First, there are two books I haven’t read yet — new translations — but they are almost certainly excellent and deserving of mention. They are:
Ovid, Metamorphoses, translated by Stephanie McCarter.
Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed, translated by Michael F. Moore.
From fiction I would add to my earlier list:
R.F. Kuang, Babel: An Arcane History,
and Olivier Guez, The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, excellent and easy to read in one sitting.
In non-fiction I would give especially high ratings to the following additions:
Andrew Mellor, The Northern Silence: Journeys in Nordic Music & Culture. I will read this one again. It assumes some knowledge of the Nordic countries and also some knowledge of classical music, but it is exactly the kind of book I hope people will write. It explains at a conceptual level how those countries built up such effective networks of musical production and consumption.
Keiron Pim, Endless Flight: The Life of Joseph Roth. Gripping throughout.
Rodric Braithwaite, Russia: Myths and Realities. Perhaps a little simple for some readers, but probably the best place to start on the topic of Russian history.
Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair. The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969-1973. Having now finished the work, I can’t think of any biography that better integrates the tale of the life and the tale of the creative work. And it changed my views on Paul a good deal, for instance he wrote many of his best solo songs earlier than I had thought.
Here is my earlier non-fiction list for 2022.
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