My Favorite Books for 2022
Elizabeth Fanslow
I read quite a few books in 2022 and normally my book genre of choice is business books. I have read them most of my adult life and I have learned so much from them. I will never pass up a good business book, but this year my attention moved toward books that dug a bit deeper both personally and for the paper shop.
While I have read a ton of fiction books this year as well…these four books made the most impact:
1. Little Stories of Your Life – Laura Pashby
2. If you find this Letter – Hannah Brencher
3. The Forever Letter – Elana Zaiman
4. I Want to Thank You – Gina Hamadey
The Little Stories of Your Life book by Laura Pashby was my most favorite. The book shared all about storytelling using pictures and your words. "Find your voice, share your world and tell your story." I've always loved to take pictures of things that create an emotion within me. If anyone were to look at the pictures on my phone they might be confused as to why I took the picture - and that is why I fell in love with this book. It teaches you how to create stories around the pictures...how to share the emotion of what you were feeling at the time you took the picture. How to share memories, observations...snippets of time.
If you find this Letter by Hannah Brencher was the book that started the Laurel Love Letters program. I loved reading Hannah's story about how she started writing letter to strangers and the impact those letters had on others. Those letters helped Hannah almost as much as they did the strangers she wrote them too...her memoir was moving and it helped me create some love in Laurel and we will continue to do special events with Laurel Love Letters!
The Forever Letter written by Elana Zaiman was another one of my favorites that I happen to stumble upon and I am so glad that I did. This book was inspired by a centuries old Jewish tradition called the ethical will. Zaiman shares her mission of why it's so important to write that forever letter to your loved ones. It's about passing on "wisdom, humbling experience, dreams, and love from one person to another." If you're not sure how or where to start...Zaiman gives you all the instruction and direction you will ever need!
I Want to Thank You by Gina Hamadey was a book about her project of sharing a year of gratitude through thank you letters. Her reasoning for doing this project was to 'reconnect parts of her life that she missed, to put something positive out in the world, to return to something she loved which was to write with pens and paper, to get in touch with people who mean something to her...and most importantly to see what would come of it.' She chose 12-themes (one for each month) and it was so interesting to hear her process of how and why she sent thank you cards to specific people.
You may not have heard of any of these books before or these authors, but I think that is always the fun of finding new books and learning from them. While it is fun to read fiction...it's not always my favorite. I much prefer a good book with a good message. Something that teaches, mentors and shares an opportunity for growth!
How about you? What are some of the books you've enjoyed this year? Share in the comments below.
