As the new year is prompting many to rethink their habits and goals for 2023, we hear about eating healthier, exercising more and saving money — but what about reading more books?
If you’re an adult looking for a place to start your 2023 fiction reading journey, let’s take a look back at 2022. Here’s a look at the top 10 most popular adult fiction titles in the Montgomery County Public Library system for 2022, according to the MCPL’s data team — it’s a list dominated by female authors and compelling, relatable human themes.
10. The Maid by Nita Prose
What a fitting last name for this author, whose debut mystery novel “explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different — and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.”
9. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
What a fitting title for a book on this list. This literary rom-com about two “bookish” people who keep bumping into each other was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller.
8. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
This novel was described on Twitter by great horror author Stephen King as the Catch-22 of early feminism. It was also named a best book of 2022 by The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR and more.
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, by Bonnie Garmus: Witty, sometimes hilarious, angry, and often surreal. It’s the CATCH-22 of early feminism.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 20, 2022
7. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Author Emily Henry makes her second appearance on the list with this 2021 book described as a novel “that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.”
6. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This four-time New York Times bestselling author penned this story about “one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them … and what they will leave behind.”
5. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
From the author of Nine Perfect Strangers, which became a popular Hulu miniseries in 2021, Apples Never Fall is a novel “that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest.”
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid also makes her second appearance on the list with her bestselling novel about the “glamorous and scandalous life” of an aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon, Evelyn Hugo.
3. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Just one of two male authors featured on the list, Anthony Doerr describes Cloud Cuckoo Land as dedicated to librarians. It is “a paean to the extraordinary human capacity to transmit stories from generation to generation and a novel about stewardship — of books, of our shared planet, and of the human heart.”
2. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The second male author to grace the list is Amor Towles, who calls this novel a “multilayered tale of misadventure and self-discovery, populated by an eclectic cast of characters, from drifters who make their home riding the rails and larger-than-life vaudevillians to the aristocrats of the Upper East Side.”
1. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
And, finally, MCPL’s most popular adult fiction book of 2022: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, which actress Reese Witherspoon selected for her book club in May 2021. It is described as “a riveting mystery, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn.”
If you’re looking for the ultimate page turner, I highly recommend The Last Thing He Told Me by #LauraDave. There’s so much to love about this roller coaster of a novel: mysterious identities, unreliable friendships & dubious loyalties. Join me @reesesbookclub to discuss! ✨📚 pic.twitter.com/hnUy7duWLH
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) May 4, 2021
