Book Lists for the Online Reading Challenge 2022
JANUARY – The Orphan Train by Christina Kline – theme of belong and connection, found family. Additional titles: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
FEBRUARY – A Gentleman in Moscow – theme of isolation and resilience. Additional titles: Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The Martian by Andy Weir and Walden by David Henry Thoreau.
MARCH – Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel – theme of individuals reactions to pandemics/post-apocalyptic survival. Additional titles: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner, The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue.
APRIL – The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – theme of female spies, intelligence, sacrifice. Additional titles: Code Girls by Liza Mundy, Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
MAY – Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson – theme of racial injustice, advocacy, civil rights. Additional titles: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy Tyson and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
JUNE – Relish by Lucy Knisley – theme of food and connection. Additional titles: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag, The Master Butcher’s Singing Club by Louise Erdrich and The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan.
JULY – We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter – theme of surviving the Holocaust. Additional titles: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton and Night by Eli Wiesel.
AUGUST – The Library Book by Susan Orlean – theme of connection through books and reading. Additional titles: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Ann Shaffer, Fahrenheit 451 by RAy Bradbury and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
SEPTEMBER – My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand – theme of alternate history/viewing history from a different perspective. Additional titles: Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susan Clarke and First Impressions by Charles Lovett.
OCTOBER – Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver – climate change, extreme weather and consequences/adaptations. Additional titles: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin.
NOVEMBER – There, There by Tommy Orange – theme of issues facing modern Native Americans. Additional titles: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown, This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.
DECEMBER – Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – theme of mental health compounded by feelings of isolation and stigma. Additional titles: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.