World Book Day: These are 34 of the best books that everyone is reading in 2022
We're calling it: 2022 will be (and has already been) a phenomenal year for new books. Whether you've set yourself an ambitious reading target on Goodreads, or you're browsing for a bookworm friend, there's plenty of exciting literature to look out for in the new year.
And what better day to get stuck into all the literary newness around than today: World Book Day.
World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Their mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. Their website explains that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.
So, we've rounded up the best books out there right now, or available shortly, to add to your collection. As well as the highly-anticipated releases from literary giants, such as Monica Ali's Love Marriage and Isabel Allende's Violeta, there's also some cracking debut novels to keep an eye on, from Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer to The Dictator's Wife by Freya Berry.
If you enjoyed Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams' bestselling debut, you'll be pleased to know her second novel, People Person, will be released in Spring 2022. Likewise, if you're a fan of Bethany Rutter's young adult novels, her first adult novel Welcome to Your Life is expected in March.
We're also very excited about Why Did You Stay? by Rebecca Humphries, exploring how she was “forced into victimhood” by a Strictly Come Dancing scandal in 2018 before becoming an advocate for helping women end toxic relationships. Another celebrity book we highly recommend is Reclaiming by Love Island's Yewande Biala: a moving collection of essays about protecting your sense of self as a marginalised person.
So, donate to World Book Day here, then pick up a book, grab a cup of something comfortable, and settle in for a few pages, we promise your day will be all the better for it.
Ready to get stuck in? Here are GLAMOUR's top 34 books to read (and fall in love with) in 2022:
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Jean Chen Ho’s debut collection is a blazing depiction of all the highs and lows of female friendship. Taking place across two decades, Fiona and Jane follows two young Taiwanese American women, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen, as they fight to maintain their fierce friendship amidst the ever-changing cultural landscape of North America.
You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston
This collection of provocative essays (highly-anticipated ahead of its launch) from one of the world's most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston spans three decades and was written of the shadow of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration. Hurston's writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could.
Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people's inner lives and culture rather than destroying it. She argues that in the process of surviving, Black people re-interpreted every aspect of American culture, modifying the language, mode of food preparation, the practice of medicine, and most certainly religion. The essays also cover the trial of Ruby McCollum, a wealthy Black woman convicted in 1952 for killing her lover, a white doctor.
A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow
A Million Quiet Revolutions is an important story, told through the medium of verse, about two trans boys growing up alongside one another and falling in love. Aaron and Oliver are from a small town with few queer people, let alone trans men, and having each other to share milestones with has made things a little easier for them both.
But just as their romantic relationship has begun, Aaron has to move away, leaving both boys feeling alone and isolated. So, they begin to delve into America's past to distract themselves and uncover the existence of two Revolutionary War soldiers whom they believe to have been two trans men in love. The story follows the two boys as they dig into America's history, discovering countless untold queer stories.
Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
Ahead of its release in Mid-February, Bitter was the much-anticipated companion novel set in the world of author Akwaeke Emezi's Stonewall Award-winning novel Pet. And it hasn't disappointed now it's here. This fantasy novel follows the titular character Bitter as she attends a school for creative teens called Eucalyptus, where she gets to focus on her painting with other creative kids like herself. However, outside the walls of the school, the streets of the town of Lucille are filled with protesters rallying against the town's many injustices.
These rallies cause internal conflict for Bitter and the book deftly charts the impact this has on her as she grapples with her moral compass and wishes for safety.
The Last Suspicious Holdout by Ladee Hubbard
Critically acclaimed Rib King author Ladee Hubbard returns with The Last Suspicious Holdout, a collection of stories about Black people navigating a post-racial period. The 12 gripping tales told here deftly chronicle poignant moments in the lives of an African American community located in a “sliver of southern suburbia.” Spanning from 1992 to 2007, the stories represent a period during which the Black middle-class expanded while stories of "welfare Queens," "crack babies," and "super predators" abounded in the media.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Olga and her brother Pedro are big names in their hometown of New York City, where their grandmother raised them. However, their familial history is embedded with trauma after their mother abandoned them to devote herself to a militant political cause. What follows is a powerful, intra-cultural reckoning with the very notions of sacrifice and survival.
Wahala by Nikki May
Ronke, Simi, and Boo are three Nigerian-British friends living in London who are seriously worried about what the future holds for them. Enter Isobel, a (not-so) charming blast from the past who wreaks havoc on their close-knit friendship group. What follows is a fast-paced, crime-thriller-esque tale that will have you screaming at the page…in a good way.
Love Marriage by Monica Ali
Love Marriage is the first new novel in a decade from Monica Ali, the bestselling Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Brick Lane. It follows Yasmin, a successful doctor, and her fiancé, fellow doctor Joe. On the surface, they appear to have it all; but when their families meet, and their cultures collide, Yasmin is forced to rethink whether she wants a ‘love marriage’ after all.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
This riveting debut novel traces the terse relationship between two siblings, Byron and Benny, who reluctantly come together in the wake of their mother's death. At the heart of the matter? Their mother's traditional Caribbean black cake and a mysterious voice recording. Secrets spill from every page, as Byron and Benny are forced to reckon with the price of their inheritance.
Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski
"How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?" is the question at the root of this novel, which is set within the shady parameters of the strip club industry. Real Easy tackles the stigma around sex work head-on while uncovering the gritty details behind a complex murder and missing person investigation.
Thirty Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani
Radhika Sanghani's latest novel follows a highly-successful career in journalism, in which Radhika has written powerfully about everything from biohacking to singledom and self-love. Thirty Things I Love About Myself explores the latter, following Nina, a thirty-year-old woman on a mission to love herself. It may take an impromptu overnight stay in a prison cell to kickstart Nina's journey, but it's one we can all learn from.
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Mona by Pola Oloixarac (translated by Adam Morris)
We meet the eponymous protagonist of Mona as she prepares to attend a literary festival in Sweden, where she's been nominated for the illustrious Basske-Wortz prize. Violence hangs heavily over the novel (where are Mona's bruises from?), but she uses a lethal cocktail of self-medication, cynicism and err, porn, to avoid confronting it. The result? Total oblivion.
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The Dictator's Wife by Freya Berry
In one of the most compelling literary debuts of the year, Freya Berry tells the wanton tale of a dictator's wife, who is seemingly on trial for the crimes of her husband. The story is told through the eyes of a junior law associate on her defence team, who soon discovers she's far from immune from the defendant's charms – a sumptuously written story, which demands to be devoured in one sitting.
Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz
This timely collection of essays explores the intersection of queerness with core moments in pop culture (from Orange Is The New Black to Taylor Swift) – all through the lens of the endlessly-witty Jill Gutowitz.
Girls Can Kiss Now will be released on 8 March 2022.
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head, Warsan Shire
Warsan Shire's first full-length poetry collection is a landmark achievement. A vivid exploration of the love-strewn dynamic between mothers and daughters, this book is an aching recollection of all we have to gain – and lose – as we grow up.
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head will be released on 10 March 2022.
Careering by Daisy Buchanan
Just over a year after releasing Insatiable: A Love Story For Greedy Girls (already a cult-favourite amongst young women), Daisy Buchanan is back with another love story. However, this time, the love interest is a glittering career in the magazine industry, and the relationship quickly becomes toxic.
Careering will be released on 10 March 2022.
Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos
“How do we write about our bodies, their desires and traumas?” is the question that Melissa Febos grapples with in this piercing – yet tender – reflection on what we can learn from memoirs (and how we write about ourselves). Prepare to rave about this book to everyone you've ever met, seriously.
Body Work will be released on 17 March 2022.
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
Lydia, the tortured star of this blistering tale, is what you might call a vampire. While she's constantly lured by human food (Japanese cuisine, in particular, has a starring role), her body can only digest blood. Her story is one of rapacious hunger. What's more, Lydia's fantasies of physical satiety can tell us a lot about the ways we're all searching – in one form or another – for belonging.
Woman, Eating will be released on 24 March 2022.
Welcome to Your Life by Bethany Rutter
We meet Serena, the protagonist of Bethany Rutter's first adult novel, in a pub – glass of wine in one hand, ice cream sundae in the other – where she's reflecting on her decision to abandon her fiancé…on their wedding day. What follows is a meaningful (and funny) journey of self-love, in which, as Bethany explains, “a fat girl gets to be the protagonist of her own story, rather than a silly footnote in someone else's.” We've waited a long time for this.
Welcome to Your Life will be released on 31 March 2022.
Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones
In a searingly powerful memoir, Chloé Cooper Jones inspects and reclaims the spaces in which disabled bodies are either denied access from or constrained to. In a society replete with beauty standards that increasingly seem to operate on averted gazes and unspoken (yet ever-narrowing) rules, this book demands to be looked in the eye.
Easy Beauty will be released on 7 April 2022.
None of This Is Serious by Catherine Prasifka
As we adapt to our increasingly online lives, Catherine Prasifka's debut is the antidote we never knew we needed. We meet Sophie, Prasifka's ultra-relatable protagonist, at a precarious time in her life: leaving university. What happens next is a worthy reminder that Instagram /= reality.
None of This Is Serious will be released on 7 April 2022.
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
The follow-up to Candice Carty-Williams bestselling Queenie, her second novel centres around Dimple Pennington and her relationship with her half-siblings, Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie and Prynce. United only through their shared understanding of their father (and his love for his gold jeep), a dramatic event forces Dimple and her newfound family to get reacquainted.
People Person will be released on 28 April 2022.
Reclaiming by Yewande Biala
Following her appearance on Love Island in 2019, Yewande Biala has spoken about the racist “microaggressions”* she's encountered, from people refusing to pronounce her name correctly to highlighting the lack of diversity in TV. Reclaiming – her collection of essays about identity – is the natural next step.
Yewande expertly examines the barriers that exist to marginalise Black women and women of colour, while envisaging a world where these barriers can be overcome and, better yet, dismantled.
*In an article for The Independent, Yewande noted, “Microaggression has the prefix of “micro” attached, but anyone who has experienced this type of aggression will tell you that it feels anything but small.”
Reclaiming will be released on 12 May 2022.
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
In 1973, Civil Townsend, a newly-qualified Black nurse, joins a family planning clinic in post-segregation Alabama with the best of intentions: to empower women to make their own decisions about their bodies. However, her new patients, at just eleven and thirteen years old, are children. She doesn't know it yet, but the decisions she makes now will have a lasting impact on the rest of her life.
An utterly gripping tale from start to finish, Take My Hand is storytelling at its finest.
Take My Hand will be released on 12 May 2022.
These Bodies of Water by Sabrina Mahfouz
Sabrina Mahfouz's poetic talents come to the forefront in this lyrical meditation on the influence of the British Empire in the Middle East. Part memoir, part history, These Bodies of Water defies categorisation in favour of a lucid, tumbling narrative that sweeps you along for the ride. Like all truly brilliant books, it's impossible to put down while you're reading, and impossible to forget about when you've finished.
These Bodies of Water will be released on 12 May 2022.
Sex Bomb by Sadia Azmat
Sadia Azmat is a hijab-wearing British-Indian Muslim woman, a proud comedian, and a “very horny woman in tune with her sexual desires.” This memoir is a testament to embracing who you are – sexual fantasies and all – regardless of the (often patriarchal) societal expectations placed upon us.
Sex Bomb will be released on 26 May 2022.
Why Did You Stay? by Rebecca Humphries
After her partner cheated on her during his (mercifully short) stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, the media eagerly anticipated Rebecca Humphries' response. Needless to say, it was magnificent: a steady yet eviscerating statement rejecting the victimhood imposed on her and shedding light over the oft-neglected realities of emotional abuse.
Still, Rebecca was asked, ‘If he was so bad, why did you stay?’ Her first book gently (and with deft humour) unpacks the complexities behind this loaded question, as well as authoritatively answering it. Honestly? It's just a magical, magical book.
Why Did You Stay? will be released on 7 July 2022.
Until I Met You by Amber Rose Gill
If anyone is placed to write a story about a romance in the tropics, it's undoubtedly Love Island 2019 winner, Amber Gill. Her debut novel follows newly-single Samantha, who grudgingly forms a friendship with Roman, who has just left his corporate job for a fresh start in Tobago. Sparks (not to mention secrets) fly between the pair in what is surely one of the most charming stories to come out of 2022.
Until I Met You will be released on 7 July 2022.
Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
Bobby Palmer's debut novel follows Isaac, an illustrator stricken with the most loathsome ailment of them all: grief. As he makes half-hearted attempts to keep up with the impossible reality of living after a loved one has died, Isaac forms an unlikely friendship with an egg-like creature, whom he names Egg.
An extraordinary story ensues, brimming with magic and – perhaps most importantly – hope.
Isaac and the Egg will be released on 18 August 2022.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
