There’s nothing like diving into a new book and starting off with a new slate which makes it the perfect time to purchase some new reads for 2022 to set the tone for the year. Picture this: a cold, snowy day spent in front of the fireplace place, sipping hot cocoa with a good book on your lap. From fiction to self-help to mystery, these are our book recommendations to kick off the new year on the right foot.
A Little Hope by Ethan Joella
Domestic Fiction
A beautiful story about a group of intricately connected people told from multiple perspectives that will tug on your heart-strings and shed some light on the fragility of the human experience, and maybe even make you ugly cry in public as I did. A Little Hope is wonderfully written, the words instantly transporting the reader to a picture-perfect Connecticut suburb and all the characters so vivid, they jump off the page. The ups and downs of the characters’ lives remind us that no matter how overwhelming our grief and personal struggles can feel, there is always a little hope.
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Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact by Jenn Lim
Motivational/Self-Help
From the CEO of Delivering Happiness, comes a much-needed guide for adapting to change in the most unconventional circumstances while fostering a productive and profitable workplace environment. Due to the pandemic, it is more important now than ever to make sure we are taking care of ourselves and each other, especially in the workplace. Beyond Happiness shows how organizations can maintain and improve employee retention, foster better relationships, and cultivate self-worth while making sure they are still making a profit. The foundation of a successful business is happy employees. Lim also details the importance of how bringing your best self to work ultimately affects your own happiness as a result of being able to live your true purpose. By finding purpose in your own career, the potential to live a happier and more fulfilling life is that much greater. Through interesting case studies and real-world examples, Lim shows that this model is not just a great concept but it is truly the future of the workplace.
Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart
Thriller/Mystery
When the past comes back to haunt her, Juniper Baker returns to her hometown to confront the traumatic past she just can’t seem to escape. Growing up in a Midwestern small town is not easy: everyone knows everyone and everyone knows your business. On that fateful 4th of July night so many years ago, Juniper’s life changed forever. The Baker’s neighbors and family friends were brutally murdered in cold blood and then to make matters worse, her brother was accused of committing this heinous crime. Instead of getting ready to go to college, Juniper spent that summer testifying and trying to keep her brother out of jail. But in the eyes of Jericho’s residents, the verdict was clear: Jonathan was the killer who got away.
When a podcaster threatens to turn the town of Jericho inside-out by reopening the case (and old wounds), Juniper knows she has to go back to help her family. She will stop at nothing to protect her daughter’s life but is she prepared to stay in Jericho indefinitely? Will she finally tell the truth about what happened that night?
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Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Literary Fiction
This is s fascinating story told in multiple perspectives about four people navigating the ups and downs of everyday life. Alice, a rather successful writer has a history of mental illness but has now entered this new chapter of her life with renowned purpose. Eileen, her best friend, is a magazine editor who can’t decide if she loves her childhood friend, Simon. On the other hand, Simon is looking for love and thinks he could have it with Eileen but he can’t seem to figure her out, despite how close they are after years of friendship. Felix, a warehouse worker whom Alice met on Tinder, has somehow become her boyfriend and the two of them are still deciphering what that means exactly.
Told in raw, genuine prose, Beautiful World is a witty tale of these four people’s lives overlapping and intersecting in a variety of ways as they explore life’s meaning, happiness, sex, and most importantly, love.
