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PDL Staff Best of 2022

book covers from list

It’s back, and bigger than ever! Our staff has picked their best reads and watches of 2022. If you want titles featuring butterflies, baked goods, or monsters, you’ve come to the right place.

Adult Fiction & Nonfiction

Sarah W:
All of This: A Memoir of Death and Desire by Rebecca Woolf
Weird Girls: Writing the Art Monster by Caroline Hagood
Lore Olympus: Volume Three by Rachel Smythe
The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV
Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby

Holly:
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

Christine:
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Katie P:
The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay
Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez
An Immense World by Ed Yong
Ducks by Kate Beaton
All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell

Lauren:
The Choice by Nora Roberts

Charlie:
Excuse Me While I Disappear by Joanna Scott
Quicksilver by Dean Koontz
The Big Dark Sky by Dean Koontz

Kathleen K.:
Big Texas Cookbook by Texas Monthly Magazine
Celebrate With Babs: Holiday Recipes and Family Traditions by Barbara Costello
Diasporican: a Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyana Maisonet
I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef by Vishwesh Bhatt
Super Soul Food With Cousin Rosie: 100 + Modern Twists on Comfort Food Classics by Rosie Mayes

Cathy:
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Sarah P.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Lindon
Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry

YA

Colleen:
The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis

Sean:
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Youth Fiction and Nonfiction

Middle Grade –
Jessica:
Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros
Little Monarchs by Jonathan Case
Jennifer Chan is Not Alone by Tae Keller
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali
Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King
How to Build a Human by Pamela S. Turner

Sarah P:
Soaring in Style by Jennifer Lane Wilson and Lissy Marlin
A Rose Named Peace: How Francis Meilland Created a Flower for Hope for a World at War by Barbara Carroll Roberts

Picture Books –
Dante (Sarah W.’s son & honorary librarian):
Oona and the Shark by Kelly DiPucchio
Moth & Butterfly: Ta Da! by Dev Petty
Some Bodies by Sophie Kennen

Movies & TV

Bruce:
House of the Dragon (TV, HBO)

Colleen:
Nope (movie)
Barbarian (movie, HBO Max)
The Rehearsal (TV, HBO Max)
A League of Their Own (TV, Amazon Video)
Our Flag Means Death (TV, HBO Max)

Sherri:
Sandman (TV, Netflix)
Derry Girls (TV, Netflix)
The Crown (TV, Netflix)
The Great British Baking Show (TV, Netflix)

Christine:
Wednesday (TV, Netflix)

Katie P:
Everything Everywhere All At Once (movie)
Nope (movie)
X (movie)
Pearl (movie)
Crimes of the Future (movie, Hulu)
Andor (TV, Disney+)
Severance (TV, AppleTV)
Our Flag Means Death (TV, HBO Max)
Only Murders in the Building (TV, Hulu)
Barry (TV, HBO Max)

Cathy:
Death on the Nile (movie)

Veronica:
From Scratch (TV, Netflix)
1899 (TV, Netflix)
Inventing Anna (TV, Netflix)
The Lincoln Lawyer (TV, Netflix)
The Weekend Away (movie, Netflix)
The Adam Project (movie, Netflix)
Rescued by Ruby (movie, Netflix)

Sean:
Nope (movie)
Hellraiser (movie, Hulu)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (movie)
Metal Lords (movie, Netflix)
Wednesday (TV, Netflix)
Chainsaw Man (TV, Crunchyroll)
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War (TV, Hulu)