Category: Books

2022 Books: Wrap Up

Happy 2023! Before we fully move into the new year, I want to take a moment to take one last look at the books I read in 2022.

After years and years and years of NOT keeping track of my reading, I started adding my lists to my blog a couple years ago. Here are the last three years of lists: 2020 Book List, 2021 Book List, and 2022 Book List.

As always, I borrowed a bunch of the books from the library – both in-person and the online using both Overdrive and Hoopla. I also used my Kindle Unlimited subscription a ton and downloaded many books from Amazon.

For 2022, I ended up reading a total of 112 books.

You can see the entire list of books and my mini reviews on my 2022 Book List page. For those of you looking for a short and sweet list to be added to your TBR pile, here are my top books of 2022:

I plan to continue this book tracking for 2023 as well, and will stick with the same format of mini book reviews and links. Let me know if you end up loving any of my book recommendations!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Cozy Book Recommendations for Fall

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

If you don’t already know, I keep my annual reading list updated throughout the year with quickie reviews and links to each book I read. You can find it here: 2022 Book List.

I obviously read like a fiend all year long, but fall is an extra special time for reading. It is just cozy perfection to curl up with a book, wrap yourself in a hand knit blanket, and maybe even have a crackling fire in the fireplace.

{On a related note, how comfy do those socks look in that photo?! I need to add those onto my Christmas list!}

Anyways, with cozy on my mind, I thought I’d give you a 5 book recommendations to add to your TBR pile:

  • Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher (Book #90) – This book broke me in the best way. I can’t remember the last time I full-on cried reading a book and this one snuck up on me. It has it all – a beautiful romance in paradise, the love between sisters, a character stepping outside of her comfort zone. I loved this one and I highly recommend it!
  • June, Reimagined by Rebekah Crane (Book #86) – If you want to leave your life behind, move to the Scottish Highlands, fall in love with a grumpy Viking, you’ll love this book.
  • Happily Ever Island by Crystal Cestari (Book #82) – Are you obsessed with Disney World? Would you drop everything to go live as a Disney princess for a week? Download this book immediately.
  • The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (Book #78) – No synopsis for this one because you should know NOTHING going into it. Trust me. Just read this one. Five stars!
  • The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall (Book #75) – Freya gets dumped by her groom the day before her wedding, but has an entire summer of other people’s weddings to attend. There are outrageous hijinks and falling in love. What’s not to like?

Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Swedish Death Cleaning

While watching something else on YouTube, a video on Swedish Death Cleaning caught my eye. Which then led to me requesting The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson from my local library. My library has books available on Overdrive which you can request and download for free, and there wasn’t even a wait for the book… so be sure to try there first!

Here it is on Amazon:

It was a very quick read; it took me probably only an hour or so to read the whole book. I loved the voice of the author though – it was much like following around your granny while she rambled on about her thoughts of letting go of things she doesn’t need. This is certainly not a ‘how to’ book, but more the emotions behind why you’d want to undergo Swedish Death Cleaning.

So, what is Swedish Death Cleaning?

In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you.

Much like Marie Kondo’s method, Swedish Death Cleaning isn’t about getting rid of things you love or use regularly. More about giving you the permission to get rid of things you don’t actually want or need, but hold onto anyways. Some of her examples are: unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you would ever use, etc. The idea is that you don’t want to leave the burden of going through all these items to your loved one after you have died.

Having helped my family clean out the homes of both sides of grandparents over the past decade, I feel it in my heart when she talks about all the crap we are leaving behind for family to deal with.

Immediately upon reading the book, I attacked a cabinet in my kitchen that was literally overflowing with cups and water bottles. There were some we used and loved, some that were pricey but we always passed over, and some that were gifts or freebies that we somehow felt bad about discarding. From there, my purging grew to a couple more kitchen cabinets. And then my closet (again) and then an overflowing junk drawer.

I found it especially fun to yell out “SWEDISH DEATH CLEANING” as if it were the name of a heavy metal band throughout my efforts. My husband didn’t find it *quite* as hilarious as I did…

I immediately put the items in the trunk of my SUV so that they were out of the house. I added some more items throughout the week and made a drop off at the local thrift store over the weekend. I’m not done though.

Swedish Death Cleaning is more a long-term state of mind. So as we continue {slowly} working toward the completion of our home renovation project, I plan to keep looking at other cervices of our house that need a good purge.

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