My favourite books of 2020 (a much-needed catch up!)

A quick catch up on my favourite books from 2020, before I gather my faves of this year!
↓ All books and notes here ↓

0:00 Intro
0:43 Dark but beautiful books
3:30 Graphic novel
5:00 Pandemic/Apocalyptic fiction
8:23 Short stories
9:28 Audio non-fiction
11:07 Contemporary
12:12 YA trilogy

► The books:
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

The Death of Grass by John Christopher

Severance* by Ling Ma

The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night* by Jen Campbell

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold, read by Louise Brealey

Black and British by David Olusoga, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Scythe Trilogy* by Neal Shusterman

* - Review copies received by publishers previously, without a specific requirement to post.

► My Book Club Journal
I created this beautiful journal for anyone who is in a book club or wants to track their reading.
Featuring:
- luxurious finish, including thick paper and bookmark ribbon
- 50 book journal templates to fill in
- 200 book recommendations in 20 themed reading lists
- chapters with tips and advice for running your book club
- reading log
- book wish list
- books lent/borrowed page

► About Me
Hoi! I'm Sanne. Nine years ago I moved from the Netherlands to London, where I'm currently working as a freelance social media producer in the publishing industry, event host and content creator. I've been making videos for 12 years and on my channel I talk about books, translation, the publishing industry, London, travel, plus career and creativity advice. If you're looking for your next book to read, need a confidence boost before starting your internship/new job or want to follow my journey trying to reach new creative and freelance goals, you're in the right place!

► Frequently asked questions
◦ Where is your accent from?
I was born and raised in the Netherlands, studied English Lit at Leiden University (also in the Netherlands), studied in the US for 3 months and have lots of American friends. Now that I live in London, I still mostly have my American accent, but with lots of British vocab mixed in.
◦ Where do you live?
I currently live in North London.
◦ Where do you work?
I’m a Freelance Social Media Producer, public speaker and YouTuber/blogger. Before that I was an Audience Manager at Penguin Random House UK.
◦ How did you get your job in the publishing industry?
I did publishing work experience on 3 different occasions, did a lot of networking and learned everything I know about social media from creating and running my YouTube channel for 8 years. P.s. you don't necessarily have to study Publishing or English to get a job in publishing.
◦ What kind of brands are you interested in collaborating with?
I’m especially keen to work with brands that focus on books, films, travel (mainly Europe and UK), London, museums and the arts, education and sustainable lifestyle.

► Some of my favourite videos I’ve made

► Book Reviewing Policy

[booksandquills]

I just couldn't do my 2021 fave reads video before catching up with last year's faves first! Enjoy ❤️

[KeiraAndGeo]

yay and this way we can look forward to another favorites of the year video kinda soon :)

[eileen]

I absolutely love to hear about your favourite books of the year! ☺️

[PiinkyPeyed]

I don't think I've ever been so mindblown by a book as I was reading Thunderhead. The series as a whole I feel isn't perfect but what Neil Shusterman did with Thunderhead is honestly so incredible I still can't wrap my head around it.

[xeverydayisbeautiful]

Omg my YouTube JUST told me about this. WELCOME BACK! 😍😍

[Dreaminangel]

On a sunbeam was amazing, I loved it so much. It’s a webcomic originally and the art is just breathtaking beautiful online which unfortunately I think didn’t translate as well in printed form but still beautiful.

[EricKarlAnderson]

I'm glad you decided to catch up with what you read *then* with how you look *now* - you're looking gorgeous! 💕
I loved The Water Cure as well and still need to get to her most recent book. And I've been looking for more graphic fiction so On a Sunbeam sounds great.
Happy Christmas to you! 🎄

[Iris-ensx]

Roofstaat is misschien wel een goeie voor Nederlandse geschiedenis! Verder is Anton de Kom fantastisch! En voor fictie: Astrid Roemer is een in haar soort, echt heel bijzonder proza. Ook Dubbelspel van Frank Martinus is erg goed.

[kimusic]

I enjoyed reading Station Eleven, set in a post pandemic world.

[ReadEatGameRepeat]

if you do get a dutch equivalent of "Black and British" I'd love to hear it too - I know there is one book out there called "Wit Huiswerk" but from what I've heard it doesn't really cover the more ancient histories (Although I'm not sure since I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet).

[thegardenoftere]

Severance is one of my favourite books of 2021! Such an underrated book

[swastikabajpai]

Rushed up as soon as I got the notification🤯💕

[kersenzomer]

Have you read A Song For a New Day by Sarah Pinsker? It's also about a pandemic and the incorporation of the online world in our real lives (which we've seen with Covid).

[BohoBookworm]

You're a murderino!?!? Ahh I had no idea! SSDGM! The Five was okay for me.. I feel like I didn't know enough about Jack and the novel focused so much on the women which is great I just wish I'd researched the case more in order to connect with it better if that makes sense?

[lunanuna]

LOVED Scythe and Thunderhead but The Toll was a huge disappointment. I ended up having to dnf it.

[melodiesandmemories]

Absolutely loved Tillie Walden's graphic memoir Spinning! One of my fav reads of 2021