My Favorite Books, Albums, TV Shows, and Movies of 2022
I consume art pretty regularly, and in some ways, it keeps me going—as a fellow artist and creator. I won’t write some long intro because—well—I’m tired. Haha. Still, I’m appreciative to have been able to fall into these stories and to, at least for a little while, get lost in some fantastic work. Here are my favorites of the year in books, albums, TV shows, and film.
BOOKS (TOP 12):
Daniel Black’s Don’t Cry for Me
Becky Chambers’ A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Kate Folk’s Out There
Silas House’s Lark Ascending
Holly Goddard Jones’ Antipodes
Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s What We Fed To The Manticore
Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go In The Dark
Kathryn Schulz’s Lost & Found
Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez
Charles Dodd White’s A Year without Months
Javier Zamora’s Solito
Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
My Favorite Book of 2022:
In my monthly reading recap, I wrote this: “Undoubtedly, this book will be near the top of my favorite books of the year. It might wind up being my favorite, and it’s barely February.” Well, nothing did top Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go In The Dark—nothing even came close if I’m being honest. This novel in stories has haunted me from the second I put in down. I keep thinking about that story/chapter about the pig and the other one about the amusement park. I’m not sure any work of art I've experienced in these past couple of years has captured death, loss, and grief so honestly as Nagamatsu’s book does. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book. It’s a stunning achievement.
ALBUMS (TOP 12):
Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak
Bill Callahan’s TYILAER
Tyler Childers’ Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
Angel Olsen’s Big Time
Ashley McBryde’s Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville
Plains’ I Walked With You A Ways
Amanda Shires’ Take It Like a Man
Billy Strings’ Me / And / Dad
SZA’s S.O.S.
Trampled By Turtles’ Alpenglow
Weyes Blood’s And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
My Favorite Album of 2022:
Tramples By Turtles’ Alpenglow, the Minnesota band’s 10th album, is undoubtedly its best. At least in my mind. The stories the band tells here seem extra personal, as the songs explore leaving home, confronting death, and dealing with loss. The stories here don’t just ring as true, but the music itself lends into the emotional power of these songs. While the sound is clear and strong, there is also a feeling of at-home playing that is just so right for this record. For myself, a man who is at his mid-life point and is more focused on understanding the big, important stuff in life, I just get this record. And I can’t stop playing it.
TV SHOWS (TOP 12):
Abbott Elementary
All Creatures Great and Small
The Bear
The Great British Bake Off
Only Murders in the Building
Pachinko
Reservation Dogs
Severance
Somebody Somewhere
Station Eleven
Stranger Things
Yellowjackets
My Favorite TV Show of 2022:
Abbott Elementary is fun, and it’s funny. Most of all, though, it’s sincere. The show follows teachers who are trying their best. The world doesn’t get them. In many ways, they don’t get the world. But these teachers are dedicated and determined—against all odds they are determined. Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of the series, has something special on her hands. For folks who fell in love with the sincere kindness of Parks & Recreation, finally a new series has arrived that viewers can escape into and be met with those feelings that our current world needs so much. This series made me laugh. Sure. But it also made me feel weekly joy. (And I’m definitely a Mr. Eddie.)
FILMS (TOP 12):
All That Breathes
Aftersun
Avatar: The Way of Water
Causeway
Cha Cha Real Smooth
EO
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Fire of Love
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
The Menu
Nope
Top Gun: Maverick
My Favorite Film of 2022:
Yeah, this one is no surprise. I’m so much on this Marcel bandwagon that I’m presenting a paper about this very film at a conference in February. Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is about kindness and empathy and connection. It’s the movie we all need in 2022, and it’s the best singular piece of cinematic art I’ve experienced since the pandemic. A one-inch mollusk is the life teacher our world needs.