--- title: Animal Joy: 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 description: Find out why "Animal Joy" by Nuar Alsadir is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. canonical: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-11-14T12:58:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:11:38.537Z og:title: 'Animal Joy' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 og:description: Here's why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta33b506f4f492d64/698a37b8457a521a2dd670b8/AnimalJoy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'Animal Joy' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Animal Joy' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 twitter:description: Here's why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta33b506f4f492d64/698a37b8457a521a2dd670b8/AnimalJoy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Animal Joy by Nuar Alsadir by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  Laughter is powerful: it can be a signal of joy, or a response to an uncomfortable moment. The unique noise of an infectious laugh can dominate a room in an instant. Poet and psychoanalyst Nuar Alsadir offers a study of [laughter](https://time.com/3592134/laughing-health-benefits/) in her deftly researched and personal book _Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation_, which explores how laughter can help us connect not only to one another but also to our deepest selves. From recounting her time in clown school to reflecting on her relationship with her daughters, Alsadir crafts a candid narrative about the way laughter can be expressed and what it says about who we are. —_Annabel Gutterman_ **Buy Now**: _Animal Joy_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781644450932) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3DTwtRG) **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F)**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/"},"headline":"Animal Joy","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:58:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:11:38.537Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta33b506f4f492d64/698a37b8457a521a2dd670b8/AnimalJoy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta33b506f4f492d64/698a37b8457a521a2dd670b8/AnimalJoy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228432/animal-joy/","name":"Animal Joy"}}]}] ```