My 2022 Top Favorite Music, Film & Book Lists

I’ve always enjoyed and utilized list-making. This year I’ve opted to merge several end-of-year lists into one for some of my favorite pastimes and mediums, including books & reading, television & film, and music & live shows.

First, here are a few books I read and enjoyed this year. Let me know what great reads I missed and should read next.

Favorite Books of 2022:

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

  • The Murderbot Diaries (favorite new series); All Systems Red (#1 in the series) by Martha Wells | link

  • Legion (Legion #1) by Brandon Sanderson | link

  • Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson | link

  • Battle Ground (The Dresden Files #17) by Jim Butcher | link

  • Ready Player Two (Ready Player #2) by Ernest Cline | link

  • The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski, Danusia Stok | link

Non-Fiction

  • Design Is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton | link

  • Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes | link

  • Content Strategy for the Web (2nd reading) by Kristina Halvorson | link

  • Design for Cognitive Bias (A Book Apart #33; 3rd reading) by David Dylan Thomas | link

  • The Art and Science of Self-Defense: A Comprehensive Instructional Guide by Joe Varady | link

Note: you can view my full reading list on Goodreads here.

Favorite TV & Film of 2022:

As always, I saw some great shows and movies this year — here are a few of my top picks.

Shows

  • Andor by Tony Gilroy (arguably the best Star Wars property ever released)| link

  • Slow Horses by James Hawes, Jeremy Lovering | link

  • Blackbird by Dennis Lehane | link

  • The Old Man by Robert Levine & Jonathan E. Steinberg | link

  • We Own This City by George Pelecanos & David Simon | link

  • Barry by Alec Berg & Bill Hader | link

  • Nine Perfect Strangers by John-Henry Butterworth & David E. Kelley | link

  • The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (based on the DC Comic The Sandman by), David S. Goyer & Allan Heinberg | link

  • The Expanse (season 6) by Daniel Abraham, Mark Fergus & Ty Franck | link

  • For All Mankind by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi & Matt Wolpert | link

  • Werewolf by Night by Michael Giacchino | link

  • Reacher by Nick Santora| link

Film

  • The Batman by Matt Reeves | link

  • The Northman by Robert Eggers | link

  • Prey by Dan Trachtenberg | link

  • Top Gun: Maverick by Joseph Kosinski | link

  • Bullet Train by David Leitch| link

  • The Glass Onion (a fun, wannabe-whodunnit) by Rian Johnson| link

  • Troll (fables and cultural folklore is an interesting genre to explore, and would love to see more of it in film) by Roar Uthaug | link

  • Hellraiser (a guilty, silly, sinful pleasure–I guess) by David Bruckner | link

  • Avatar: The Way of Water (mainly for its visuals, given the year of generative AI art and what not…) by James Cameron | link

Favorite Music & Live Shows of 2022:

As always, I discovered scores of great new music, both old and new, again this year. These were a few of my favorite artists, songs, and albums.

New Music Releases & Discoveries

  • Terrene by Lauge, AES DANA | Ambient, Electronica | link

  • HYËNA by KMFDM | Industrial, Metal | link

  • Where the Shadow Lies by Bear McCreary, Fiona Apple | Cinematic, Soundtrack | link

  • What Normal Was by Billy Howerdel | Rock, Alternative Rock | link

  • Slaughter Beach by Clutch | Hard Rock, Stoner Rock, Blues Rock | link

  • On/Off by French Cassettes | Indie Rock | link

  • Strangers in the Night by Principe Valiente | Dark Pop, Shoegaze, Post-Punk Rock | link

  • Bringin’ Home the Rain by The Builders and The Butchers | Folk Rock | link

  • After Dark by Tito & Tarantula | Latin Rock, Rockabilly | link

  • The Children of Coyote Woman by All Them Witches | Sludge / Stoner / Hard Rock | link

  • Cumberland Gap by David Rawlings | Americana | link

  • Slow City by All Them Witches | Sludge / Stoner / Hard Rock | link

  • Only Human by Cold Showers | Cold Wave, etc. | link

  • A Different Sky by SiebZehn | Ambient, Electronica | link

  • Native Intelligence by Danny Elfman, Trent Reznor | Cinematic, Rock | link

  • Edouard by Blind Delon | Cold Wave, etc. | link

  • Koder på snor by Valravn | Folktronica | link

  • Slow Wave by Esben and the Witch | Folk, Shoegaze, Metal | link

  • Future Warrior by Palms | Art Metal | link

  • Open Me Slowly by Rena Jones | Ambient, Electronica | link

  • Nostalgi, Lauge & Baba Ghnom, Nostalgi, | Ambient, Electronica | link

  • The Shape of Everything by SOM | Doom Pop, Rock & Metal | link

Note: you can view/listen to my top 2022 songs here on Spotify.

Live Shows

Live Standup

  • This Filthy World: An Evening with John Waters, The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA

I would love to hear from you on what made your list(s) and encourage recommendations for what to read, watch, or listen to next!

p.s. these lists are nowhere near exhaustive or complete, and I still have quite the backlog to catch up with on the book, tv, and film side of things.

Jedi Wright2022, lists, music, film, books