10 underrated books in 2022

A selection of Australian books published in 2022 that deserve a chance when you browse in your favourite bookstore for presents.

It’s that time of year again when ‘Best of’ lists begin to dominate across the arts media, and the same names and productions are festooned with awards, leaving other equally deserving titles forgotten and trailing in their wake. Here, hence, is a selection of personally curated underrated books (a couple are even debuts) that have perhaps flown under the radar.

Hovering, Rhett Davis

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Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025. Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy