I was excited to try to read more books in 2022. The one at the top of the list was Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water. Allen Arnold had quoted it multiple times in the conferences I’d been at with him, and that made me eager to read it. And so, what did make it onto my read list this year? Some were in paperback format, most in kindle, and a few in audio.

Fantasy

Of course, fantasy is the largest section this year with several of them being books that had been on my to-be-read list for many years and one a book that I didn’t realize had more in the series. I’ve divided the fantasy books by whether or not the author is part of Realm Makers.

Non-Realm Maker books

1. Ranger of Kings by C. J. R. Isely was very similar to Uprooted. I enjoyed it but not enough to continue on to book 2.
2. Blood and Loyalty by Luna Fox has appeared at the top of the lists that Uprooted, Blessed, and Exalted have been on this year. I enjoyed it but wasn’t expecting it to be a novella.
3. Heart of Hope and Fear by C. S. Johnson has been on my to-be-read list waiting (not too patiently) for it to release. It finally came out this year and I was able to read it. It was the perfect ending to the trilogy!
4. Chronicles of Narnia–Okay, this isn’t a single book, but I discovered I was reading them one per day and almost made it seem like one book. I didn’t get to read The Magician’s Nephew because I’d leant it to a student who never returned it. I picked them up after reading the next book on the list which I really wasn’t sure what category to put it in.
5. Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan This wonderful read was worth purchasing in paperback form, and I’d even go as far as to say hardback would be worth it. It really was the first book that I went around telling everyone they should read it. It’s a historical fiction about a young boy in the mid 1950’s and his sister who’s attending university. When he gets a book from his aunt to help him wile away his time in bed since he’s sick, he falls in love with the book, but when he discovers the author teaches at his sister’s university, he begs her to ask the author where Narnia came from. The tale unfolds reliving C. S. Lewis’s life along with the story of the sick boy and his sister. An excellent read!
6. Dragon Rider: The Griffin’s Feather by Cornelia Funke was a delightful discovery. I didn’t know there were more in this world. In fact, book 3 just recently released. It’ll probably be my Christmas present to myself. I purchased The Griffin’s Feather in paperback and loved it! Sometimes with sequels you lose your favorite characters or the action isn’t as good as the first book. None of that was true with this book. I was able to still have my favorite characters discovering new characters and risking their lives to help save mythical creatures. A win-win!

Realm Maker books

1. The Risen Age Archive trilogy consists of Curse Bearer, Blade Bearer, and Rune Bearer by Rebbeca P. Minor. I read all three books within a week or so of each other. They were a fun epic fantasy world adventure with a hint of romance and life and family on the line.
2. Wayne Thomas Batson books: The Myridian Constellation is clean, epic fantasy at its finest. I aspire to write like this. I’d listened to the first three books on audio last year, and when book four was announced as on pre-order with a special short story if you ordered, I debated, but I wanted to finish out the six books with the narrator, Dave Cruse. He does a phenomenal job of recreating the characters. In fact, there’s one that I don’t want to meet in a dark alley, let alone his bone chapel!
   The Misadventures of Strylum and Xerk is a novella origins story in the same world. I also was able to listen to the short story that was available with the pre-order.
3. H. L. Burke’s Superheroes: Power Up and Power Play take the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project to young adult readers. We’re introduced to Prism’s camp for troubled teens and meet the three teens. The first book, Power On, let’s you see all the teens and get into their heads. From there, each book focuses on a specific teen. Power Play blends LitRPG with superheroes when a new girl’s power traps the teens inside a Dungeons and Dragons style game. If you like Marvel, you’ll love H. L.’s superheroes. Power On even won a Realm Award!
4. The Lost Stones of Argonia by Dawn Shipman captured my attention and pulled me in. I read book 2 as an advanced copy and then went back and purchased book 1. I had to know what happened and how she’d gotten to the point she was at in book 2. To make things even better, I was able to cheer Kingdom Lost on when it was in the running for a Realm Award.
5. A Castle from Ashes by Sharon Stone was the last of the Castle in the Wilde series I’d read last year. I loved that world of non-magical fantasy. The characters drew me in, and I wanted to know what happened to them.
6. When Your Dragon is Too Big for a Bath by C. E. White is a fun children’s book to help kids understand prayer.
7. The Case of the Missing Robot by Laura Zimmerman is an enchanting mystery for middle grade readers. It engaged and pulled me into the story.
8. The Shallows series by Denver Evans is one of those stories that I read book 1 several years ago and never could find the rest in the trilogy until around Black Friday when I learned that Denver Evans runs the Black Friday sale I’m in every year. I immediately picked up Phantoms and Legends and read them. This Irish-inspired island world with magic and inventions and sailing ships kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s a must read, and I’ll reread it as well.

Sci-fi

What Sci-fi isn’t complete without Timothy Zahn. If you know me, you know I love his books. I’ve recommended them before and will probably continue to recommend them. This list contains one trilogy and a sequel to one of my favorite books by him. It also has some new names.

1. The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn is a sequel to my favorite books by Mr. Zahn, The Icarus Hunt. This story picks up several years after the close of book 1 and is designed for those who’ve not read the first book to be able to read. These two will sit at the top of my favorite books by Timothy Zahn.
2. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency is a trilogy that is well worth listening to or reading. I used it as my to work and back story for the first part of this school year. I love Thrawn and how he thinks. Even in the early books, I enjoyed him. Here learning about his back story, it’s even better.
3. Gemini’s Key by H. Halverstadt released the same time Blessed did. We had a joint release party at Realm Makers, but unfortunately H. Halverstadt couldn’t make it, but I read the book on the plane trip home and loved it! If you love space romps, you’ll enjoy this one.
4. Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz Yes, you read that correctly. The story is that someone presented this title as a joke at a conference, then Kerry thought about it, came up with a plausible plot, and ran with it. It is a traditional Amish story only they start with a colony in space. When Jedidiah’s family secret gets out, the whole colony is forced to flee to the stars where adventure and all kinds of temptation await. I listened to the audio and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Non-fiction Books

I did read Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water as well as a couple other non-fiction books this year.

1. Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle was worth the read. It gave insight into being an artist as well as a Christian.
2. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont was recommended to me before the end of last school year by my son’s girlfriend. I figured if she reached out and shared a book with me, I’d better read it. I have marked it up with all kinds of things that struck me. It’s designed for writers, but it also helps you figure out life. On one particularly rough day last spring, I did as Anne Lamont suggested and started to write what I was feeling. It was freeing and now I have that for later years to look back on.
3. Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church by John Onwuchekwa was a book handed out at church. I used it as a way of starting my day. It was a challenging and thought-provoking look at prayer and the church.
4. I read Crooked Lines: A Single Mom’s Jewish Journey by Jenna Zark as a favor to the author. I wasn’t sure what to expect and so didn’t go in with much expectations other than I’d loved Jenna Zark’s The Beat on Ruby’s Street. The same writing skills come out in this essay-based journey. The first night, I’d been slapped with yet another loss in 2022 and needed hope. I was reminded that God’s mercies are new every morning! From there on, I continued to read, enjoying the similarities between this Jewish mom and me.

---

My 2022 didn’t end up like I expected, but I had some great books to carry me through. What’s on your book list for 2023? Any that I should add to my to-be-read list? Did you gain some books to put on your to-be-read list? I hope so.