Scala Radio Book Club: Mark Forrest's Top 5 Books of the Year
Mark selects some of his favourIte books from 2022
Last updated 22nd Dec 2022
Every Thursday on Scala Radio, Mark Forrest invites an author onto his show to discuss their latest book. This year, we've welcomed best-selling authors including Ruth Jones, Adele Parks, and even our very own Simon Mayo!
As 2022 comes to a close, Mark has highlighted some of his favourite books from the last year. Whilst not a definitive ‘best of’ list, this is simply a celebration of the books which stood out to Mark across 2022.
Here are Mark Forrest's top 5 books of 2022:
Jo Browning Wroe – A Terrible Kindness
An assured debut, a rite of passage novel about a young undertaker attempting to come to terms with his past, set against the backdrop of the 1966 Aberfan disaster.
Karen Joy Fowler – Booth
The story of the Booth family, a 19th century theatrical dynasty. It's a family epic told through major historical events leading up to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by one of the sons John Wilkes Booth.
Douglas Stuart – Young Mungo
Douglas won the Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain. This book returns to the streets of working-class Glasgow and a young man dealing with family violence, and drugs and falling in love for the first time. There are two separate narratives full of writing that's rich, layered and evocative and the set pieces are gripping.
Hernan Diaz – Trust
Four books in one tell the story of a Wall Street businessman and his wife in the years leading up to the Great Depression. Fact and fiction intertwine in the murky world of finance. Kate Winslet will play the lead in the screen adaptation.
Robbie Arnott – Limberlost
Robbie was inspired by stories his grandfather told him to write this coming of age tale of a young man living on a farm in Northern Tasmania during the Second World War. It beautifully recreates the sounds, smells, animals and the people who live and work the land in this remote countryside.
Find out about more Scala Radio Book Club guests here >>