Last year was a complicated year. And with more challenges yet to come, it’s important to go into 2023 well-armed for everything from personal well-being to the best tips for business and marketing success in a digital era. Take a look at 25 of the best books of 2022, and discover how you can better prepare yourself for the year ahead. In this roundup, you’ll find recommendations for the best books of 2022 about health and wellness, money, business, the future of work, marketing, and personal development.
Best health and wellness books of 2022
1. Move The Body, Heal The Mind: Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia and Improve Focus, Creativity, and Sleep
By Jennifer Heisz
At some point or other, most of us have been told that exercise is beneficial for us—not only for our physical health, but for our mental health as well. How often, however, is this explained to us beyond a simple statement that it works?
Jennifer Heisz, Ph.D., provides a further explanation. Move The Body, Heal The Mind offers readers an overview of the research surrounding the benefits of exercise for everything from anxiety to sleep to creativity, arming you with the knowledge and strategy you need to start—or return to—exercising. And with topics including overcoming the roadblocks to exercising, the connection between mental and physical health and “[Keeping] Your Brain Young,” there’s plenty for any reader to discover.
Full of practice exercises, advice and easy-to-read explanations, Move The Body, Heal The Mind is an excellent motivator for anyone looking to get started on their exercise journey.
2. State Change: End Anxiety, Beat Burnout, and Ignite a New Baseline of Energy and Flow
By Robin Berzin
When you begin to see your mind and body as truly connected, with each affecting the other, it becomes apparent just how important it is to take care of your body in order to care for your mind, and vice versa. In State Change, Robin Berzin, M.D., utilizes both existing research and experiences from her own work in order to discuss a more holistic way to care for yourself—a “State Change.”
In order to set that “new baseline for energy, calm and optimism,” however, you have to understand how it works. State Change provides readers with the tools and knowledge to begin improving our own lives—including discussions on eating better and overcoming our addictions to technology—and ends with a 30-day plan for a mental and physical reset. An informative and interesting read of great use in our current hustle culture, it is sure to encourage any reader on the path to improved well-being.
3. From Burnout to Balance: 60+ Healing Recipes and Simple Strategies to Boost Mood, Immunity, Focus, and Sleep
By Patricia Bannan
Burnout is one of the many unfortunate byproducts of our work-focused culture. But it can be hard to know how to change your lifestyle and keep it from happening—or recurring—in the future. Creating balance is easier said than done, and sometimes what we really need is a helping hand.
From Burnout to Balance is there to assist you on your journey. Author Patricia Bannan discusses topics including the facts behind burnout, the stories of women who escaped their own burnout loops and meal plans to target what she considers “the four core ailments related to burnout.” The book concludes with over 60 nutritious recipes to help you bring balance to your body as well as your mind.
Burnout is not an easy challenge to overcome. Learning to undo the patterns and behaviors that got you to that point will take time and effort. But, in the meantime—whether in the throes of burnout or trying to prevent it—From Burnout to Balance will help support you through improved nutrition and tips to regain some semblance of balance.
4. Yoga for Every Body: A beginner’s guide to the practice of yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation
By Luisa Ray
Yoga can be incredibly beneficial as a tool for everything from relaxation to improved physical health. But it can be difficult to know where to start—and how to practice. Even if you know that yoga is for you, with such a variety of styles and uses, sometimes we need a push in the right direction.
Yoga for Every Body is divided into three sections, discussing the benefits of yoga and the purpose of the book, postures to suit needs from grounding to increased focus to flexibility—with variations for different body types—and how to actually create your own personalized yoga practice. Perfect for beginners looking to understand the backbones of not only yoga’s uses but the practice itself, author Luisa Ray provides a detailed, accessible and illustrated guide to beginning your yoga practice and improving your life.
Best money books of 2022
1. Good Money Revolution: How to Make More Money to Do More Good
By Derrick Kinney
While making money for your own needs is important, it’s equally important to spend it in ways that aren’t only beneficial to yourself. Money itself—and the things you buy with it—do not guarantee your happiness. Serving others, however, is an assured method of serving yourself.
Divided into three sections—“Good Money,” “Bad Money” and “Good Money Giveaway”—Good Money Revolution covers a gamut of financial topics, from making money to overcoming debt, how money is holding you back and how it can serve you by serving others.
Money itself may not be the key to your happiness, but it can be part of it. Author Derrick Kinney provides a guide to earning money and spending it well—without judging your purchases, whether frivolous or necessary—and shows you how improving your money choices can improve your entire life.
2. Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away
By Julien and Kiersten Saunders
Most financial books—written through the eyes of white entrepreneurs or employees, with stories told from experiences shaped by the privileges they enjoy—cannot take into account the realities faced by Black Americans. Cashing Out shifts that view, presenting in equal measure a guide to personal finance and a discussion of how different experiences—specifically, those of Black Americans—affect the best “[models] of wealth accumulation” to utilize.
Divided into two sections—“Rethink Your Money” and “The Daily Struggle”—Cashing Out shares tools for financial stability that find their roots in Julien and Kiersten Saunders’ own experiences, including a five-year debt payoff and leaving the stressful world of corporate America to find wealth on their own terms. With topics including how to discuss money with partners and family without prompting a disagreement, making your money work for you and planning for financial independence with a 15-year career, Julien and Kiersten provide a detailed and practical guide to building wealth and achieving financial security.
3. Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love
By Tori Dunlap
While many of us are aware of just how important it is to understand money, women have oftentimes had to work harder to gain that understanding. Whether we were never taught how to properly make and spend money, or convinced ourselves we didn’t need to learn, many women are less financially educated than our male counterparts. And that’s something that could only be harmful to our personal lives and careers. Only being taught to save money, instead of using it in a way that benefits our present and future, keeps us and our money from reaching full potential.
Financial Feminist seeks to bridge that gap with topics like pinpointing your values to determine your spending, tools for paying off debt and creating—and meeting—an investment goal. Through a mix of exercises, education and stories from author Tori Dunlap and others, the book provides its readers with everything you need to begin your journey to financial freedom, empowering you to overcome the obstacles standing in your way.
Best business books of 2022
1. The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives
By Jonathan Malesic
Hustle culture is all well and good—getting more work done, earning the approval of your boss and coworkers—right up until you burn out, having pushed your body past what it was able to handle. It’s important to know how to keep from burning out again—or to avoid experiencing it altogether. But it’s equally important to understand the societal factors that affect burnout, and what needs to change not only in our own lives, but in the current systems as a whole.
Author Jonathan Malesic has personal experience with burnout—something that led him to quit his position as a tenured professor. Now, he’s sharing not only the history of burnout and the current workplace model, but the importance of dignity and the ways in which our current workplaces drive burnout—and what can be done to fix it. The End of Burnout provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the problem and a view into the world of those who have addressed the “failures of ethics” driving the issue.
2. Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back
By Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson with Heather Cabot
We live in a time of new businesses. Advice on how and why to start your own venture is proliferous, and interest is high. As people seek purpose, some choose to start their own small businesses and become their own boss, instead of trying to climb the ranks in a workplace that doesn’t appreciate them or isn’t quite what they dreamed of doing. And yet, the critical next step—keeping your small business successful, leveling it up—is where many people are tripping up.
Starting a small business may be easier than ever, but growing it is no small feat. Thankfully, authors Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson are here to help. With 15 years of entrepreneurial experience under their belts, the pair have faced a gamut of obstacles to overcome—and overcome them they have. Now, they are sharing not only their own story, but the knowledge they have accrued over the years in regard to building and growing a business. With topics including “Growing Out of Business” and “Know Your Numbers,” principles such as “Customers + Commerce = Capital” and “Level Up Now” to summarize key points, Level Up provides an insightful guide to building a successful small business.
3. Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
By Tony Fadell
Many want to make an impact and are looking to grow something, whether it’s building our career foundations as a newcomer to the job market or growing a team for our own company. But not all of us are sure of how to go about actually building that something in a way that is purposeful. Build is here to help us do that the right way, by finding our goals and passions and then continuing to strive to meet them.
Divided into six parts, each discussing a different stage of the career ladder, the book draws from author Tony Fadell’s experiences working at Apple and founding his own startups. He knows how important it is to seek to be more than average. Instead of making something for the sake of having a product, company or career, you should be invested in creating things that make their own mark. Whether or not they succeed, you’ve still learned and made something that you were actively invested in.
With advice for people across various career stages, Build is here to help us solve the problems we may face in a variety of positions, encouraging us to break out of the mold and “make things worth making.”
4. How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down
By Y-Vonne Hutchinson
As employees begin to demand better of their workplaces, employers are placing more focus on employee well-being and diversity. But what about the workplaces that aren’t making enough of the right changes, or any at all? How can you talk to your boss about changes that need to be made in a way that will ensure you’re heard?
It can be difficult to overcome your fear and begin a conversation, but How to Talk to Your Boss About Race is here to help. As a former international labor and human rights lawyer, and current CEO and founder of a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm, Y-Vonne Hutchinson is well-prepared to guide you through the push toward real change in the workplace.
From learning to spot the hallmarks of racism to taking advantage of the power of a group to tools for overcoming obstacles, Hutchinson leads you through the entire process of initiating conversations, including how to start making actionable changes—and when to back off—in her empowering and comprehensive toolkit to talking about race at work.
5. See, Solve, Scale: How Anyone Can Turn an Unsolved Problem into a Breakthrough Success
By Danny Warshay
While becoming an entrepreneur takes time and effort, it isn’t restricted to only a select few. With the right knowledge and application of skills, it’s possible for anyone. If this is your goal, author Danny Warshay is here to guide you through creating the beginnings of a business.
Inspired by “The Entrepreneurial Process” course taught by Warshay at Brown University, See, Solve, Scale seeks to achieve the same goal—walking its students through the process of beginning your own business ventures. Divided into three parts, the book covers a gamut of topics including the entrepreneurial process, finding a need to meet, gathering a team and funding and creating a pitch. Simultaneously a guide and problem-solving manual, See, Solve, Scale walks aspiring entrepreneurs through the steps you’ll need to take to start your own business, empowering you to do so with confidence.
6. How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold
By Maria Brito
We may have been told we can only be right- or left-brained, creative or logical, but there’s no reason you can’t be both. When entrepreneurship relies on both business acumen and the ability to innovate and brainstorm ideas, developing your creativity is invaluable to your success. So, where do you begin?
How Creativity Rules the World provides its readers—from those taking their first steps on the path to creativity to those improving their existing skills—with the tools you’ll need to take action. From discussing the ties between creativity and business to habits and tools including intuition, improvisation, deconstruction and repetition, author Maria Brito encourages readers to embrace creativity and work toward developing it. And the most important tool? Actually putting in the work. After all, simply waiting around for ideas to come will only breed disappointment.
Best books of 2022 about the future of work
1. Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work
By Ruchika Tulshyan
Most would agree that DEI initiatives are important in the workplace—but where we falter is in implementing them. To truly create more than surface-level change means putting in the time and effort to focus on both individual employees and the workplace culture as a whole.
Inclusion on Purpose provides a guide to creating that change, while focusing on the experiences and unique challenges faced by women of color in the workplace. From developing awareness to widening existing culture—instead of only hiring people who fit in—to cultivating “cultural humility,” author Ruchika Tulshyan covers myriad topics under the umbrella of recognizing the voices and contributions of women of color.
In the ever-shifting workplace of the present, employers and leaders have the opportunity to create real and significant change. Tulshyan offers tools and best practices for creating an inclusive workplace, providing readers with the foundation you need to begin the journey toward true progress.
2. Your Essential Guide to Sustainable Investing: How to live your values and achieve your financial goals with ESG, SRI, and Impact Investing
By Larry E. Swedroe and Samuel C. Adams
As concerns about climate change and social impacts grow stronger, people and businesses seek opportunities to do more good with their money. One of those ways? Sustainable investing. That is, considering the environmental, social and corporate governance concerns when choosing what companies to invest in, without sacrificing any of the monetary returns gained by investments.
Your Essential Guide to Sustainable Investing lives up to its name, providing current and aspiring investors with all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. From the what and how of sustainable investing to an overview of data, to tips for beginning your sustainable investment journey, authors Larry E. Swedroe and Samuel C. Adams cover the gamut of information investors look for before making a decision. A comprehensive and current resource, Your Essential Guide to Sustainable Investing provides readers with knowledge and tools for joining in on this up-and-coming trend in investing.
3. The Partnership Economy: How Modern Businesses Find New Customers, Grow Revenue, and Deliver Exceptional Experiences
By David A. Yovanno
Partnerships can be invaluable for your business, providing you with a boost in revenue and opportunities you might not otherwise have had access to. From garnering attention to loyalty, partnerships of all kinds offer myriad benefits. The question is, how much do you really know about building partnerships, how do you decide who to partner with and how do you make your partnerships last?
The Partnership Economy breaks down building and maintaining partnerships, offering readers the ability to learn everything you need to know in order to successfully and strategically form partnerships. Divided into four parts, the book explains partnerships and their benefits, discusses many of the types of partnerships you can create and shares tools for crafting your partnership—and planning its future. An interesting and comprehensive overview, author David A. Yovanno provides a toolkit for scaling your business and increasing your opportunities through strategic planning.
4. Cultivating Culture: 101 Ways to Foster Engagement in 15 Minutes or Less
By Brad Federman
As employees begin to demand greater focus on areas of the workplace such as DEI initiatives, recognition, flexibility and pay, reminders of culture and cultural shifts become necessary. A workplace without a strong company culture is lacking an important tool for strengthening values and increasing employee engagement. Of course, making that shift isn’t a quick and easy process,. It’s one that takes time, effort and the involvement of your team.
Cultivating Culture walks you through the process of strengthening your company culture and recultivating important workplace values. Focused on eight specific areas, the book provides over 100 activities for employees to engage in, each requiring 15 minutes or less of their time. A practical and engaging guide to strengthening and improving company culture, Cultivating Culture provides leaders with the tools you need to reengage employees and cement the values foundational to your business.
Best marketing books of 2022
1. The Hawke Method: The Three Principles of Marketing that Made Over 3,000 Brands Soar
By Erik Huberman
To truly draw attention to your company, it’s important to understand marketing and how to work it to your company’s benefit. Of course, even if you’re a successful business owner or entrepreneur, there’s always more to learn. For those new to the world of business, The Hawke Method is a fantastic place to start.
Authored by the CEO and founder of marketing consultancy agency Hawke Media, Erik Huberman, The Hawke Method provides readers with an introduction via a discussion of Hawke Media and its methods, before expanding on the tools you’ll need to find success in marketing through the use of what Huberman considers the three “core elements” of a successful marketing strategy. From ways to garner attention to gaining and maintaining loyalty to building your brand, The Hawke Method provides readers with a sounding board off of which to begin developing your marketing skills.
2. Moving to Outcomes: Why Partnerships are the Future of Marketing
By Robert Glazer and Matt Wool
Any business marketing their product will have to compete with the giants of their industry to gain attention. Though there is a chance of success, it is far more difficult to compete in the same spheres than it is to seek out smaller, less competitive channels.
One of those channels? Partnership marketing—a form of marketing that contains affiliate marketing as a subcategory. While it is not a new form of marketing, it is a market rife with potential. Utilizing success stories of existing brands and discussion of the shake-up occurring as “traditional digital marketing channels… rapidly [lose] efficacy for brands”—as well as why that is happening—the book provides readers with a thorough understanding of partnership marketing. Alongside an explanation as to its methods and uses, Moving to Outcomes is a guide for taking advantage of this yet-underutilized form of marketing, and how your organization will benefit in the process.
3. Using Behavioral Science in Marketing: Drive Customer Action and Loyalty by Prompting Instinctive Responses
By Nancy Harhut
Sometimes to find success, we need to take a less familiar path to unearth the results we’re looking for. And, beneficially, behavioral science and business are often complementary. After all, learning what your customers want and what marketing strategies attract them is invaluable.
Using Behavioral Science in Marketing teaches you exactly what the title promises—how to apply the tools of behavioral science to your marketing strategies. From understanding what goes into customer decision-making to storytelling to the principles of scarcity, reciprocity and consistency, author Nancy Harhut teaches readers to inspire action and “instinctive responses” from your customers. Alongside what to do, however, Harhut also explains what not to do when utilizing behavioral science in your marketing strategy, highlighting important tips and providing an “interactive template” to practice your new marketing strategy. Backed by case studies and examples from existing brands, Using Behavioral Science in Marketing provides business leaders with the chance to connect with your customers in a unique way, and in doing so, lift your voice above the crowd.
4. Prove It: Exactly How Modern Marketers Earn Trust
By Melanie Deziel and Phil M. Jones
Trust is an important aspect of successful marketing, but it’s not easy to come by. When money and profits are the name of the game, many consumers worry about what businesses are hiding and whether they’ll live up the promises they make. Just saying you’ll do something provides little in the way of reassurance. To truly win audience trust, you have to prove it.
In Prove It, authors Melanie Deziel and Phil M. Jones walk readers through providing consumers with the evidence they need to trust that you’ll live up to your promises. Divided into two parts—“Where’s the Proof?” and “How to Prove It”—Prove It discusses the types of claims businesses make, how and why you need to provide your audience with evidence and the five things you’ll need to prove. With a plethora of strategies and tools at your disposal, all that’s left to you is the execution. Now, go out and prove it.
5. The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI
By Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley
As our world becomes increasingly digital-focused, we must shift our approaches accordingly. This doesn’t mean becoming an expert in all things technological, of course. It does mean gaining a deeper understanding of the tools available to us, how best to use them and the ways in which these digital spaces will transform—and how your business will need to pivot with them.
The Digital Mindset is divided into three approaches—“Collaboration,” “Computation” and “Change”—and the changes in perspective and action necessary for each, including working alongside AI and the necessity of experimentation. Alongside these, authors Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley share their “30% Rule”—that is, the minimum degree of competence and understanding necessary to begin “[creating] the platforms from which you’ll start to think differently—to think digitally.”
The Digital Mindset is a comprehensive, easy-to-understand guide for anyone wanting to create the shift to a digital mindset, providing readers with everything needed to reach that 30%.
Best personal development books of 2022
1. From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
By Arthur C. Brooks
The more success we attain and work we put in throughout the first half of our lives, the harder it hits to anticipate an end to all of that. But the second half of your life shouldn’t bring about a rise of uncertainty and purposelessness. Instead, it has the potential to be even more fulfilling than the first, if you utilize the right tools.
From Strength to Strength guides readers through beginning the “second curve” in your life, one which provides its own sense of fulfillment, happiness and advantage of the wisdom and changes that come with time. From overcoming your need to achieve success at all costs to learning how to add things to your life, removing what you no longer need, author Arthur C. Brooks shows readers how to overcome your fears about aging and instead take advantage of this new chapter.
2. Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
By Tunde Oyeneyin
From Tunde Oyeneyin, makeup artist and Peloton cycling instructor, comes Speak, a simultaneous memoir and motivational guide.
Each chapter shares a part of her life through the lens of five pillars—“Surrender,” “Power,” “Empathy,” “Authenticity” and “Knowledge”—alongside guidance and discussion. With topics including “The Perfect Dress,” a story that discusses Oyeneyin’s early-age struggles with her weight and her realizations about how people can become trapped by their insecurity, Speak provides encouragement and empowerment without being an explicit self-help guide.
Constantly gripping and scattered with advice and intriguing insights, the book is excellent for readers looking for motivation. After all, “The beauty of uncertainty is infinite possibility,” and there is a silver lining in every obstacle we face.
3. Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole
By Susan Cain
Sorrow is a nearly inevitable part of human existence. Whether for the loss of something known to us or that we never got the chance to have, it is for many of us something we only seek to overcome and move past. In Bittersweet, author Susan Cain argues that the bittersweetness of sorrow has its own purpose, and one that can be used to our advantage instead of just becoming something to sweep under the rug.
Sadness might seem like something we would prefer to avoid entirely. But just as sorrow without joy would feel never-ending, so too would the joys of life eventually lose their ability to provoke emotional responses. After all, joy unmediated by sorrow is its own kind of unending. From sorrow’s connections to creativity, to overcoming “enforced positivity” and learning how to transform that bittersweet pain, Bittersweet provides readers with a guide to making the most of something we really only think we’d like to lose.
Photo by Ground Picture/Shutterstock