Review of 2022 on Goodreads by Various

Let’s see, what did I read this past year? I don’t even know. 

The main reason I have Goodreads now is to tell me what I’ve read. I blame my 30-minute commute for all of the audiobooks I finished. I have only myself to blame for all of the bizarro fiction I read.

I went through phases, like my fascination for David Lynch, then my interest in David Cronenberg, which was consummated in reading Lynch’s screenplays and watching Crimes of the Future in quick succession. I’ve been writing plenty. None of this energy has gone into writing reviews. I can think of no emptier feeling now than publishing a review and sending it into the void.

I don’t watch Netflix anymore. The logo alone is enough to sicken me. I listen to Vaporwave and Synthwave only. Give me Lofi instead of coffee. Stranger Things was not as enjoyable as I’d hoped and resulted in me canceling the subscription, but still wanting to bottle that nostalgic appreciation. Therefore, I read a few books which scratched the itch. Now I just play Munchkin instead of D & D. My commitment level is low. My social credit rating is poised to be a point of contention. I did not travel abroad. Because the price for a carry on is unconscionable. Since when do a dozen eggs cost 5$. Is this the future Ballard prophesied? You know that feeling of getting a raise and a new job and another raise, and you feel so proud of yourself, then you look at your budget and you realize none of the advancements you traversed made any real difference? Get used to that I guess. At least there is still plenty to read.

I discovered Tanith Lee and Viktor Pelevin. I completed the novels of Julien Gracq whom I had not planned on liking. I have been reading the 90th volume of One Piece for more than a year. Really hoping Wano improves upon the cupcake-fetish of the previous arc. I stopped liking Philip Roth and literary fiction in general. Then I read Ottessa Moshfegh and my hope for the future of lit fic was rekindled. I tried a few more literary novels and despised all of them except the burnished classics. I fell back on classics out of disgust for the current publishing climate.

I tried to buy Snuggly Books and Corona Samizdat, though most of my book money was absorbed by Bitmap Books. I admit I have already read about more video games than I’ve played. I get about three hours into a game when I feel like moving on to something else. The exceptions this year were Elden Ring and Phantasy Star IV. We do not speak of Elden Ring. Can they just release Breath of the Wild II already so I can officially sell Elden Ring?

Why is there no definitive version of Roald Dahl’s complete works? Can some publisher fix this please?
Seriously, have you ever tried tracking down all of the stories missing from his “Complete Short Stories?”

I’ll stop rambling and pinpoint the most enjoyable books I read this year.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu
Stoner by John Williams
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls by Alyssa Nutting
Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman
Parasite Milk by Carlton Mellick iii (this is not a typo)

I wish there was more Wolfgang Hilbig to read. Please translate more. The new Akutagawa translation I have been waiting for for 3 years still hasn’t released. What the hell? I am also dying to read Marshland by Otohiko Kaga, if it ever decides to come out.

A lot of interesting Chinese books coming into English lately. But the quality of books translated from the Japanese continues to decline. Why are there still untranslated books by Ryu Murakami and Shuichi Yoshida? I could complain all day about what I can’t read, but the selection is still good, if you know where to look. The more you read, the more you haven’t read yet.

Now that we all got Chainsaw Man out of our system what will the next actually good manga to come out be?