Amazon Books Editors Announce 2022’s Best Books of the Year

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, the Amazon Books Editors announced their selections for the Best Books of 2022, naming Gabrielle Zevin’s novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow as the Best Book of the Year. The annual list is hand-picked by a team of editors who read thousands of books each year and share their recommendations on Amazon Book Review to help customers find their next great read. Featuring the top 100 books published this year, the editors’ selections also break out the top 20 books in popular categories, including mystery, memoir, romance, children’s books (by age), history, cookbooks, and more. To explore the full list of the Best Books of 2022, visit amazon.com/bestbooks2022.

“We’ve had a bumper crop of amazing books to choose from this year,” said Sarah Gelman, editorial director for Amazon Books. “But to get our passionate (read: opinionated!) team of editors to agree on one they loved is almost a miracle. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is that miracle—a simply perfect book about the complexities of human relationships, the importance of human connection, the innocence and optimism of youth, our journey with technology, and the many shades of love.”

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow resonates with readers, too. One of the quotes most often highlighted by Kindle readers is: “What is a game?” Marx said. “It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.”

“I’ve loved many books from this year, so it is an unexpected honor for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow to be selected as Amazon’s Best of the Year,” said Zevin. “What a remarkable time to be a writer and a reader!”

“The optimism of a new generation is at the heart of many of our favorite stories this year, not just in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, but also in Solito, Demon Copperhead, Our Missing Hearts, and I’m Glad My Mom Died,” said Gelman. “We’re also seeing the power of connection and platonic love playing out across the pages of other picks, such as Memphis, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and Now is Not the Time to Panic.”

The Amazon Books Editors Top 10 picks of 2022, as described by the editors, are:

1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: “After devouring this novel, you’ll walk with a bounce in your step, a full heart, and the buzzy feeling that this is one of the best books about friendship—in all of its messy complexity and glory—you have ever read, which is why we named it the Best Book of 2022. Gabrielle Zevin has written a novel perfect for this moment, when connection is what we crave and hope is what we need.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

2. Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora: “Neil Gaiman once said, ‘Fiction gives us empathy…gives us the gifts of seeing the world through [other people’s] eyes.’ Solito is one of those rare nonfiction reads that achieves the same thing, and puts a human face on the immigration debate—that of a 9-year-old child making a harrowing journey from South America to the United States, and the found family who eases his way. A heart-pounding, heart-expanding memoir.” —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor

3. Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari: “We can’t stop talking about Stolen Focus. It’s vital and mesmerizing, examining why we as individuals and as a collective have lost our attention spans. Suffice to say, Hari’s three-month tech-detox and his findings will make you immediately want to stop scrolling the internet, quit thinking in slogans and 280 characters, and engage authentically in sustained thought so that we can tackle global issues like poverty, racism, and climate change. Deeply satisfying and affirming and full of light-bulb moments, this is a book everyone should read.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

4. Fairy Tale by Stephen King: “Fairy Tale’s Charlie Reade joins the ranks of King’s best characters, and the story he tells—of a curmudgeonly neighbor with dangerous secrets, a parallel world ruled by an unspeakable monster, a child-eating giant, and a dog who has lived more than one lifetime—is wonderous. Fairy Tale is fantasy, coming-of-age, friendship, and adventure—it’s good versus evil, a boy and his dog on a perilous quest; it’s King doing what he does best: setting our imagination on fire.” —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

5. Horse by Geraldine Brooks: “One of the best American novels we’ve read in years—galloping backward and forward in time to tell a story about race and freedom, horses and art, and the lineage of not just ancestors, but actions. From Kentucky to New Orleans, from the 1850s to present day, Pulitzer Prize-winning Brooks weaves together a story centered on one of the fastest thoroughbreds in history and the Black groom that catapulted Lexington to the front of the track. A heart-pounding American epic.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

6. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid: “We reveled in Carrie Soto’s fiery energy—Taylor Jenkins Reid, of Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo fame, has written another book you’ll inhale in a day. Soto is a former tennis champ who returns to the game to defend her title. She’s unapologetic, ambitious, and willing to put everything on the line. This is a big-hearted story about her relationship with her father, taking risks, and standing up bravely in a world that doesn’t necessarily want to see strong women succeed.” —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor

7. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: “In this mesmerizing novel, Kingsolver peers into the neglected hollers of Appalachia to tell an insightful and razor-sharp coming-of-age story about a boy called Demon Copperhead. Born behind the eight ball of life, Demon faces hunger, cruelty, and a tidal wave of addiction in his tiny county, but never loses his love for the place that claims him as its own. With the soulful narration by this kind, conflicted, witty boy, Kingsolver gives voice to a place and its people where beauty, desperation, and resilience collide.” —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

8. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng: “Celeste Ng joins our Best Books of the Year list for the third time with her most gripping story yet. A mom mysteriously disappears amid a nationalistic movement that feels chillingly close to reality—launching her young son on a courageous quest to find her, aided by everyday heroes in unexpected places. The prose sings as the pieces click. This is fiction as revolution, serving as a warning, a dystopian fairy tale, and a suspenseful thriller with moments of hope that buoyed us as we read.” —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor

9. The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland: “This is the true story of one of the few people who escaped Auschwitz, but that only touches on what this book is about. Rudolf Vrba set out to tell the world about the atrocities he had witnessed in the concentration camps, but much of the world was not ready to hear it. The author, Jonathan Freedland, paints a vivid, moving portrait of what Vrba experienced, both during and after the war. Vrba was a hero, for sure, but he was human as well. This is a forgotten story that you won't soon forget.” —Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor

10. City on Fire by Don Winslow: “Don Winslow (Power of the Dog trilogy, Broken) is, without doubt, one of the best crime fiction writers in decades. And in City on Fire, he’s written one of the most immersive, head-turning, and heart-stopping crime family novels since The Godfather. It’s about loyalty, love, fraternity, family, belonging, betrayal, and survival. But no matter how epic its themes, it’s Winslow’s eye for the small, personal details that will sear these characters in your heart and in your memory.” —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor

The Amazon Books Editors Top Children’s pick of 2022 is The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander. Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor shared:

“Inspired by Ghanaian history, Kwame Alexander’s exceptional novel-in-verse flows as easily as the water running through this young protagonist’s dreams. Immersed in family, school, and the excitement of a first crush, Kofi’s world spins upside down when a terrible accident turns a festive occasion into one filled with sorrow and anger—and that’s just a glimpse of what’s to come. The Door of No Return is a brilliant work of storytelling that moves you with joy, fear, sadness, hope, and love for the brave, resilient boy at its heart.”

Authors of the top three books—Gabrielle Zevin, Javier Zamora, and Johann Hari—will participate in an Amazon Live Author Series conversation in celebration of the Best Books of the Year selection on November 15, 2022 at 9 a.m. PDT. To tune in, visit Amazon Live.

For more information about the books featured on the Best Books of the Year list, as well as insightful reviews of new books, author interviews, and hand-curated roundups in popular categories, visit the Amazon Book Review at www.amazon.com/amazonbookreview. You can also follow the Amazon Books Editors recommendations and conversations @amazonbooks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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