Andrew Mina

I think people take a few different approaches to reading: they don’t read unless have too; reads limited amount of books but does so deeply; reads to reach a goal; or just reads with no particular goal.

The later was me in 2022, thought I did set a goal on my Goodreads account, I didn’t really expect to get through so many. What contributed to this was a reading frenzy over the Christmas and New Year period and choosing audiobooks over Podcasts for much of the year.

No matter how or why you read, I think it is important that we all do. And when I say this there is no discrimination between an audiobook, an eReader or a physical book or even being read too!

How many books did you manage to read in 2022 and which one was the most impactful?

Leave a comment and let us all know.

Below are the books I read listed in the month they were read. I have included the title, subtitle, author’s name, and year of publication. Finally, with some reservation, I have left a star rating ⭐️ out of six.

December 2022

Spook Street (Slough House #4) by Mick Heron (2017)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Audiobook

Real Tigers (Slough House #3) by Mick Herron (2016)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Audiobook

The List (Slough House #2.5) by Mick Herron (2015)

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Audiobook

Dead Lions (Slough House #2) by Mick Herron (2013)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Audiobook

November 2022

Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith by Henri Nouwen (2006)

An excellent book that you will want to read again and again. The first reading was an audiobook and I have now purchased a paperback copy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

October 2022

Slow Horses by Mick Herron (2010)

What a series. Herron has created characters, scenarios, plots that were so good to read. Read them all and in order. The series can now be viewed on Apple TV.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Audiobook

Surprised by Joy by C S Lewis (1955)

I really respect and appreciate Lewis’s writing and this is no exception. However, sometimes it is hard to get started so having this as an audiobook helped a lot.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography by Bear Grylls (2011)

I appreciated how this book took you beyond the person of Grylls to the very making of him.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

September 2022

The End of Average: How we succeed in a world that values sameness by Todd Rose (2016)

Great recommendation from a colleague. Such a excellent book to liberate the reader from doing the average.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (2019)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Borrowed from library

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A counterintuitive approach to living a good life by Mark Manson (2016)

Yep, I get the concept, but I couldn’t be okay with the F*ck being used so many times.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

August 2022

Through Siberia by Accident by Derval Murphy (2005)

What an accurate title. I can’t help but read this book and think it was so very far away from any experience I have ever had before. I am glad she survived to tell the tales.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Borrowed from library

Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Derval Murphy (1965)

Seriously! What an adventure or should I say adventures.I am glad for the life and adventures of Murphy and that she captured them to share with us.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid (1983)

When reading Kincaid you can feel the warmth, smell the food and feel the breeze and be carried away with her stories.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (2022)

A wonderful exploration of feelings.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

July 2022

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (2016)

Beautiful writing
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

Liturgy of the Ordinary: sacred practices in everyday life by Tish Harrison Warren (2016)

Harrison Warren provides a wonderful perspective on Church life and how it is in the ordinary that we can experience the most joy, grace, peace, truth and hope.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

The Little Book of Danish Design: for Children and Curious Grown-ups by Marie Hugsted (2020)

If you live in Denmark or have an interest Danish design this is a beautiful introduction. It was a great introduction and I have been back to it a few times as my guide to danish design.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Own copy (purchased from Ordrupgaard Museum)

May 2022

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton (1991)

Winton’s writing is quality! It was such a fascinating read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library – but since sourced my own secondhand copy

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis (1940)

Truly helps with perspective on pain.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight (2016)

Several times in listening to this story I found my internal monologue saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that’, ‘Wow, what an challenge to overcome’, ‘So many people made this happen’, and more. Brands like people, sometime it is well worth getting to know there stories not just their success or the person standing in front of you today.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Audiobook

The Mayor of Mogadishu: A Story of Chaos and Redemption in the Ruins of Somalia by Andrew Harding (2016)

No matter which side of the story you’re on with the conflict in Somalia, Harding has the reader designing to make the most positive impact wherever they find themselves.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Own secondhand copy

April 2022

North Sea by Dorthe Nors (2021)

This is a great primer on the West Coast of Jutland (Vestjylland), Denmark. It is a privileged to have vested the West coast on a family Summer vacation a few years ago and to read the stories Nor’s captured this work.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

March 2022

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant (2021)

This book came highly recommended and was worth the recommendation. I found this book gave me the permission to forgive myself for when I have changed my mind on something over the years. But what it didn’t do is leave the reader with no basis or tools to deal with how we think going forward.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Borrowed from library

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman (2021)

This book is a great antidote to thinking you know what was said on that stage on that momentous day in January 2021. Read it slowly!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Own copy

Living In The Stretch; A Mother’s Story of Courage, Children and Change by Louise Cherrie (2022)

Goodness me what a story. Captures an amazing set of experiences in Cherrie’s life.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Own copy

February 2022

Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors (2016)

As always, Nors’s writing immediately transports you to the time, place and her characters lives. Not a wasted word.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

January 2022

SuperNatural: 100 Easy Plant-Based Recipes by Toby Puttock (2018)

I cook from this book very regularly!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Own copy (gift)

Stoner by John Williams (1965)

Billed as the perfect novel and in many ways it is, but then in a couple of areas it falls down. Still a very good read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

The BFG: A Set of Plays by Roald Dahl (1991)

Always good to read Roald Dahl’s work. You get taken away to wonderful imaginary places.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Own copy

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford (200()

Simply a fascinating read about Dickens and his works. Well worth your time to read it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non- Fiction / Borrowed from library

Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril by Margaret Heffernan (2011)

This is well worth a read and if you’re willing it will help you change your approach to work, home life and other spheres of your life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction / Borrowed from library

Conviction (Anna and Fin #1) by Denise Mina (2019)

I saw this book on a recommended list, I was curious about the author and decided to have a read and from the opening chapters this was a page-turner!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

Rizzio by Denise Mina*¹ (2021)

An intense and interesting read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Borrowed from library

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss (1957)

You’re never too old to read or reread Dr. Seuss. This is one of his works I hadn’t yet read but had watched the various visual versions of it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction / Own copy

The Energy Path: The Art of Leading With Love by Ulrik Nerløe (2021)

This is a good read, however the lack of editorial excellence lets the reader down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Non-Fiction /Own copy (gift)

Audiobooks were access through a subscription with Nextory.

1. Denise Mina is a distant cousin of mine. ↩︎