Life might feel a little uncertain right now, but one thing we know is that there will always be good books to read, and the fresh releases coming down the pipeline in 2022 couldn’t be more exciting. There are novels from some of our favourite authors, memoirs we guarantee everyone is going to be talking about, and debut releases that we know we’ll fall in love with. It looks like 2022 is shaping up to be a huge reading year for all of us, and we cannot wait.

Whether one of your new year's goals is to read more or you're already a certified bookworm, we've rounded up a selection of exciting new works that will be hitting the shelves throughout the year and that we think you should add to your reading list. 

19 Best New Books To Read in 2022

1. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara 

This is the new book from Hanya Yanagihara, author of A Little Life aka the book that made us sob and sob and sob through the entire reading process. Like A Little Life, To Paradise is a proper saga: meaty and considered and full of themes to dig into, and we know that this book, released in January, is already one of the year’s most hotly anticipated. 

2. Love Marriage by Monica Ali

Brick Lane author Monica Ali’s new book is a romantic saga about two star-crossed lovers, Yasmin and Joe, as they navigate their marriage plot in modern-day England. A great summer read with characters you’ll fall in love with, on sale in early February.

3. Strangers I Know by Claudia Durastanti

Fans of Elena Ferrante and Ocean Vuong will love Strangers I Know, a tale of immigration and class concerns from an acclaimed Italian writer, translated into English and released in Australia in February. We are looking forward to reading this one.

4. A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley

In Jessica Stanley’s novel, John Clare – a fictional trade union leader instrumental in Labor party politics in the mid-00s – is dead, and a year later the women in his life are still processing his absence. This is a fantastic read set in Melbourne during the heady years of Kevin07, featuring a cast of characters who leap off the page and into the streets of Fitzroy and Brunswick that they occupy in the novel. On sale in late February, we are sure that this will be a beloved book club pick and a favourite among anyone who loves a political saga.

5. Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

Speaking of political sagas, we loved Sarah Vaughan’s previous novel Anatomy of A Scandal – soon to be a Netflix miniseries – and can’t wait for Reputation, on sale in March. The author’s skill in crafting a juicy thriller is unmatched, and this story about a politician implicated in the murder of a tabloid journalist, will have you enthralled to the last page.

6. Ten Steps To Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

If you are still thinking about Nanette, Hannah Gadsby’s searing Netflix comedy special, we guarantee you will want to read her memoir, on sale in March. We are eagerly awaiting its release, as it promises to dig into Gadsby’s life leading up to her comedic career, as well as the writing of her groundbreakeing comedy special.

7. The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

On sale in March here in Australia, The School For Good Mothers has already been released overseas to critical acclaim. A truly gripping novel about Frida Liu, a woman sent to a facility to be re-educated as a parent. The book’s commentary on perfectionism and the way we view the labour of mothering is incisive and has been praised by Pandora Sykes as “haunting”. Count us very excited.

8. Brazen by Julia Haart  

If you loved My Unorthodox Life, the Netflix reality series about modelling agent Julia Haart and her family adjusting to non religious life in New York, get ready for Brazen, her highly anticipated memoir. Set to be released in March, we bet this book is going to be a juicy and un-putdownable look into Haart’s childhood and youth in an ultra religious community, and then her later years in the high flying world of luxury fashion.

9. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley  

We love a good thriller, and Lucy Foley – author of The Hunting Party – is a master of the genre. The Paris Apartment is her latest, following on the million copy bestselling success of her previous titles, set in a historic Parisian apartment building where a mysterious crime has taken place… And everyone is a suspect. Big Only Murders In The Building energy – only French, which makes it even juicier. This one is released in March.

10. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 

With rave reviews from Elizabeth Day and Nigella Lawson already out, Lessons in Chemistry is looking like one of 2022’s most exciting books. Set for release in March, the story follows a ‘60s-era scientist who becomes an unlikely television star, is sharp and eminently readable. A television series starring Brie Larson is already in the works.

11. The Most Important Job In The World by Gina Rushton

Gina Rushton’s work of non fiction The Most Important Job In The World is a brilliant look into motherhood and the questions we ask ourselves as we decide to become – or not become – a parent. Weaving together expert interviews and case studies with personal experience, Rushton’s book is a crucial one and serves a very important purpose for anyone thinking about motherhood. On sale in April.

12. Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron

Delia Ephron – sister to Nora, and co-writer of her beloved films including You’ve Got Mail – has written a new memoir based on her incredible love story in her 70s with her college romance, rekindled after the death of Ephron’s husband of 35 years. Poignant and tender and still so sharp, Ephron has written about this story before for the New York Times, but this memoir is sure to expand and shade in all the details in a way that will be unforgettable. On sale in April.

13. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel

The author of Station Eleven, one of the best books about a pandemic, and a book that gave all who read it in the depths of early Covid-19 in 2020 a lot of hope, has a new novel in 2022. Set to be released in April, Sea of Tranquility is a tale of time travel, zipping back and forth through the centuries from the early 1900s to well into the 2000s. The premise sounds intriguing, and if anyone can make a sci-fi story grounded in humanity and realism it’s St John Mandel.

14. Mean Baby by Selma Blair  

Coming in April is Mean Baby, the memoir from Selma Blair about her life thus far, a funny and unflinching look at fame, beauty, health, addiction and more, charting her personal life, her most famous roles and, now, her diagnosis with MS. This book is highly anticipated for a reason, and we know it will be on everyone’s must-read lists come April.

15. The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

It’s finally here. Tina Brown – author of The Diana Chronicles and former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker – is back with her latest book on the royal family, this time taking in everything that has gone down since the death of Diana Spencer in 1997. 2022 is a huge year for the royal family: it’s both the anniversary of Diana’s death and the Queen’s Jubilee, and the timing is right for Brown to wade back into the water with the royal family again. This book will be released in May, and you better believe we have pre-ordered it already.  

16. Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley  

This one isn’t out until June, but we already can’t wait to read it. Poet Leila Mottley wrote this book when she was a teenager, and is set on the mean streets of Los Angeles where a young woman is forced to become involved in a police cover up that puts her life and her family at risk. Mottley is being called “once in a generation”, and whenever those words are tossed around, we have to sit up and listen.  

17. Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh  

New Ottessa Moshfegh. What more do you need to know? The author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation is back with a new novel and we ceouldn’t be more excited. We even have the release date in June marked in our calendar. It’s a spiritual and sinister tale set in a Medieval town, and sounds incredibly intriguing.  

18. Marshmallow by Victoria Hannan

We were huge fans of Australian writer Victoria Hannan’s debut novel Kokomo, so we’re eagerly awaiting the release of her follow up Marshmallow, slated for release in September. Other than a title, we don’t know much else, but we definitely will be reading this the second it comes out.

19. Brittany Higgins’ memoir  

Brittany Higgins’ untitled memoir, about her assault inside Australia's Parliament House, is set to be released later in 2022. Higgins’ story is a shocking one and she has emerged as a figure of strength and resilience ever since she first began speaking truth to power in 2021. This book is at the very top of our must-read list for the coming year, as we know it will be for many of you.

Need more book suggestions? Here are 11 Beach Reads to Keep You Entertained This Summer