Best & Worst Books of 2020

[@PhotosyntheticFool]

that cat break was everything that I needed today

[@mestimac]

It was so big and fluffy! I could almost feel it through the screen.

[@izstrella]

What a sweet little baby, awwwww

[@dukeofdenver]

I discovered your channel during quarantine, and it's been an invaluable resource to my writing. Thank you so much. Happy New Year in advance, Alexa

[@bobbiefalin7074]

So many books out there. Sometimes I feel frustrated because I can't get to them all. Thank you, Alexa, for sorting out a few for us.

[@myinfinitewords7818]

I started off writing down the titles that seemed interesting to me so that I can check them out later, but when I noticed I was writing them all down, I just decided to like the vid to come back to it later haha I love a good thriller. Thank you for your recommendations!

[@AlexaDonne]

Def check out my books playlist and/or my Goodreads! I write detailed reviews :) www.goodreads.com/author/show/16817128.Alexa_Donne

[@myinfinitewords7818]

@@AlexaDonne I definitely will. I want to make 2021 my year to pick back up on my reading.

[@mare2723]

@@AlexaDonneCan you please let us know if they’re available for free as audiobooks on KZbin because that’s the only way some of us can listen and they’ve been saving my life. Thank you❤

[@biologyboggs3885]

Alexa, might I suggest another thriller for your TBR list. It's called "The Perfect Child" by Lucinda Berry. It focuses on a family with an adopted daughter who isn't what she seems. I read it in one day because it was so gripping and I just had to know... what is wrong with Janie? It's written by a specialist of childhood trauma and psychology, so it was written very realistic and very well.

[@willow_rosie]

loud cat purr sound is just top notch

[@AlexaDonne]

I got a new mic and it picks it up so well!!!! I'm pleased.

[@willow_rosie]

@@AlexaDonne it picked it up really well! Can we have more of cat noises?

[@VanJolene]

Your cat looks like a Maine Coon. I love my MC cat. His name is Houdie Joe Pye. He has an IG account. Love your channel!

[@CassTeaElle]

This is the video I needed right now! I read almost nothing this year, and I haven't been watching much booktube content, so I have no idea what good books are out there. Your recs are always great for me, because I feel like we have a very similar taste in books. Can't wait to check some of these out!

[@margarethill234]

loved your cat break!

[@kaortega1120]

Happy New Year, Alexa! Great List! Thank you for many fun hours enjoying your channel this year. Looking forward to more in 2021!

[@JonathanSanchez-kk1lr]

I’ve always liked sci fi, so I went and got Timeline by Michael Crichton. About halfway through and it suddenly dawned on me that I prefer science fantasy rather than hard science fiction. Needless to say, excellent book but yeah talking about quantum particles and wormholes to a different dimension using actual legit science (there was a bibliography at the end) was surprisingly a turnoff for me.

[@mestimac]

That's how I felt while reading The Girl With All The Gifts. Or at least all the reviews where people talked about how the book was better than all other zombie books because what happened in the book could actually happen. (but not really)

[@dukeofdenver]

That's a beautiful cat. So golden

[@qine6559]

Wow! THIS is a great vid. Thank you!

[@LucyTurnsPagesYT]

I've been thinking of reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. I've heard a lot of good things so I hope I will enjoy it too!

[@DanicaChristin]

Thanks for this video, you give the best thriller recommendations 👌🏻

[@sabrinamabson7087]

When no one is watching is my dream read experience. If I am telling or even laughing throughout the book it's an amazing reading experience for me! Definitely looking this one up!!!!

[@pinkkam]

Very effective cat tactic in the first 30 seconds. I'm actively looking for writing/reading centered youtubers and I found you!

[@DanaBerez]

So many new books on my list!!! I'm excited

[@SylvainDementi]

I'm surprised by the no mention of Home Before Dark, knowing how much you loved Riley Sager last year. I'll check those new recommandations for sure!

[@MrWongerz]

Hey everyone! I’ve never really gotten into reading, but I’d really love your top recommendation. In general, I’m looking for something that’s interesting/exciting and imaginative, meaningful, not cheesy and not losing me in meaningless details. Can anyone help? Thank you!

[@lilithcrow6675]

Any specific genre?

[@mergesviz]

“Truly Devious” by Maureen Johnson seemed like it would hit all the marks for me but it just grated on my nerves. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters (especially the main girl who wasn’t like all the other girls and liked murder and true crime and was so super smart and quirky - that archetype is my least favorite) the b-plot/alternative timeline of it was painfully slow and overly cartoonish for me, and I just... i really wanted to love it because of the ✨aesthetic✨but I couldn’t stand it.

[@mare2723]

Alexa, it would really help if you turned the treble down and if you would give the name of the book at the beginning in the end of your reviews that would be very helpful especially to mention the title again at the end. Thank you.

[@CaityCat.95]

I had very similar issues with She Said Yes as you had with Serial Killer’s Daughter...I read it as a teen and it was sold to me as “a really personal account of one of the victims at Columbine and the events that happened to lead to it” and if I recall correctly, the girl was supposedly a close friend of one of the killers? Anyway it focuses waaay more heavily on the girl’s faith and her family’s opinions about the girl’s faith and behavior than any actual events relating to Columbine, so that was a strange read for me.

[@psyched3lic347]

Hi! I subscribed because you give the best and fun advice on writing a book. I was more into screenwriting but my other story, I believe needs to be a book. I am now going to start on Wattpad, so I am wondering if Wattpad is a good site?

[@lindseykeefer7371]

I’m personally hoping the thriller heyday starts winding down and we return to the dystopian focus from like 2011! Lol

[@mariapascoal2511]

My most disappointing read this year was The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel. So many people were excited for it and I was expecting more. I think I got extra disappointed bc I paid full price at my local indie bookstore for the hardcover 🙃 My absolute fave was The Girl with the Louding Voice, along with Such a Fun Age, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and Queenie. 💙💛❤🖤🧡

[@Josh-nv3qs]

My most disappointing read of 2020 is You by Caroline Kepnes.

[@danirei789]

I know I'm a little late commenting, but I'm a Rhode Islander, the Station Nightclub Fire was fucking INSANE. My mom and her friend were almost at the club that night, but they decided to go somewhere else because it was so crowded. So fucking scary, to think of such a close call.

[@AlexaDonne]

It's a REALLY good book if you're at all interested. It goes into the "vibe" of Rhode Island and why a lot of the circumstances/fallout were very uniquely RI in nature (like it talks about politics, class, geography, etc.).

[@danirei789]

@@AlexaDonne Nice! I might check it out, but non fiction does tend to trigger serious anxiety, so we'll see. I loved this video and your channel either way!

[@ajmastel]

My favorite read of 2020 was The Lady Alchemist by Samantha Vitale, least favorite was Trouble the Saints.

[@mattmallecoccio8378]

Check out the Tainted Love Saga by Kayla Lowe. I have no interest in reading it because of content matter, but I support it because Kayla is like my best friend ever in the world

[@Leah-vb3ud]

A good girls guide to murder was amazing! Also my favorite book this year is The Cousins by Karen M McManus, I could not out it down!

[@sunfloraanddayses7647]

Anyone have any Portal Fantasy book recommendations where instead of returning to their world, the main character decides to stay in the other world?

[@ruthrouse]

My partner was looking over my shoulder and commented on how natural your hair colour looks.

[@AlexaDonne]

Thank you! I legit have worked w/ my hairdresser to do a color very similar to my hair when I was younger haha. (I have magical Irish "darkening as you age" hair ha)

[@ruthrouse]

@@AlexaDonne It looks good on you. What she actually said was that you looked like a natural red-head, which I guess is true.

[@mavisedwards]

Cat Break. Love that

[@crystalrainbow19]

Alexa, have you read The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle?

[@chrisconnors7418]

I can't think of any books I disliked, but that's because I flush them from my memory. A book has to be *really* bad for me to remember, and even then it only sticks around for a year or so. I know I read some stinkers this year because I remember two or three reading slumps, which is what happens when several books consecutively fail to engage you--or actively repel you. To cope with bad fiction books I'll jump into non-fiction reads for a while. To cope with bad non-fiction, I'll read fiction. oh, I just recalled there were two Louise Penny books in a row that made me wonder if I should bother continuing reading them. They went from nonsensical plot points to unrealistic character motivations (wait, that is the reason you've spent decades of your life bitter and twisted???) to trying far too hard to imbue an ordinary scene with mystery and even possible malevolence. I'm about halfway through the series, and so far, I don't feel like trying for a "third time's the charm".

[@claireofclairesville4479]

Wait, YoU HaVe A CAT!!!!!!!!!!!! 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱I LOVE THIS CHANNEL. AUTHOR TIPS, BOOK REVIEWS, AND A FREAKING ADORABLE CAT!!!!

[@amberandrews4138]

Your video makes me want to go grab a good thriller!

[@missmermade9331]

I was so upset by One by One... It had so much potential! The characters were all so layered and interesting and different and the isolation trope was also promising. And the mystery about the first death! Amazing! But then it started to decline fast when most red herrings didn't do the trick for me at all and then I was so confused when one of the POVs took a sharp turn and suddenly there was a whole new side to that POV character that she somehow managed to hide in a first-person-limited-perspective for 300-something pages?? NO, ma'am! No! This is not it.

[@bbodalski]

If You Tell...this is totally on my favorite books of the year!

[@pauloperes9378]

Empress Theresa sure would fascinate you

[@booksalessecrets6944]

Thanks !

[@samyboynton6129]

Unpopular opinion: The Night Swim had terrible prose which distracted from the story. (The bones of the story were good.) My favorites of the year were The Guest List by Lucy Foley and Watching You by Lisa Jewell.

[@marisaacosta3369]

My Sister Rosa was so bad it made me angry. And I read Sadie in one of the worst translations I’ve ever seen

[@sallybalkin8507]

Was intrigued by the thumbnail which I thought said - Best and Worst Books of ZoZo.

[@breemlew]

Worst book for me this year was Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson. It was woefully uncomfortable and bad.

[@la1495]

(First?) I haven't watched this yet but... did you read Meg L's Cyborg Tinkerer? I've heard interesting reviews about it...

[@thoughtsofkatie5592]

ok ok ok ok I don't read a lot of ya thrillers but DAMN I keep seeing A Good GIrl's Guide to Murder on people's favorites so I might have to pick it up When No One is Watching is on my list!

[@casscutting1573]

Apparently, this is a dangerous topic for a video. I wonder if you're going to get the same treatment as booktubers (I guess one booktuber) are getting

[@tasnim1559]

huhh i'm curious, what are you referring to?

[@casscutting1573]

@@tasnim1559 A booktuber by the name of Gavin put out his worst reads of 2020 video and one of the authors whose book was on the list got all butt hurt and started going off on him on Twitter. Apparently, you're not allowed to have negative opinions no matter how you phrase them (he said nothing about the author just that he didn't like the book) As writers, we KNOW when we get published some people are going to hate what we write that is part of the deal. How are you going to attack someone for saying they didn't like your book in a video that was not said to you directly. I could understand getting angry if he told her in a tweet or in a DM that her book was shit and she was shit and she should never write anything again. But thats not what happened. Sorry for being long winded lol

[@lauramessy]

@@casscutting1573 who is the author?

[@ImaginaryMdA]

(Btw, Trial By Fire was based on was not the deadliest nightclub fire in the US, according to wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nightclub_fires that was the cacaonut grove fire in 1942. Just FYI)

[@VanJolene]

Google James Frey and Oprah. She crucified him and his publisher for writing/publishing a "memoir" that was all a lie. I would never buy a book from him or his publisher, Nan Talese

[@andreafernandez5672]

I absolutely love your content, but I wonder why do you hate rich people so much? It really intrigues me

[@AlexaDonne]

Lol I don't hate rich people! I'm entertained by them. Which is a huge, super common thing in most media? Lifestyles of the rich & famous... the ultimate escapism.

[@mariapascoal2511]

lol rich ppl be trippin

[@starklingspars8956]

I really want to watch these sometimes but find Alexa's jumpimng emphatic voice with a pause after every word really painful to listen to. Like ut really hurts my ears. I wish you'd speak more normally instead of trying to *grab*.....*peoples*....*attention*. The topic already has my attention but the voice jumping every second is intolerable

[@Gaywatch]

Whoa whoa whoa, he thinks the MENENDEZ BROTHERS should be released?????? 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

[@AlexaDonne]

He posits that they were simply victims of abuse (not sociopathic victims of abuse lol) and thus will never kill/harm again b/c they already killed their abusers. Me: DID YOU READ THE THEORY OF THE CRIME SLASH PAY ANY ATTENTION TO THEM AFTERWARD? They are cold AF.