The Ten Best Books I've Read in 2022

2022 was a good year for the blog. While not as busy as 2021 was, it was still a year chock full of books read and talked about. As we reach ever closer to 400 blogs made here, the pile got added with a lot more books, many good, many bad, many meh. But with the year reaching its conclusion, it's time to look back and take a trip down memory lane. Lots of fun books read this year, giving us a year that, while there were a few F books, there were a whole bunch of A material. More than enough to make this year's ten favorites tricky to pick. But ten we shall have. It's my favorite books I read in 2022.

#1: SLAPPY, BEWARE!

Goosebumps' offerings this year were mostly decent, with only one book of the three I didn't like. And it was bookended by two Slappy books. Yes, after a year's long rest, Slappy returned with Slappy in Dreamland and Slappy, Beware! And while neither were incredible, both still felt like better takes on the dummy's misadventures. The clear winner was the last of the three. The rare occasion of a Special Edition book actually being good. 

You get two and a half Slappy stories in this book and if you're looking for a book with lots of Slappy, then... well that's like almost half of SlappyWorld, but I guess more Slappy per capita? Another take on the origin story, a story that stays true to the formula but with a "Mister Wood" twist, and another take on Slappy's Nightmare, though with a weak conclusion. While none buck the trend of Slappy stories, they all work fine enough to make this one feel at least like an attempt at a 30th anniversary book. 

#2: THE TRUTH ABOUT STACEY

Baby-Sitters Club didn't get a lot of focus this year. Was intending to, but it got pushed way back. Though thankfully the two books I did read this year were both great. Case in point The Truth About Stacey, which gave us our first look at Stacey McGill, her issues with diabetes, her issues in New York and not wanting to have her illness treated by what is essentially a faith healer. What the book offers is a lot of focus on the character which doesn't come at the expense of the BSC formula that was starting to be etched in stone.

And then there's the other plot of the story, which involves the BSC dealing with a rival group called the Baby-Sitters Agency. A richer group of kids who are in it for the money, happiness of the babies being say be damned. And thus we get a story that is a parable on the mom and pop shop taking on the mega mart. Quality vs quantity. How no amount of balloon-based advertising can compare to a group of girls who'll hold a kid a party to lift their spirits. I do feel the need to kick myself a little for not giving BSC a chance as a kid due to lame gender-normative crap, because what I've read so far is stuff I'd have gelled with as a kid. Ah well. 

#3: AMNESIA

We got a couple Sinclair Smith books in our system this year and I've enjoyed what I read. Amnesia is the better of the two easily. Only downside being the obviousness of where the story's going, but otherwise, for a story about amnesia, it does work to be a decent horror. Of course Marta is the villain. Her mood swings and treatment of Alicia make that obvious. This level of pure obsession that makes for actual horror. Almost to a Misery level, only no sledgehammers to the feet. We didn't get that far. And, while yes, Alicia should be able to realize something's wrong much sooner, given what the title of the book is, you can forgive her for not putting two and two together. 

Only real downsides is the possible lesbian implications that the book seems to give Marta, disguising them as "wanting Alicia as a sister", which could be interpreted as a workaround to a lesbian attraction, thereby continuing the harmful tropes of gay people being obsessed creeps. Not to mention being yet another story where poor mental health is the real smoking gun, but when the book still succeeds as a story, I can't be too upset.

 #4: THE ANIMAL REBELLION

Didn't read as much Shivers this year as before. Might be for the best as you don't want to overdo it on any book series. Thankfully the ones I read this year were all solid books. But if I had to choose, I'll go with Animal Rebellion as my clear cut favorite. Despite an annoying start with Winston and Brad's prank war, once we get into the actual deadly animal stuff, the book gets great. With some legitimately freaky moments of gore. You want rebelling animals, you get it in this book. I also don't mind the "real life video game" concept that the book goes for, as it at least feels like a reason to explain why the animals have become so aggressive. Better than ripping off George Orwell I guess. Shivers is a series I continue to like more than I expected and when it lands, it lands spectacularly. In ways that the likes of R.L. Stine should be jealous of. This one is no exception.

#5: THE BUGMAN LIVES!

Ghosts of Fear Street landed a few solid ones for me this year and the one that ultimately won my heart is the one with the giant fly head man on the cover. Maybe it's bugs in general making me squeamish, but what The Bugman Lives! had to offer was some generally disturbing horror, mixed in with an actually kind of cute story involving the Bugman's daughter Willow wanting Janet to be her best buggy friend as well. Granted there are probably ways to do that that don't involve turning your friend into a bug monster, but it's the thought that counts. 

But what won this for me was one scene in particular. And that's when Mr. Cooney is revealed to indeed be a bug man. The visual of him tearing his human face to reveal the hideous fly head is generally unnerving and disturbing. Little mentions like the nose falling off just work to add in one of the most horrific scenarios in any of these books. And while you could argue the book is a bit all over the place, particularly around the climax, I still think everything involved delivers just right to add a legitimately freaky story. And after reading so many of these books, a book that tries is always a book that's appreciated. 

#6: THE FEAR STREET SAGA TRILOGY

This year's Fear Street reads were a mixed bag for me compared to last year. Don't get me wrong, I still love taking those trips to Shadyside, but this year I definitely hit a few dead ends. Nothing with an F, but a mot with just average ratings. Thankfully I did get three books I really like that I can actually combine together into its own spot. Yay, I can be triple lazy! It's a Christmas miracle.

This year we covered the first of the Fear Street trilogy books, The Fear Street Saga, which focused on the history between two families that would lead to the creation of the titular street. The Fiers and the Goodes. Taking us from the witch burnings of the late 1600s, the horrific 1700s and 1800s, leading us to Simon Fier who thought that the surefire way to get rid of a curse is to change your last name from Fier to Fear. Yeah, turns out that doesn't work. Did he think that the fates have some rolodex, checked the address of the Fiers, but when they found the Fears, they thought "Oh, my mistake." Might be one of the sillier things Stine has added.

But thankfully the book still delivers in a lot of craziness and horror as each of the Fiers that followed from the murderous actions of Benjamin Fier and how throughout each generation, the bloodline would run into the Goodes and their grizzly fate would be sealed. Same with anyone who intervened. It's also actually clever for Stine to build up how it could be possible that if the Fiers and Goodes were together in holy matrimony, the curse would lift, only nope, just going to make things worse. For an origin story, it's definitely a strong trio of books for the series. Just lacks the cornball 90s feel that makes these books such a joy to plow through.

#7: SCARED STIFF

Jahna N. Malcolm made it to the worst of list last year when I read Don't Ever Get Sick at Granny's for the blog and hated that book. A complete mess with the most nonsensical twist I've seen in darn near any of them. So this standalone I read this year, reprinted through Apple Chillers, changed my opinion on both big time as this is a solid horror book. Kelly, Chace and Chace's friend Matt have to deal with a corpse of a convicted killer coming back to life to seek revenge on those who wrongfully jailed him. Which, if he was actually innocent, wouldn't killing them prove their point? And thus we get a story straight out of an 80s kids movie only with surprisingly more gore with just how decayed J.L. Torbett gets. 

It's a book that's always moving forward. Even when it has to slow down for exposition or to set up for when Torbett will show up, the plot always moves forward with less of the feet dragging that a Stine book would do. It leaves you with a solid horror story that feels super dark and has an unresolved finale. Only downside is the mediocre twist, but I'll excuse it when the book is this solid.

#8: MY TEACHER ATE MY HOMEWORK

Two more trips to the Shadow Zone this year may have cemented the series as probably my favorite of the GB-Likes. Either that or Shivers at this point. And My Teacher Ate My Homework was a strong example of that. Although that title lies as the doll of Mrs. Fink actually makes Jesse's life hell by... actually trying to better him as a person. Truly a child's biggest horror. Compared to Alien Under the Bed, this one was a bit more sluggish in the middle, but still works for how it sets its story up. How yes, this story is about Jesse treating Ms. Fink as a person and not treat her like crap, but also a story about how Ms. Fink doesn't do herself many favors in winning anyone over when she'll chew out a kid from Portugal for pronouncing Antietam wrong. But they're characters who by the end you do feel realized the errors of their ways. 

The horror isn't super strong, but it does feel like it takes cues from the Dummy books in an evil doll causing mayhem that's tricky to fully define as mayhem. Like, did the doll really push Jesse's mom down the stairs or was it an issue with the carpet. Those sorts of things. A case of the details really mattering. Add in some decent enough supporting characters and a decent climax, and I'm appeased for another year. Hopefully we have more Shadow Zone in 2023. 

#9: MY TEACHER GLOWS IN THE DARK

If my lazy butt was a bit more punctual this year, this would probably go to My Teacher Flunked the Planet. But other flights of fancy kept my from finishing the Bruce Coville Teacher saga. But I did read the third and I really liked the third. And that's insane to think of when all it really is is a flashback book and exposition dump. Chronicling Peter's saga during the events of My Teacher Fried My Brains, focusing a lot of the book on Peter and Hoo-Lan the strange blue alien in the space station of strange aliens. A race of aliens that haven't heard of "no bad touch" apparently, but never in a "oh this is a baaad touch" category. With a lot of interesting new alien tech, and the stakes being set up as to why the fate of Earth is how it is, it does a solid job in picking up the pieces we didn't get from our last book, and is a solid book at that. And I swear I'll finish this one eventually.

#10: THE TALES FOR THE MIDNIGHT HOUR BOOKS

So, is this a cheat? Giving a spot to four books after giving another spot to three? Maybe, but it's also my list and my rules. And while far from perfect, Tales for the Midnight Hour is a foursome of multi-tale books that offer enough unique ideas to be considered a win overall. Campers in peril, decapitations, vampires, jealous ghosts, possible rat people, a golden arm, a talking cat funeral, cucking doves, wax Hitler and a gorilla on the boat. Quite frankly, they deserve to be on the spot for the gorilla on the boat alone. Truly the best twist we've ever come across. Four books that do improve enough as they go along and feel like they represent an improvement from J.B. Stamper overtime. And great enough to be considered in my list of favorite books of 2022. 

What will next year bring? Will we get more great stuff? Will I actually FINISH projects? Only time will tell.