Fall In Love With These 22 Book Recommendations For 2022 In Florida

FLORIDA — Many Floridians once worried that with the advance of technology, books would become obsolete. If we can attribute one positive thing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, folks are still reading books and increasing sales, according to the New York Times.

If you've started making a "What To Do When Staying Away From Crowds In 2022," list as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the state, and it includes reading books, we can help. Patch reached out to two locally owned St. Petersburg bookstores for a list of best 22 recommended books for 2022.

Dominic Howarth, book buyer at Book + Bottle, and Candice Anderson, co-owner of Tombolo Books, suggested recently released books and upcoming books for the new year that includes autobiography, fiction, self-help, romance, self-discovery, juvenile fiction and more.

Book + Bottle Recommendations:

• "We Are What We Eat: A Slow Food Manifesto," by Alice Waters released in June.

"This is a perfect book for people who are wanting to eat 'better' - not just healthier, but more ethical, more sustainable, more everything," Howarth told Patch. "Not a cookbook, more of a way of life...Alice Waters urges us to take up the mantle of slow food culture, the philosophy at the core of her life’s work. When Waters first opened Chez Panisse in 1971, she did so with the intention of feeding people good food during a time of political turmoil. Customers responded to the locally sourced organic ingredients, to the dishes made by hand, and to the welcoming hospitality that infused the small space—human qualities that were disappearing from a country increasingly seduced by takeout, frozen dinners, and prepackaged ingredients. Waters came to see that the phenomenon of fast food culture, which prioritized cheapness, availability, and speed, was not only ruining our health, but also dehumanizing the ways we live and relate to one another."

• "Bewilderment," by Richard Powers, released in September.

"Gorgeous prose about a father and son - as we talk about fatherhood, toxic masculinity, and the changing climate around us, this book will pull your heart strings and make you think," Howarth said.

• "Instructions for Dancing," by Nicola Yoon, released in June.

"Emotional, magical, romantic, fun - this is just the whimsy we need as we head into a year possibly just crazier than the last!"

Books Coming Out In 2022 Recommendations, According To Howarth:

• "Lesser Known Monsters Of The 21st Century," by Kim Fu, will be released Feb. 1

"If you want your fiction as weird as it can get while still being compassionate, resonant, and beautiful, look no further," Howarth said. "Super excited about this one...In the twelve unforgettable tales of 'Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century,' the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible, Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time; an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman. These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequence, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us."

• "Book Lovers," by Emily Henry, will be released in May

"A light, romantic read about book lovers falling in love," Howarth said.

• "The Paris Apartment," by Lucy Foley, will be released Feb. 22

"Hot off the release of The Guest List, this new thriller from Lucy Foley is highly anticipated. For fans who loved 'Only Murders in the Building' on Hulu."

Book Recommendations from Anderson:

• "It's The End Of The World And I'm In My Bathing Suit," by Justin A. Reynolds, expected release date April 5.
• "The Year We Learned To Fly," by Rafael Lopez, releases Jan. 4
• "Angela Davis; An Autobiography," by Angela Davis, releases Jan. 18
• "All The Lovers In The Night," by Miekow Kawakami, releases May 3
• "Rogues: True Stories Of Grifters, Killers, Rebels And Crooks," by Patrick Radden Keefe, releases Jun 28
• "The Bald Eagle," by Jack E. Davis, releases March 1
• "The Last White Man," by Mohsin Hamid, releases Aug. 2
• "The Books of Jacob," by Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft, releases Feb. 1
• "Amari And The Great Game," by B.B. Alston, releases May 31 (Juvenile Fiction)
• "To Paradise," by Hanya Yanagihara, releases Jan. 11
• "The Nightsilver Promise," by Annaliese Avery, releases Feb. 1 (Juvenile Fiction)
• "Alice Austen Lived Here," by Alex Gino, releases April 5 (LGBTQ Juvenile Fiction)
• "Violeta," by Isabel Allende, releases Jan. 25 (Hispanic & Latino Literary Fiction)
• "Trust," by Hernan Diaz, releases May 3
• "Lost & Found" by Kathryn Schultz, releases Jan. 11 (Memoir)
• "Akata Woman; The Nsibidi Scripts #3," by Nnedi Okorafor, releases Jan. 18 (Young Adult Fiction)