Predicting My 20 Favourite Books of 2020

It is time to announce what I think my 20 favourite books of this year will be! Ahh! Looking through all the lists of upcoming releases for the year ahead is always one of my blogging highlights of the year, and I love predicting which ones I think will be my absolute favourites.

It’s always such a tough decision because there are so many fantastic books to be released, but I’ve forced myself to make some hard choices and nominate what I think my top 20 reads of 2020 are going to be. If you’re in need of some more books on your TBR this year, check out which ones I’m most eager to get to!

2020 Resolutions (That I Hope I’ll Be Able to Keep!)

I’ve always been the kind of person to roll my eyes at New Year’s Resolutions. I mean, most people don’t even make it an entire week into the New Year without breaking one of there newly set rules, let alone an entire year. Then I’d be the person to laugh and say “I told you so” while I sat on the couch eating chips and thinking about how I wasn’t going to let ANY of my resolutions end in failure—mainly because I hadn’t even made any.

After all, goals can be such unspecific things. I know people who have promised themselves they’d “be healthier” when the clock strikes midnight, heralding in the New Year, but what does that even mean? That you’ll go vegan and take up yoga? I find that without fully-defined goals, our grand ideas for the year to come often crash and burn not long after takeoff, no matter how well-meaning our intentions are. 

So this year, I decided to join the masses in making some goals for myself! Instead of making my goals broad, I’ve tried to make them as specific as possible in the hopes that this makes them just a little bit more achievable. 2020 is the start of a new decade, and no matter how terrifying that thought is, it’s also so full of possibilities. 2020, here we come!

Reading Your Book Recommendations

One of my favourite things about the bookish community is getting new book recommendations. I’m always on the lookout for something that sounds up my alley, or even sounds like something I wouldn’t normally try, and you folks are seriously the BEST at convincing me to read books you’ve loved! Whether these book recommendations have come directly from friends or bloggers, or whether I’ve just seen a post about it, my TBR is always as tall as Mt Everest.

So today I thought I’d share which books you all have recommended to me this year, and what I thought of them! And maybe in the meantime, I can add a few of these to your TBR as well. Enjoy!

How (Not) to Prep for NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is almost upon us again! THAT’S A LITTLE BIT TERRIFYING. If you’re anything like me, you’re still under the assumption it’s August and in denial about all the things you still have to do this year. (It’s fine. Everything’s fine.) BUT! Because our lives aren’t hectic enough as it is, we have NaNoWriMo coming up next month!

For those of you that don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November. People who take part usually aim to write 50k (though you can honestly choose any word count goal you like: no one will tell on you), which basically means November is a month where none of us see the sun, we live on ten coffees a day, and by the end of it, we don’t know what “sleep” is anymore. IT’S FUN.

Whether you’ve got a solid plan about how you’re going to tackle NaNoWriMo this year or if you’re not sure you’re going to be participating in it, I’ve made a helpful list of things you should not do if you want to survive. Trust me. Or, you know, if you wanna fail NaNo, be sure to follow my tips to a T!

To all of you getting ready to smash out a novel next month: GOOD LUCK. You got this!

16 Ways to Come Up With Story Ideas

Coming up with new story ideas can be hard. If you’re a writer, sometimes it feels like you’ll never have another good idea in your life. Like the thing you’re currently working on has used up the last of your creative energy. But fear not!

If you’re struggling to find inspiration for your next novel, or your next short story, or maybe even your next blog post, I’ve come up with 16 things you can do to spark your imagination. You got this!

Which Upcoming YA Release You Should Read Based On Your Starbucks Order

There’s nothing I love more in this world than coffee and books. If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I’m absolute Starbucks TRASH. I go there every morning on my way to uni, pick up my coffee and my blueberry bagel, and sit down to enjoy a few chapters before I head to class. It’s my favourite part of the day, ngl.

Yeah, I know loving Starbucks makes me a basic bitch, but hey, I’m leaning into that. Leave me in peace to sip on my light soy caramel macchiato while telling you about how I’m a Scorpio and that I’m still not over how Katniss chose Peeta and not Gale. Starbucks just soothes my soul, okay?

So today I thought I’d pair my love of coffee and YA together to recommend some upcoming releases you should read based on your Starbucks order! Whether you’re more of an iced latte gal or if you prefer your drinks a little more Extra™️, I’ve got the perfect book for you. ENJOY!

YA Books with Deaf Representation

Isn’t it just the best feeling when you read a book and go YES. That’s me, right there on the page!? There’s nothing quite as exciting as feeling seen in a novel. It can be because of a character’s ethnicity, or sexuality, or even something small like a character quoting The Office or shipping Quirrelmort like you do (#1 Quirrelmort shipper right here). Seeing a part of you in a book is one of the things I love most about reading, and as a queer cis white woman, I’ve been lucky to see myself represented on the page in a lot of what I read.

REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT, Y’ALL. I’m sure as fellow bloggers, I don’t have to tell you that twice. But one of the aspects of representation that I believe we need to see more of in YA is disability representation—and the spreading of awareness for books with disability representation that we already have available to us. So today I just wanted to shine a light on some of the books featuring Deaf characters that I’ve read recently.

Of course I have no place to say whether the representation in these novels is accurate or how well these characters are written, but I do hope that if you’re looking for more books with hearing impaired representation this list helps you out! I really enjoyed all of these, and I’m definitely on the lookout for more books starring Deaf protagonists. Hit me up with all your recommendations!

How to Write a Novel in a Month

HELLOOOOO WRITER FRIENDS! Or readers who want to give writing a shot! Or just that random guy who stumbled upon my blog in the hopes of unlocking the secret to immortality — hi! For those of you that have been here before, or follow me on social media, you’ll know I love writing. I’m constantly chatting about what I’m working on and ideas I have for my next projects, and occasionally trying to take the perfect shot of my coffee for Instagram at a cafe and forgetting to write altogether… you know how it is!

But for the writers among us, you might know that April is Camp NaNoWriMo! How exciting! And by exciting, I mean getting five hours sleep, constantly snacking while attempting to drag words out of your brain, and wishing you could just run away to Bolivia to write in peace. Recently I’ve been a few questions on Twitter asking me how I have such a high word count goal for each day / week / month. The answer is… I don’t sleep. JUST KIDDING. I’m a big fan of naps. Sleep is important, y’all.

So I thought some people might find it useful if I were to make a little post about how you can write a novel in a month! IT’S POSSIBLE. So if you’re wanting to smash out 80k this April, or maybe just 5k, I’m here to impart alllll my wisdom to you (you might think some of it is trash — don’t worry, so do I. What do I know, I’m just a twenty year-old awkward potato who calls real life people characters). I BELIEVE IN YOU. GO WRITE THE NOVEL YOU’VE BEEN DAYDREAMING ABOUT. Yes, I’m talking to you. I like your hair.

How to Get Over a Fictional Death

YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER JUST DIED. Now what? How are you meant to keep on living without them gracing this planet with their presence (well, on the pages of books or on screen at least)? How can you ever get over such an emotional experience that’s ripped someone away from you too soon? And most importantly, how are you expected to keep going about your regular life when you just feel like staring at a blank wall for 39 hours and listening to sad songs on repeat?

WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE. There are just times when your favourite character dies and it feels like your heart has been ripped in two. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE HEARTBREAK A FEW WORDS ON A PAGE CAN CAUSE. So today I’m going to offer up all my tips and tricks for overcoming a fictional death! Hopefully these five step will give you a little bit of solace in these dark times. My deepest condolences.

Step 1: Cry. And then cry some more.

Sometimes you just have to let it all out. There, there. Seriously, there’s times like these when you just have to sit on your bed — or public transport, or at work… deaths could hit you anywhere — and just let the tears stream down your face. People might stare. Once you start, you might not be able to stop. Give yourself the permission to take some time off work / school / adulting and just CRY. Better out than in, as Shrek always says. Holding in your tears and trying to get on with your life might result to breaking down in the middle of a supermarket (trust me, we’ve all been there). So just… sob to your heart’s content. 

YA Fantasy Books You Need on Your TBR

2019 is SLAYING with all the amazing new releases – both ones that have just come out and those that are upcoming! I mean, can y’all SLOW DOWN FOR A SEC? Let my bank account and I catch up, and while you’re at it, please add 15 hour to each day so I have time to devour all of these exciting fantasy books.

SO TODAY, I’m going to be sharing just five 2019 fantasy releases you need on your TBR! I’ve only read a couple of them, and the others are on my TBR, so I hope I get to read them ASAP and just avoid allllll my other responsibilities. You know how it is. Oh, and I got to chat to the lovely Gita Trelease about her YA fantasy novel, Enchantée. Check it out!

Enchantée

IS THIS NOT THE MOST GORGEOUS BOOK YOU’VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?! Seriously. My eyes are in love. And just when I thought I couldn’t love this book even more, then I read it. And wow — I instantly knew this would be one I’d just devour. I mean, it’s set in 1789 Paris, which is an instant star just for setting alone. The writing was flawless. The world was intriguing. The characters were fun and the banter was solid gold and it was just such an enjoyable reading experience.

Okay, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you… my favourite character in this book maaaay have been the dress that feasted on blood? And was magical? WHO CAN BLAME ME, I WANT A VAGUELY MURDEROUS DRESS THAT LOVES BLOOD. What could be better? Okay, well maybe Camille came pretty close to being my favourite as well. She can do petty magic to transform scrap metal into money, but when her magic stops working properly, she has to venture into the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette for something a little more lucrative.