2022: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2022, my second full year of remote working, I managed to surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 55 books, an increase of one book over last year and my second consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total with a mere three days remaining in 2022.  I read (or listened) to 19,328 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the third time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, fifteen were non-fiction and, of the remaining 40 novels, only two were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 44 e-books and three audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 37 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

A little more than half of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Adam Nedeff Kelsey McKinney Simone St. James Laura Dave
Jeff Warren Carlye Adler Matt Paxton Jordan Michael Smith
Alyssa Milano Alex Finlay Taylor Jenkins Reid Emily Ratajkowski
Samantha Downing Dave Grohl Mary Lynn Rajskub Stephanie Perkins
Michael Schur Joseph Henrich V.E. Schwab Brianna Madia
Jimmy Piersall Richard Whittingham Richard Osman Colleen Hoover
Jenette McCurdy Sally Rooney Josh Malerman Alice Sebold
Katie Mack Penn Jillette Elin Hilderbrand Nita Prose

Alex Finlay, Simone St. James, Karin Slaughter, Megan Goldin, Jeffery Deaver, and Richard Osman were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2022.

16 of the books I read were released this year, while only two of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1953.

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Book 14 (of 52) – Sorry Not Sorry

Sorry Not Sorry – Alyssa Milano

Actress turned activist Alyssa Milano checks in with this collection of essays where she shares her thoughts on politics, patriotism, her children, defunding the police, abortion rights, and what she sees for the future

Alyssa Milano burst onto the scene nearing her twelfth birthday in 1984 in Who’s The Boss?.  I was approaching my tenth birthday at the time and, at some point over the next few years, she became my first celebrity crush as I entered adolescence.  Ever since then, she has held a special place in my heart, which is why I went ahead and listened to this book even though I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it.  And believe you me, enjoy it I did not.  It’s not that I disagree with her politics, which we agree on more often than not, but, outside of the chapters on her children, there was very little joy to be found in this tome.  It was a chore to get through.  Sorry.  Not Sorry.

Most Watched Actors – The Late 1990s

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at the most prolific actors that have starred in the movies that I have seen in the last half of the decade of the 1990s, corresponding with the end of college and the transition into adulthood and real life.

1996

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Gil Bellows 3
Alyssa Milano 3
Bill Pullman 3
Liv Tyler 3

A four way tie that covers a lot of bad movies, most of which I don’t even remember.  Gil Bellows starts things off with Miami Rhapsody, Love And A .45, and Black Day Blue Night.  Alyssa Milano made her case by doffing her top in Poison Ivy II: Lily, Deadly Sins, and the cult classic Embrace of the Vampire.  Bill Pullman shows up thanks to legitimate big screen blockbusters in Independence Day, Sibling Rivalry, and While You Were Sleeping.  Rounding things out is Liv Tyler, who appeared in That Thing You Do!, Stealing Beauty, and Heavy.

1997

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Patricia Arquette 3
John Cusack 3

The number of leaders is cut in half, as Patricia Arquette appeared in the classics Daddy, Lost Highway, and Flirting With Disaster.  John Cusack plied his wares in City Hall, the tremendous Grosse Pointe Blank, and The Grifters.

1998

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jennifer Aniston 3

The Friends star makes her move to the big screen with starring roles in The Object Of My Affection, Picture Perfect, and Dream For An Insomniac.

1999

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Janeane Garofalo 4
Gwyneth Paltrow 4

A strange pairing, with comic Janeane Garofalo starring in Sweethearts, Mystery Men, Larger Than Life, and The Matchmaker.  Meanwhile, the glamorous Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in A Perfect Murder, Shakespeare In Love, Great Expectations, and Hush.

2000

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Maria Ford 5
Tori Spelling 5

As we wrap things up, your first question is probably who the hell is Maria Ford?  If you were perusing the late night offerings on Cinemax back at the turn of the century, you might be very familiar with her body of work.  Tori Spelling, however, was a constant presence on Lifetime, appearing in Death Of A Cheeleader, Coed Call Girl, Deadly Pursuits, Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, and Perpetrators Of The Crime.