The 10 Best Books I Read in 2022

At the beginning of each year, I will set a theme for the new year. In 2022, the theme was fun. I feel that I’m great at turning my hobbies and recreation into work and projects but I wasn’t having as much fun as I wanted. For example, I focused too much on the tasks I need to do to produce music instead of truly enjoying music and having fun. So I thought “fun” will be a nice theme for 2022.

However, things took a turn in the middle of the year. After my dad had covid in June, his health began to deteriorate. He started having chest pain and shortness of breath. He went in and out of the hospital three times before he was diagnosed with heart blockage. And a few days later after his stent procedure in late October, he passed on.

What I planned to be a fun year turned out to be not so fun after all.

When a crisis like this happens,

how you handle the crisis is dependent on how you show up on a consistent basis.

I am glad that all my daily practices such as meditation and writing in my gratitude journal paid off. Despite my routines being disrupted, I stayed relatively calm during the period and was able to be an emotional support for my family.

2022 Felt Like an Extension of 2021

In last year’s top 10 list, I mentioned that I started working on my throat chakra and verbal communication. I wanted to reclaim my voice. And guess what? This year in September, I started my YouTube channel.

Way back in 2015, I actually recorded three videos. I wanted to have a channel to share my insights but I was too scared to show anyone the videos, so I gave up. Seven years later now, I had the calling again and I decided to give it another go!

I initially planned to create at least one video per week. But because of my dad’s condition, I was a bit disorientated. Let’s see how my channel will go in 2023.

If you show the Universe that you are patient and passionate,

it will show you the resources along the way.

2022 proves that my passion for music is here to stay. In 2020, music came back into my life again. I started learning singing and in 2021, I took a songwriting course and wrote three songs. This year, I finally found a course called Producer Accelerator that teaches me music production from start to finish. Nathan, the creator of the course, is a great teacher, and he gave me helpful feedback on my song. 

I found his course randomly after watching two of his YouTube videos. Since last year, I was wondering how nice it would be if there was a course like his. Then voila, out of nowhere, I found him and his channel. I was so excited that I joined his program immediately.

Lastly, this year is about trusting my intuition more. Intuition might not give you the shortest path to your desire but it always leads you to the path that resonates with your heart. Even if it’s a detour, you will be amazed by the big picture at the end of your journey. So regardless if it’s my YouTube channel or the music production course, when I felt a call from my intuition, I went for it!

This Year the Donation Goes to…

Every year, I have a “pay it forward” tradition and donate an amount based on the number of books I’ve read. (You can read my yearly posts here.)

This year, I read 45 books, 5 books less than my target. But I decided to donate US$100 anyway to Open Library.

Follow What I Read:

You can follow me on Instagram or Goodreads to see what I have read.

Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive. I have been using the platform to do my research on books for years. They had some books that I couldn’t find in my local libraries. It works pretty much like a physical library. You can only check out a book for a period of time (when writing this, the loan period is 1 hour) and when you are reading the book, other readers would have to wait in line. If you are doing research and don’t mind browsing scanned copies of paperback books, this is a great platform for you.

Right now, they have a 2-to-1 Matching Gift Campaign, tripling the impact of every donation. So my US$100 donation will be a US$300 donation. Awesome!

My Top 10 Favorite Books: 2022 List

I have a rule of thumb though. I only feature one book from the same author for my list. So even if I like two to three books by the same author this year, I only select the one that I like the most.

Disclosure: Please note that the links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, but it will be at no additional cost to you.

1. Diary of a Psychic by Sonia Choquette

“The point of our Earthly journey is to create and express our loving spirit.”

Sonia Choquette is my new favorite author. Last year, I started reading her book, Ask Your Guides, and it was ranked #7 in my chart. This year, I read four other books from her. I also completed her Mindvalley course, Sixth Sense Superpowers.

I resonate with her writings and teachings. Similar to her, I’m intuitive and I share the same challenges when it comes to dealing with others who are skeptical about intuition.

Her books are filled with personal and real-life stories of her clients, which I love. In my books, I also enjoy sharing my insights through personal stories. 

On top of that, there is this free card reading on her website which I do a couple of times a month. I’m always amazed by how helpful it is to my life at any given moment. It’s pretty amazing!

Out of her books I read this year, I want to recommend her memoir. If you are like me who always wondered what it’s like to be a psychic, this memoir will give you an inside look at what psychics do. It’s great that she grew up with her psychic mother and discovered her own psychic abilities as a young child. I had a different path growing up, so it’s quite interesting to read her story.

Amazon: Print | eBook

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2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō

“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”

This is a very popular book which I always wanted to read but didn’t. I guess I’m always pretty organized so I wasn’t particularly interested in a book that teaches me how.

However, in December, when I was tidying up my dad’s possessions, I felt a calling to delve deeper into Marie Kondō’s work. I watched her shows on Netflix before I read her books.

I resonate deeply with how she treats her possession with gratitude and care as though they are living things. Even when she discards something, she says “thank you” to the objects. I especially love how she would introduce herself to the client’s house before she starts to tidy their homes. It touches me on a deeper, spiritual level. 

Also, keeping things that spark joy and knowing what spark joy for us are important lessons that go beyond tidying a home. If we are able to appreciate the things we have and not take them for granted, we will learn how to appreciate other parts of our lives too.

On a practical level, I’m happy that her books tell us to tidy by categories and not by location. My dad has accumulated a lot of stuff and sorting them out is quite challenging. But this book helped me get started.

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3. At Your Command by Neville Goddard

“Not one thing has ever appeared in man’s world but what man decreed that it should.”

Neville Goddard is another author I have known for a long time but haven’t had the chance to read his books. I knew he was a spiritual writer but I didn’t know that he wrote about the law of attraction and metaphysics. 

Even though it is tough to comprehend his old-fashioned language sometimes, I understand the essence of what he is trying to convey. Perhaps because I have prior knowledge of the topic.

This book is the first book written by the author. It’s about the secret of manifestation. I resonate with how the author explains that you don’t manifest things with affirmations, you manifest in consciousness. If you want to be rich, you have to feel rich until it’s natural and becomes your state of consciousness. If you feel poor, no amount of affirmation would work. 

If you haven’t been successful in manifesting what you want or applying the law of attraction, read this book. It’s helpful.

Amazon: Print | eBook | Audio

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4. Letting Go by David Hawkins

“The person who suffers from inner poverty is relentlessly driven to accumulate on the material level.”

What first led me to this author is the book cover. For many years, I have seen David Hawkins’s books on Amazon and I am intrigued by the book cover. 

The design is simple yet memorable and I love the colors chosen for the series. It makes me wonder what’s inside the book.

This year, I finally read two of his most popular books. I would say Letting Go is a much better read than his other book, Power Vs Force. I guess it’s because the former focuses on our inner landscape such as our emotions and attachments while the latter focuses more on the external world such as politics, sports, and commerce.

However, I resonate with The Map of Consciousness, which is the foundation of all his books. It lays out a spectrum of consciousness on a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1,000, from shame to enlightenment.

This book is great for readers who want to free themselves from negativity and unwanted feelings. In this book, you learn to be aware of your feelings and let them go.

The book also covers various dimensions of human life such as physical health, vocational fulfillment, and relationships. So there’s something for everyone.

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5. Superfans by Pat Flynn

“Instead of spending money on ads, spend more time on people.”

Ever since 2016 when I got interested in spirituality, I haven’t been reading many business books. But one author who I’ll read whenever he has a new book is Pat Flynn. He is someone I have been following for many years.

When searching for books to read, some readers might prefer a practical, systematic guide while others might prefer books with anecdotes. I love both and this book has both. 

First, this book is about growing your tribe. I love how Pat structures the book in such a way that helps entrepreneurs like me nurture our audience. He groups the audience into casual, active, connected, and superfans, and shares the action steps you can do to nurture your audience to the next level.

Second, I enjoy reading about his story, mistakes, challenges, and how he overcame them. I love learning through other people’s reflections and experiences.

Most importantly, his book is a huge reminder for me to pay more attention to the audience, and not the data!

For more business and productivity books, check out my book list in 2015.

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6. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss

“We are frightfully concerned with our own deaths, sometimes so much so that we forget the real purpose of our lives.”

Early this year in April, I was curious about past-life regression. So I read this book by Brian Weiss as he is well-known for this topic.

This biography is based on the author’s experience as a psychiatrist. It tells the story of a young woman, Catherine, who needed help with her anxiety. After trying various therapies that didn’t work, they tried hypnosis and his patient began to recall past-life traumas during her trance states.

Skeptical at first, his skepticism was soon eroded when she began to channel messages from her past lives and revealed information about his family and his dead son.

It is an interesting read but I didn’t think much about it until September when I recalled images from my past life during meditation. To keep the story short, I was a witch. One day, I sensed danger and my intuition told me to leave home. But not wanting to abandon my husband, I stayed. In the end, I was burned alive by a group of men.

This story helps to explain many things in my life. Whether the story is true or not, it doesn’t matter. What’s more important is how I can apply the lessons from the past to the present and the future. It reminds me to trust my intuition more!

Amazon: Print | eBook | Audio

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7. The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

After reading books by Thich Nhat Hanh for many years, I decided to explore other Buddhist authors and books. 

If you are like me who prefer spiritual principles to be presented in a relatable and secular manner, then this Buddhist book is for you. 

Written by a psychiatrist, the author interviews the Dalai Lama extensively to find out what happiness is and how we can attain it. Combining the East and the West, this book includes both the transcriptions of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and the author’s own observations and reflections based on his psychological background. 

Together through conversations, stories, and meditations, they show us how to transcend suffering and overcome anxiety, insecurity, anger, and discouragement. 

It’s great for people who enjoy learning both spirituality and psychology.

Amazon: Print | eBook | Audio

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8. The End of Your World by Adyashanti

“Until the whole world is free to agree with you or disagree with you — until you have given the whole world its freedom — you’ll never have your freedom.”

I first learned about this spiritual author from a friend. After seeing him posting photos of this book and other quotes from Adyashanti on social media for the past four years, I finally read this book.

This book is about spiritual awakening. It addresses the misunderstanding that many people have about this topic. For example, contrary to what most people think, awakening does not always feel good. It can be disorienting and challenging to integrate, and you might lose your motivation for life.

What I love most about this author is the clarity in his writing. It’s easy to digest even if you are a beginner in spirituality. So if you want a book that gives you great insights on how to live your life after awakening or you are currently experiencing a dark night of the soul, this book is for you.

Amazon: Print | eBook | Audio

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9. How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy​​

“You need your human frailty to be at least somewhat visible if you want to connect on an emotional level.”

Last year, I reignited my passion for songwriting. This year, I learned something new — music production. My love for music started way back as a kid. I remember I used to take music scores and recreate the song by placing music notes in computer software.

So I thought it would be nice to feature a book about music in this top 10 list. But this book isn’t only about songwriting techniques, it’s also about life and unlocking your creativity. And that’s why I enjoy reading this book.

The first part of the book addresses the obstacles we face in creating and how to make songwriting (or any form of creating for that matter) a habit. It’s only in the second part of the book that he started sharing exercises for songwriting. 

Whether you are a songwriter or not, we all are creators. We create our reality. This book encourages you to give yourself permission to be creative.

Amazon: Print | eBook | Audio

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10. The Magic Path of Intuition by Florence Scovel Shinn

“Prayer is telephoning to God, and intuition is God telephoning you.”

This is a book that I found by chance while researching books on intuition

While most books I read give me new information and insights, this book just put a smile on my face. As I was reading this small, little book, I was like, “This sentence resonates with me. That sentence resonates with me.” This book resonates with what I know deep inside about intuition.

Originally typewritten and unpublished, the manuscript was found in 2012 by a rare-books dealer and sent to Louise Hay and Hay House for publication. Filled with powerful affirmations and inspiring examples, this simple book will help you cultivate your intuition in areas, ranging from wealth to health.

I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the new year.

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Honorable Mentions

Below are a few other books I read in 2022 which didn’t make it to the list but are worth mentioning:

The Books I Published in 2022

This year, I published book number seven, the second book in my spiritual love series. I’ve started on book number eight but I might take a break from writing next year to focus on my YouTube channel.

Love Your Body by Yong Kang Chan

When I wrote and published this book in March. I didn’t know that the Universe is actually helping me prepare for what is to come — my father’s death. 

In this book, I talk about the relationship between our bodies and spirituality. I have three chapters on wellness and illness, and one chapter on death. 

Now, upon reflection and looking at the big picture, I realize how perfect the timing of the publication is. It helped me stay calm during this rollercoaster period and deal with grief. I always find it interesting how the Universe works in such a miraculous way that is beyond what our minds could imagine, think, and plan.

If you want to integrate both the spiritual and physical dimensions into your life, please check this book out. It will change your perception of beauty, health, and death.

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Yong Kang

Yong Kang

Hey there, I’m Yong Kang, best known as Nerdy Creator. I’m an author of seven books. I write about spirituality, self-compassion, and mindfulness. I love reading books, especially non-fiction. The list above is a combination of what I have read and my research. Each year, I create a Top 10 list of my favorite books.