What Your English Teacher Read Last Year
February 17, 2023
In December, Spotify delivers music listening statistics with “Spotify Wrapped,” and the Goodreads Reading Challenge draws to an end. Readers can reflect on all the books they read in 2022 with “My Year in Books”, displaying the longest book and highest rated book a user has read. For Baruch College Campus High School’s reading year in review, we talked to Baruch English teachers about their favorite books of 2022.
MS CASTAGNA – 9th and 10th grade Global Literature
What’s your favorite book genre?
I like realistic fiction.
What was your favorite book from 2022?
The book that made the most impact on me was Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It really made me rethink our whole justice system and just systemic racism in our country and I’m excited that it’s gonna be one of our nonfiction books in our upcoming book club unit in 10th grade.
Are there any books coming out this year that you’re looking forward to?
I’m not the kind of person who waits for books to come out. What I’m reading now is a novella called Foster by Claire Keegan. Ms Ross gave it to me for my birthday and it’s a really sweet story about a girl growing up with foster parents on a farm in Ireland. It’s really beautifully written and I love that it’s through the eyes of a child.
MR LEWIS – 9th and 10th grade English
What’s your favorite book genre?
I love horror.
What was your favorite book from 2022?
I do read real books, but Junji Ito’s Uzumaki. I read it last year and that manga was just crazy, just amazing.
Are there any books coming out this year that you’re looking forward to?
I would say I’m excited for Brandon Sanderson is coming out with the, unless the rumors are wrong, the fifth book in the Stormlight Archives. So once that comes out I’m gonna have to read that for sure.
MS ROSS – 11th Grade English and 12th Grade AP Literature
What’s your favorite book genre?
Fiction generally, but a little bit of everything, really.
What was your favorite book from 2022?
My favorite book of 2022 was The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen. It was a genre-bending piece of genius and the acknowledgements in the back clarify the impetus for writing the book, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It’s a short read, but dense and beautiful and about families and history. And it’s also laugh-out-loud funny at times. I loved it.
Are there any books coming out this year that you’re looking forward to?
I’m kind of a lemming. I wait for books to get acclaim before I read them, so I’m not on the cutting edge of what’s coming out. I’m still [reading books from] 2016. Like Mr. Keijzer, I like a well-vetted book.
MR DOWNES-ANGUS – 11th Grade AP Language and Composition and 12th Grade English
What’s your favorite book genre?
I mean, lately, I’ve gotten really interested in long-form non-fiction. Just, like, interesting non-fiction.
What was your favorite book from 2022?
In terms of things published in 2022, Sojourn by Amit Chaudhuri was my favorite. I’ve been liking non-fiction lately, and I’ve been liking books that present themselves as brief moments in a person’s life and this was kind of like that. I also liked that it was an Indian writer working in Berlin and him reflecting on his own identity in Germany was interesting for reasons that felt like a worthwhile read.
Are there any books coming out this year that you’re looking forward to?
This is one of my favorite writers. The Road to the City by Natalia Ginzburg. Out July fourth. I’ll be on summer break. You should definitely read stuff by her, she’s really really cool.