Nyrema's favourites 2022

Yes, it's the time of year when every bookshop in the land tells you about their top reads and why there were no better reads in this particular year. We're no different, but we HAVE made it extra difficult for our booksellers by asking them to choose only three books. These needn't have been published in 2022; they were merely titles that our team picked up at some point in the year and which will stay with them long after the 2023 page has been turned.

These are the most memorable books Nyrema picked up this year:

The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes was a reread for me this year as I settled once again to understand my interactions with white folks in the UK. It's always comforting to reread a good book, this one with short stories, to readjust to spaces you don't see yourself in but are in for whatever reason. Hughes is a beautiful writer and is excellent for people looking for some insight into early 20th-century race relations and black American culture.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: Another reread. It's amazing the stories and words we go back to when looking for comfort and familiarity. Hurston makes me feel like a time traveler whenever I read her work. TEWWG is a definite must-read for anyone who is looking for fictional work that dives into power and domination, and for me, how colonization affected black culture is seen through the eyes of her characters.

I love a good horror/gothic novel so when I stumbled across Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung this year I was very excited. The last time I had a good horror read that drew me in was Mexican Gothic which I can't seem to stop recommending as an introduction to the new wave of gothic fiction. Cursed Bunny took me back to reading for pleasure with it being short stories. So I didn't feel that weight that comes sometime from reading very long novels when you're short on time but are in need of a brain refresh.

Check out 2022 favourites from the rest of the Lighthouse team: Lindsay, Rachel, Noor, Christina, Trisha, Mairi and Jess.