2021 has come and gone and 2022 is here! Now it's time to look back at all the books and scripts that I read over the last twelve months. I started this tradition last year (if you're interested, you can read my top ten recommendations from 2020) and am happy to be keeping things alive for 2021. If you missed it, you can also read my annual list of the top plays I saw from 2021.
As I mentioned in my recent post about goal setting, I have a loose goal of reading 52 plays (one per week) and 26 books (one every two weeks) each year. I count audiobooks, audio play readings, as well as typical printed books/plays. New this year, I'm also including a few screenplays that I read in the "scripts" category along with the plays I usually read.
So without further ado, here are my top five recommendations of books that I read in 2021:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Le Petite Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
As a fun fact, I read my first book in French this year! I'm still a very beginner french reader, but I have a few more books now to try for 2022. Here are all the books I read in 2022 in chronological order:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Stardust by Neil Gaimon
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Universe Within by Neil Turok
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Extraterrestrial by Avi Loeb
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson with James Trefil
The Mill conceived by Daryl Cloran and Matthew Fadzean, written by Matthew Fazdean, Hannah Moscovitch, Tara Beagan, and Damien Atkins
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Petite Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Dæmon Voices: on stories and storytelling by Phillip Pullman
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The Dark Crystal Bestiary: the definitive guide to the creatures of Thra by Adam Cesare, foreword by Brian and Wendy Froud, illustrated by Iris Compiet
Walking in this World by Julia Cameron
Save the Cat! Writes for TV: The Last Book on Creating Binge-Worthy Content You'll Ever Need by James Nash, based on the books by Blake Snyder
Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance: Inside the Epic Return to Thra by Daniel Wallace, foreword by Lisa Henson
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock: The Ultimate Visual History by Jody Revenson and Noel Murray, forwarded by Neil Patrick Harris
Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting that You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey
Monster of the Week by Michael Sands
The Complete Guide to Cryptocurrency by Michaela Cavallaro
As a writer, reading other people's work is so, so important. It helps me find what I like and what I don't like and gives me a sense of what else is out there right now. This is why I've added some screenplays to my list this year and will do so next year! Here is my list of five recommendations for plays for you to read:
The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst by Eric Rose and David van Belle
The Huron Bride by Hannah Moscovitch
Now We Are Brody by Matthew MacFadzean
King Henry V by William Shakespeare
Tooth and Claw by Michael Hollinger
My number one recommendation is now available to read in Three Impossible Plays, an anthology from Ghost River Theatre. All three plays in the book are definitely worth reading if you're interested in theatre, especially devised theatre!
And here is the full list of plays I read in 2021. I should also note that some of these plays I read for work and some of them are from audiobooks/podcasts so they may be unpublished.
End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer
Henry IV Part II by William Shakespeare
Struck by Eric Rose
Laila Pines for the Wolf by Hassan Adbulrazzak
The Goalie by Carolyn Ziegler
The Mire by Madeline Hunter Smith
Modern Prometheus by Eden Middleton
The body is gone by Gabby Bernard
Flesh & Ghost by Gordon Pengilly
SoulSwap by Oliver Bailey
Escape Pod by Matt Dale
Överdrive by Nick Shostak
Arkangel by Liam Salmon
SPY! The Glorious Mind of Agent GARBO by Ken Mastel
Artemis by Gillian Clark
Bloody Business: A Scottish Play by Robey Sabo
Home for the Holidays with book by Cayley Wreggit and score by Alixandra Cowman
The Rookery: A Play for Stellar Sea Lions by Elaine Ávila
It starts With Me by Chantal Bilodeau
Drip by Yolanda Bonnell
Now We Are Brody (The Mill Part I) by Matthew MacFadzean
The Huron Bride by Hannah Moscovitch
The Woods by Tara Beagan
Ash by Damien Atkins
Ice Flow by Phillip Braithwaite
The Highest Step in the World by Eric Rose and David van Belle
The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst by Eric Rose and David van Belle
King Henry V by William Shakespeare
Steamy Sessions in a Singapore Spa by Damon Chua
Appealing by Paula Cizmar
GIANT by Eric Rose and David van Belle
Other Side of the Game by Amanda Paris
Tooth and Claw by Michael Hollinger
Canary by Hanna Cormick
Between the Sheets by Jordi Mand
Winners and Losers by Marcus Youssef and James Long
Life on Paper by Kenneth Lin
This is How We Got Here by Keither Barker
Bed and Breakfast by Mark Crawford
Café Daughter by Kenneth T. Williams
Kamloopa: an Indigenous Matriach Story by Kim Senklip Harvey with the Fire Company
Extinction by Hannie Rayson
Rossum's Universal Robots by Karel Čapek
7 x 12 by Heidi MacDonald
Endgame by Samuel Becket
Blackjack by Derek Davidson
Othello by William Shakespeare
Absolutely Nothing of Any Meaning by Sunny Drake
The Word is a Seed is a World is a Deed by Clare Duffy
Mythic Quest Pilot by Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, and Rob McElhenney
Make Your Mark by Alec Berg and Bill Hader
Lawnmower Dog by Ryan Ridley
Do you like my recommendations? Want more? I send one recommendation (could be a book, a podcast, a show, a board game, whatever!) each month in my newsletter. You can sign up here.
And that's it for my wrap up of 2021! I would love to hear what you recommend for reading from last year. Leave a comment below or shoot me a message on twitter. As you can guess, I'm always on the search for new books and plays and screenplays to read.
Happy Reading to all of you in 2022!