I think that it’s safe to say that 2020 should just be a write-off. None of us knew – when we were all writing our end of 2019 posts – how bad this year would be, how much each and every one of us would lose, the shocks that we would endure, the stresses that we would go through. To be honest, when the Australian bush fires happened at the beginning of the year, when there was a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad, I guess that was our warning that 2020 would be pure shit.

Because I work in a pub, I have hardly worked this year, which means that my bank has definitely been under stress, but I’ve gotten through it thanks to my Mom.

Anyway, this post is a book tag, so let us get started…

 

Best Book You’ve Read in 2020

I had to read Girl, Woman, Other for my MA Creative Writing course and I loved it so much. The writing, the characters, just everything about it was amazing. I listened to both Allegedly and Crier’s War on audiobook and I think the narration made me love the stories even more. Allegedly was such an important, heart-wrenching, shocking novel, and Crier’s War was a fantastic fantasy debut that completely captured my attention.

 

 

Worst Book You’ve Read in 2020

I had to read both of these books for my MA Creative Writing course, and OH MY LIFE, they were so dull! Don’t get me wrong, there were parts of Possession that were kind of okay, but I really wanted to skim through the rest. And don’t get me started on The Quickening Maze. I didn’t understand any of it, and I’ve got no intention of reading either one ever again.

 

Best Sequel You’ve Read in 2020

 

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon was the most obvious choice for me. It was concise, intriguing, I loved the character development and the narrator for the audiobook was amazing.

 

Best Duology/Trilogy/Quartet/Series You’ve Read in 2020

It genuinely feels like I read these last year, but obviously not! I listened to the whole series on audiobook and I just couldn’t get enough of these characters!! I loved every single one and I never wanted the series to end. It’s definitely a series that I can see myself re-reading multiple times.

 

New Release You Haven’t Read, But Want To

 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong has been on my radar for aaaaggggeeeessss, and now I finally have it thanks to Fairy Loot, but I can’t really see me getting around to reading it before the end of 2020. You never know, I could surprise myself.

 

 

Most Anticipated Release for 2021

I really couldn’t pick one release from 2021, but these are the first three that popped into my head which means I must be pretty excited for them! I’ve got an ARC of The Mask Falling, so I’m hoping to get to that soon!

 

Biggest Surprise

 

 

Favourite New Author (Or New to You)

Tiffany D. Jackson is definitely my new favourite author. After reading Allegedly, I was immediately captivated by her writing style. I do actually have a few more of her books, and as soon as I read Allegedly, her other books zoomed up my TBR pile.

Newest Favourite Character

Imma have to say, my boy, Nikolai Lantsov. Look, I know I’m late to the whole Grisha world, but at least I FINALLY DID IT! I heard everyone go on about how amazing The Darkling was, but it was Nikolai who really captured my attention. His wit and humour, his love for his people… he was such an amazing character, and I can’t wait to read about him even more in King of Scars.

 

 

Book That Made You Cry/Upset

Book That Made You Laugh/Happy

The Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud was a series that kept me smiling throughout the whole thing. I can see why people of all ages love these books, and like The Diviners, this is a series that I can also see myself re-reading multiple times!

 

Favourite Book To Film/TV Adaptation

I actually don’t think I’ve seen one? I don’t know because this year has just blurred so much. Did the second Lara Jean movie come out this year? If so, then I guess it’s that one!

 

Favourite Post You Have Done This Year

I love doing my unboxings for Fairy Loot and Illumicrate, but I have to say that my favourite blog posts to write are my mental health ones or the discussion posts. I wrote one about the doubts I have about me carrying on with blogging, and I wrote one about how I coped during lockdown. It’s these kinds of posts that act as a breather for me. I’m always writing reviews or unboxings, or the standard book blog posts, that writing the discussion posts feel like a cathartic experience for me. People may or may not read them, but I use them to really put out what I’ve been feeling.

Most Beautiful Book You Have Bought This Year

Chinese Myths & Folk Tales (Barnes and Noble Special Edition)

 

What Book Do You Really Need To Read By The End Of 2020?

I need to finish Six of Crows, and then hopefully I can finish Crooked Kingdom but I doubt that will happen. I’m about halfway through Six of Crows at the moment and at the time of writing, it’s 2nd December, so fingers crossed!!

 

Any Bookish Goals for 2021?

• really want to blog more
• I want to read my backlog of books before I buy anymore
• try not to rely on audiobooks so much to get me through!!
• I have to get through the massive amount of graphic novels and manga I have.

So, there we have it guys! It’s the end of another year here at The Bibliophile Girl. I celebrated my four year blogging anniversary this year, and even though there have been long periods of time where I haven’t blogged anything due to mental health, I am so glad that I have this platform as reading is something that I have always enjoyed and something that I hope I will always enjoy.

If it wasn’t for you guys keep coming back to read my posts, then I would have just given up, so thank you so much. I love you all.

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