The Skinny's Books of 2022: Our Writers' Favourites

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (Picador)

When a deep-sea expedition goes quietly and monstrously awry, marine researcher Leah returns to her wife Miri after too many months away, haunted and unnervingly changed. Julia Armfield’s debut novel is a masterclass in ecological horror and truly one of the most haunting things I have ever read: murky and dreadful and horribly romantic, I was left dazed and immoveable. Anahit Behrooz, Books Editor

Honourable mentions:
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho (Viking Press)
there are more things by Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Fleet)
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda (Virago)
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Penguin)

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Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Pan Macmillan)

A cosy slice-of-life 'low stakes' fantasy sprinkled with romance, following a retired orc who seeks a new type of adventure and opens a cafe. The novel equivalent of a comforting cup of tea. I truly would love to spend time living in this world! Katalina Watt, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster)
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (Pan Macmillan)
What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri (Feiwel & Friends)
None of the Above by Travis Alabanza (Canongate)

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Spaceships Over Glasgow by Stuart Braithwaite (White Rabbit Books)

The story of how the son of Scotland's only telescope maker made his indelible mark on the nation's music scene, this book is as much a love letter to the Barrowland Ballroom as it is anything else. Despite Mogwai gigs becoming a mainstay of the venue (Christmas weekend this year, anyone?), Braithwaite's continuing delight at getting to play there is evident.

A whole chapter is given to sneaking in to see The Cure, aged 14 and hoping to be mistaken for a grown woman, with the androgynous fashion of the band's fanbase to thank for the plan's success. At times hedonistic and brash; other times tender and lightly remorseful. Louis Cammell, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
The Babel Message by Keith Kahn-Harris (Icon Books)
The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight (Faber)
The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James (Vintage)
You've Got Red On You: How Shaun of the Dead was Brought to Life by Clark Collis (1984 Publishing)

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Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (HarperCollins)

It's hard to believe that Boy Swallows Universe is a debut novel. It commands your attention from the very first sentence and doesn't let you go until the very last word. On the surface, it's a coming-of-age novel set in 1960s Brisbane, but at its heart, it's a rip-roaring tale of family, love, crime and fate with a sprinkling of magic that makes it truly unique. I will be recommending this novel for a very long time. Kerri Logan, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas (Pan Macmillan)
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (Bloomsbury)
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Cornerstone)
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (Bloomsbury)

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Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (HarperCollins)

Juno Dawson shrewdly interrogates the UK's current political climate in this smart, fun and often funny contemporary fantasy: a splash of cold water in the face for adult fans of Harry Potter. Eris Young, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Sterling Karat Gold by Isabel Waidner (Peninsula Press)
The Trans Guide to Mental Health and Well-Being by Katy Lees (Hachette)
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova (Atlantic Books)
Seven Mercies by LR Lam (Orion)

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You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (Faber)

I loved You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty because of its raw escapism. I read it in a single sitting and found it such a release; it covered grief, love and beauty in a way that was freeing. The richness of language and description was comforting; to be able to focus on beauty in a time where the world and world news felt like a sensory overload of ugliness was a relief. Josephine Jay, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Pan Macmillan)
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami, trans. by Sam Bett and David Boyd (Pan Macmillan)
They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of DnD by Thom James Carter (404 Ink)
Time is A Mother by Ocean Vuong (Vintage)

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Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova (Atlantic Books)

I adored Camilla Grudova's Children of Paradise, a grotesque ode to the sticky depths of Edinburgh's beloved independent cinemas and the invisible workforce who lurk the aisles after dark. Above all, it's a tale of how these pockets of eccentricity can be gouged out of a city by an uncaring market, and has felt all the more relevant as the year has gone on. Paula Lacey, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh (Vintage)
Orpheus Builds a Girl by Heather Parry (Belgravia Books)
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt (Cipher Press)
Nevada by Imogen Binnie (Picador)

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All Down Darkness Wide by Seán Hewitt (Jonathan Cape)

Seán Hewitt’s powerful memoir All Down Darkness Wide overflows with reflective thoughts on love, loss, and desire. Hewitt writes intimately about the pain and trauma of existing in a homophobic world while never losing sight of hope. This is an exceptionally generous act of storytelling, and his readers are the richer for it. Andrés Ordorica, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Bolla by Pajtim Statovci (Faber)
The Nerves and Their Endings by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson (Scribe)
there are more things by Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Fleet)
Standing Heavy by GauZ (Hachette)

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Emergency by Daisy Hildyard (Fitzcarraldo)

Gothic, corporal and unsettling, everything connects in Emergency. Daisy Hildyard’s lyrical novel weaves together a landscape’s past, present and future into a tapestry of pastoral Britain in a climate crisis. It’s a stunning, merciful achievement. Katie Goh, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
The Trees by Percival Everett (Influx Press)
Cocoon by Zhang Yueran, trans. by Jeremy Tiang (World Editions)
All Down Darkness Wide by Seán Hewitt (Jonathan Cape)
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova (Atlantic)

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This Is Not a Pity Memoir by Abi Morgan (John Murray)

This book broke my heart with its humour, darkness and honesty. Morgan’s language is at once both lyrical and blunt. This is the mediation on love and grief that we all need to read. Laila Ghaffar, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Alison by Lizzy Stewart (Profile Books Ltd)
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat (Little, Brown Book)
This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by Arab LGBTQ Authors by Elias Jahshan (Saqi Books)
My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes (HarperCollins)

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The Voids by Ryan O'Connor (Scribe)

Honest, artistic, brutal, yet beautiful – Ryan O'Connor's debut novel The Voids introduced an invigorating and energizing new voice to Scottish writing, and that is always something to celebrate. Alistair Braidwood, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Hex by Jenni Fagan (Polygon)
Industry of Magic & Light by David Keenan (White Rabbit Books)
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Saraband)
The Sound Of Being Human by Jude Rogers (White Rabbit Books)

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Boy Friends by Michael Pedersen (Faber)

Taking friendship, love and grief in his inimitable stride, Michael Pedersen rocks through friendships come and gone – and those that will never leave. Boy Friends is a sparkling, soulful ode to his favourite male pals that incites laughter, tears and irremediable longing. Kirstyn Smith, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Hysterical by Pragya Agarwal (Canongate)
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt (Cipher Press)
They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of DnD by Thom James Carter (404 Ink)
Carrie Kills a Man by Carrie Marshall (404 Ink)

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Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Vintage)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a gorgeous exploration of friendship, creativity, partnership, love and lust among a trio of video game designers as the gaming industry begins to boom. Zevin’s writing is poetic, the plot is entertaining, moving and gripping and the nods to real life video games make it all feel incredibly real. Nasim Rebecca Asl, Books Columnist

Honourable mentions:
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu (Bloomsbury)
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Vintage)
Blood Salt Spring by Hannah Lavery (Birlinn)
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (Pan Macmillan)

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Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Vintage)

A total love letter to life in all its joy and pain, to friendship, creativity, gaming, and play. Sam, Sadie, and Marx are characters that will live in me forever and I almost can’t believe they aren’t real people. Reading this is almost like an invitation from Zevin to enter a game, where there are references within references, with every scene and moment so carefully constructed. Just brilliant. Sim Bajwa, Books Team

Honourable mentions:
Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (Oneworld Publications)
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster)
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (Orbit)
Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne (Avon)