Authors I’ve Found in 2020 That I Now Love

Yes, 2020 has been a year of firsts and it’s been a year of complete craziness but in the midst of all this, I’ve managed to source out a positive. 

2020 (and having 7 months on furlough) enabled me to rekindle my love for reading and blogging and has enabled me to become part of such a huge and wonderful community where I can pick one out of thousands of you to have a conversation about books…what more could a girl want? 

So to commemorate this, I’ve gathered a list of all the wonderful authors (both new and legendary) that 2020 has allowed me the opportunity to find…

Beth O’Leary

I was first introduced to Beth through (not a coincidence I swear) Beth’s book club as we read The Flatshare earlier this year. I fell in love with her witty humour and her loveable characters. I have read two of Beth’s books now and each one has left me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I think it is truly incredible how Beth can instantly provide clarity on issues you’ve never thought about yourself.

Elif Shafak

Forgive me but I have only just come across Elif Shafak. I know, don’t hate me. I recently read her novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World and absolutely adore the way she writes and her descriptive narrative. I also love how she writes women back into Turkish history and culture that they are so often left out of. 

I actually received a copy of her other novel, The Bastard of Istanbul in a Books That Matter subscription box and never thought anything of it. Now, that book is sitting proudly at the top of my TBR list, along with her other work.

Alex North

As you are probably aware by now, one of the first books of 2020 that I read and fell in love with was The Whisper Man by Alex North. Now some of you have since read this book and not been overly convinced but for me this book was the first ever book that genuinely terrified me and made me want to explore the dark thriller and horror genre more. 
His second book The Shadow Friend was just as good and now I cannot wait to see what else this man has up his sleeve.

Matt Haig

Now I wouldn’t say that I’ve only just found Matt Haig in 2020 because I read his other book How To Stop Time whilst on holiday in Dubai about two years ago. However, Matt Haig is someone who takes a prominent place on my social media…and rightly so. 

Matt Haig’s 2020 release The Midnight Library made him become one of my favourite authors of all time. Matt is not shy about his problems with mental health and during a year when I’m sure everyone’s mental health has been affected in some way, Matt was there to provide us with the support we needed and the brutal honesty that sometimes, you know what, life can be shit. But it’s what we do during these days to help our mental health (such as walks, hobbies, or simply allowing yourself to feel the emotions you’re feeling) that matter the most and Matt has been there to hold our hand through it all. 

BRB (does anyone even use that any more) just off to read his other novel Humans.

Taylor Jenkins Reid

OK apologies, yet another blog post where I’m banging on about Daisy Jones & The Six but I promise I’ll make this quick. I’m sure like me, you’ve probably come across Taylor Jenkins Reid at some point this year whether that’s through reading Daisy Jones & The Six or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Either way, I’m sure you’ve heard her name lurking about your social media channels and with every right too.

I’m yet to read a bad novel written by this woman and the sheer amount of detail, research, knowledge, compassion (I could go on…) that goes into her novel is exquisite. She truly is one of my favourite writers purely based on how completely encapsulated I was by the two books I’ve read by her this year. I was equally obsessed with both and equally heartbroken by the ending too…

Brit Bennett

Certainly last but not least is the incredible Brit Bennett. I read her book The Mothers earlier this year and aside from the fact that her book covers are truly a thing of beauty, I did not expect to love the story as much as I did. She beautifully showed the raw and honest reality of being a woman that can sometimes make the world seem like it is against you.

However with the support of empowered females behind you, well… you can be invincible. 

There are obviously MANY more that I could go on and talk about and after posting this, I’ll probably remember about five more I’d wish I’d mentioned. But for now, these are the authors that have had an impact on me this year and authors I hope to continue to do so for me and you.

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