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2022 Staff Picks
Scribd employees share their favorite books that were published this year.
Published on April 2, 2024
It Starts with Us: A Novel
Colleen HooverI became an absolute fan of Colleen Hoover after reading “It Ends With Us.” When the news came out that there would be a sequel, I counted the days to get my hands on “It Starts with Us.” I can die in peace now, knowing that Lily and Atlas’ story has the ending it deserves. Definitely, my favorite read of the year. — Giselle F. (Editorial)
Health Communism: A Surplus Manifesto
Beatrice Adler-Bolton“Health Communism” offers an insightful look at the connections between our definitions of health as it relates to capitalism and the creation of the “surplus” class. There’s information and perspectives in this book you won’t find anywhere else, and the subject couldn’t be more timely. — David P. (Content Acquisition)
Making a Scene
Constance WuI haven’t read many celeb memoirs, but I was drawn to this one because Wu is Taiwanese, a woman, and from Virginia. (I’m biracial Taiwanese, a woman, and from Maryland.) Wu is refreshingly open about her life so far, including her successes and, more interestingly, her failures in her career as well as in romance. She narrates the audiobook, which adds even more of Wu’s personality to the book. — Sarah S. (Editorial)
Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions
Francesca T. RoysterRoyster's book, the first on Black country music by a Black author, seamlessly blends queer theory, history, literary criticism, personal narrative, and Black feminist scholarship to shed light on the rarely broached subject of the Black performers and fans of country music. I've read enough books on country music to comfortably say that “Black Country Music” feels truly revolutionary. — Robert H. (Content Acquisition)
Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir of Friendship
Nina TotenbergRBG is an icon, and this book, by an iconic journalist, humanized her in ways no other book or film has to date. It also offers behind-the-scenes context to a pivotal time for women’s rights and the advancement of women in the courts as well as in journalism. Growing up inside the beltway, with opportunities to work on Capitol Hill, and as a law school graduate, I couldn’t get enough of Totenberg’s masterful reporting and storytelling of this revolutionary woman during a very significant time. — Sarah S. (Editorial)
Heartbreaker: A Hell's Belles Novel
Sarah MacLean“Heartbreaker” has a fearless, fierce heroine, and a hero who is a match for her, yes, but also knows when to back off. There’s action of all kinds — romantic as well as swashbuckling —and its final scenes are a breathless race to the inevitable Happy Ever After. — Megan F. (Content Acquisition)
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdyThis memoir by “iCarly” star McCurdy tracks her life as a child actor, her tumultuous familial relations, and her rocky path to adulthood. Although not initially familiar with McCurdy or her work, I was immediately hooked by her deadpan sense of humor, brilliant storytelling, and quick wit that's exhibited throughout this comedic, but rather dark book. — Brittany C. (Marketing) // A memoir from childhood actor Jennette McCurdy about her struggles with her controlling, emotionally abusive mother, her subsequent spiral into addiction and eating disorders, and her path to healing and wellness. While the subject matter is indeed dark, McCurdy's unique voice lends a scathing humor that leaves you feeling inspired by her strength. — Abby G. (Product, Design, and Analytics)
Night of the Living Rez
Morgan TaltyI devoured Talty’s interlinked short story collection after hearing it hyped as one of the best books of 2022 by what feels like every media outlet. It did not disappoint. Like its amazing title, Night of the Living Rez has a helluva way with words. A little bit dark and a little bit funny with a whole lot of heart, the stories explore the complicated relationship between a son and his mother on the Penobscot reservation in Maine. — Katie W. (Editorial)
Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees
Ada LimónAn absolutely beautiful tribute to trees, this audiobook was the perfect hiking companion over the summer. I loved walking through nature and feeling like the author was walking with me, pointing out her favorite trees and the memories each one brought up. Highly recommend for any nature lover! — Kim G. (Content Acquisition)
Woman in the Library, The
Sulari GentillAll books are romance. That’s what one of the characters, a writer, asserts in “The Woman in the Library”: “‘The mystery writers, the historical novelists, the political thriller writers, the science fiction writers… everybody but the people who write instruction manuals is writing romance. We dress our stories up with murders, and discussions about morality and society, but really we just care about relationships.’” It’s one of the book’s many gems of dialogue that has stuck with me. The idea works on so many levels, including the many layers of stories within stories in this smart, addictive whodunit. Gentill’s written a gripping murder mystery, wrapped in a love letter for libraries and books, tied up with a thread that unravels everything you thought you knew by the end. — Katie W. (Editorial)
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
Adriana HerreraHerrera’s gorgeous fin de siecle historical romance is rich in both accurate detail and hot sex scenes. Her characters are vividly depicted, and it was a pleasure to meet the first of the “Las Leonas,” a group of fierce Caribbean heroines who won't let racism or sexism stand in their way. — Megan F. (Content Acquisition)
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Shelby Van PeltMarcellus, a wily giant Pacific octopus, spends the end of his life befriending and helping Tova, the elderly night cleaner at the aquarium who lost her son and husband. The story is original and highly heartwarming (as is only appropriate for a story about an octopus, a creature that has three hearts). — Ashley M. (Editorial)
Portrait of an Unknown Lady
Maria GainzaAfter the success of “Optic Nerve,” María Gainza goes all out with a story of glamor and decadence about an artist making forgery as a way to earn a living in enigmatic Buenos Aires. Contrasting light and shadows, this nostalgic novel uncovers our limited ability to know what’s true and what’s not, even if it is right in front of us. — Valentín O. (Editorial)
Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age
Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age
Dennis DuncanI’m a total book nerd, so any new book about books always grabs my attention. And as a librarian, I’m obsessed with learning all the ways we can find any information we seek. This book is my holy grail. Fascinating and informative, this delightful microhistory would be at home equally in a college course or bellying up to the bar at a pub trivia night. Its captivating insights from more than 800 years of bibliophile and information history have changed the way I read: It’s got me racing to the end (see also, “index”) of every book faster than even the most gripping whodunnit. — Katie W. (Editorial)
Jawbone
Mónica OjedaSo many of the chilling themes and metaphors in “Jawbone” made me reminisce about teenage angst: wrongdoing masquerading as innocence, the constant risk of corruption, inner demons that blur out reality and our own boundaries. After weeks of being puzzled by this pure horror piece, it was hard to find what to read next. — Dulce V. (Editorial)
How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel
Sequoia NagamatsuNagamatsu masterfully twists science fiction’s greatest tropes in a series of interconnected dystopian stories about the discovery of a deadly virus. Widely considered one of the best books of 2022, this quietly devastating novel full of isolated, lonely people still beats with a heart that’s fully human, one whose beat tethers us across tragedy, time, and space. — Ashley M. (Editorial)
The School for Good Mothers: A Novel
Jessamine Chan“The School for Good Mothers” is a haunting look at the worse-case scenario that mothers could face in a hyper-critical society. Chan creates a fascinating thought experiment only a few degrees away in a much darker reality. Though it’s a tense read, you'll find yourself deeply engrossed in no time. — Brittany C. (Email)