasy workshop. I devoured my reading assignments which included: The Deep by Rivers Solomon et al.; Glory: A Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo; When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill; Noor by Nnedi Okorafor; Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements by adrienne maree brown et al.; and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

Summer 2022

As the summer started, my work with the ‘One by One’ research project ended and I became consumed with the task of writing my first nonfiction book on the subject of digital maturity in cultural organizations. I did not have the mental capacity to consume most nonfiction books not related to my writing (though I made an exception for Virtually Amish: Preserving Community at the Internet’s Margins by Lindsay Ems and The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas), so I retreated into the worlds of the Black Sun and Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse; Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang; Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan; Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (translated by Michele Hutchison); and The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The latter two books, especially The Measure, I found haunting. I read Grand Hotel Europa while traveling and the author’s critique of tourists had me more mindful of my own behavior.

Fall 2022

Perhaps it is the cooler temperature and the falling leaves, but come September and October I miss being a student. So, I decided to go back to school and finally focus on creative writing. I am now enrolled in my third master’s degree program. Perhaps in the future I will write a novel or creative nonfiction book that lands on someone else’s #BookDNA list. To balance the many fiction readings now required as homework, I have spent the past couple of months loading up on nonfiction, such as: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami (translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen); Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard by Bo Seo; Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions by Batja Mesquita; Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw; Creating Conversational Leadership by John Hovell; Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age by Lori Garver; and How to Speak Whale: A Voyage Into the Future of Animal Communication by Tom Mustill. Friends should not be surprised if they receive A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers and The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler as holiday gifts from me.

Beginning in 2023, I will be starting a #BookDNA substack to share book reviews and recommendations. I will share more details soon! In the meantime, please share what has made it on your 2022 #BookDNA list. What books are you gifting yourself? What books are you sharing with others?

Happy Reading!

Complete 2022 #BookDNA Nonfiction List:

• Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions by Batja Mesquita
• Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw
• Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation by Linda A. Hill et al.
• Creating Conversational Leadership by John Hovell
• Data Feminism by Lauren F. Klein and Catherine D’Ignazio
• Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age by Lori Garver
• Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard by Bo Seo
• How to Speak Whale: A Voyage Into the Future of Animal Communication by Tom Mustill
• Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami (translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen)
• Problem Spaces: How and Why Methodology Matters by Celia Lury
• The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
• Virtually Amish: Preserving Community at the Internet’s Margins by Lindsay Ems
• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

Complete 2022 #BookDNA Fiction List:

• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chamber
• Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (translated by Edith Grossman)
• Glory: A Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo
• Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (translated by Michele Hutchison)
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
• Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements by adrienne maree brown et al
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison
• Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik
• The Deep by Rivers Solomon et al.
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick
• The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
• The World Gives Way by Marissa Levin
• When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill