#whatireadthisyear

[lauraelizabethmarazzi]

2022 Book List

The time has come! My favourite time of the year to reflect on a year of reading! Please enjoy the photo above as the cozy refuge that is Daunts Books in London shot on film.

A few thoughts on this year of reading. In summation, I fell quite short in my expectations of the quantity of what I wanted to read this year. Whether that be a challenging start to the year, or a very busy work season, I consumed less this year than I hope to. With all of that being said, I am quite a fan of most of the things I read this year. Please enjoy my highlights!

1: My Body by Emily Ratajkowski: An incredibly personal set of essays that explored her relationship with her body that was honest, flawed, and fascinating.

2: Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman: While long and full of words I had to look up, I thoroughly enjoyed the thoughts Nick Offerman shared about society and our relationship to the land we live on.

3: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan: A really engaging fantasy read by one of my favourite audiobook narrators. Loved the character development and the unique magical elements.

4: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: This one of the first books I read from Reese's bookclub and I have to say, she has never disappointed me yet! A great complicated mystery with a fascinating set of female friendships.

5: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jensen Reid: I read three books but this talented author this year! She has a knack for writing glamourous books about beautiful and haunted young women that I just find so easy to get lost in.

6: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Another TJR read that was worth the hype. I loved the unexpected story line in this.

7: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig: I very much enjoyed this unique concept for a book. This book successfully subverts expectations and you can't help but viewing life a little differently after experiencing this novel.

8: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See: An absolutely heartbreaking novel full of nuance and interesting history. I adored the layered relationships sprinkled throughout.

9: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: By far one of the best books I read this year. I'm not normally one for WW2 stories, but this story was gripping in every way. Strong women will always be my favourite to read about.

10: The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: A reread that I will never tire of. There's something so fascinating about the dynamic between Watson and Holmes that I will never not want to contemplate.

11: Night Shift by Kiare Ladner: This was one of those books that was uncomfortable to read due to unlikable characters. The people in this story were unlikeable, complicated, and illogical which pushed me out of my normal story comfort zone.

12: The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly: Just a delightful easy read about 3 generations of women navigating the world in unconventional ways.

13: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: Having seen all the hype on Tik Tok over these novels, I took the plunge and have read the first three novels in this series. They have fast been devoured in my love for this world Sarah created. Perhaps why this series resonates well with me, is that it is fantasy actually written for women by women. There's so much to love in the depiction of romantic relationships actually being equal, women being just as fierce fighters as men, and the subversion of stereotypes. This was one of my reading highlights of the year!

Thanks for following along my reading journey.

You can follow along on Goodreads under the username: Laura Marazzi

Happy reading!

[veganeverydayallday-blog]

“The ticket to emotional health, like that to physical health, comes from eating your veggies - that is, accepting the bland and mundane truths of life; truths such as “Your actions actually don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things” and “The vast majority of your life will be boring and not noteworthy, and that’s okay.” This vegetable course will taste bad at first. Very bad. You will avoid accepting it.

But once ingested, your body will wake up feeling more potent and more alive. After all, that constant pressure to be something amazing, to be the next big thing, will be lifted off your back. The stress and anxiety of always feeling inadequate and constantly needing to prove yourself will dissipate. And the knowledge and acceptance of your own mundane existence will actually free you to accomplish what you truly wish to accomplish, without judgement or lofty expectations.

You will have a growing appreciation for life’s basic experiences: the pleasures of simple friendship, creating something, helping a person in need, reading a good book, laughing with someone you care about.

Sounds boring, doesn’t it? That’s because these things are ordinary. But maybe they’re ordinary for a reason: because they are what actually matters.”

- Mark Manson, ‘The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck’

[veganeverydayallday-blog]

Just finished reading this awesome book that really inspired and grounded me.

Was hesitant at first cause I thought it might be too witty, but a lot of the themes actually hit on what I’m going through in life right now.

Also doesn’t try to sell you anything, just gives you tools to think about things differently and change your values and what you do give a fuck about.