If you follow me here or over on instagram (@speaking_books) than you know my favorite subscription book box is Book of the Month (BOTM)! We’ve spent the last year paging through BOTM monthly picks and it’s time now to find out what the best Book of the Month pick was!
Each year around the first week of December, all Book of the Month members vote on their favorite read from the year! This year there were 18 nominees and members have narrowed it down to 5 books that were truly the best from this year. One of these five finalists will take home the ‘Golden Lolly’ which was named for the very first BOTM in 1926, Lolly Willowes and be crowned Book of the Month’s Book of Year for 2020.
Below you’ll find a complete list of the 18 nominees, and a list of the 5 finalist. I’ve also highlighted which book I voted for, which book I think should have been the 5 finalists, and what my prediction is for the winner! Keep scrolling to check it out!
Nominees
Out of the 18 nominees I have read 11. I was very surprised that a few of my favorite reads from the year didn’t make the cut. I thought for sure Long Bright River, Valentine, or Library of Legends. However, out of the 18 choices I voted for Winter Counts, because I thought it was such a unique mystery. I loved that it was a debut and while it was a mystery, it dove into life on a reservation. See my full review HERE!
If you’re interested in some of these nominees check out my reviews for them below. These are just the ones that I have posted full reviews on so far.
- Winter Counts review can be found HERE!
- The Vanishing Half review can be found HERE!
- Home Before Dark review can be found HERE!
- One to Watch review can be found HERE!
- The Night Swim review can be found HERE!
- Magic Lessons review can be found HERE!
- The Guest List review can be found Here!
- Beach Read review can be found Here!
The Finalists
If your nominee is selected as one of the finalists you’re able to participant in the second round of voting. Since Winter Counts did not make it to the finals, I’m unable to vote for my favorite out of these five. But the finalists for 2020 are:
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- Anxious People by Fredrick
- The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Out of the finalists I honestly think that The Guest List & Anxious People in a completely different league than the other 3. The Guest List is enjoyable but It’s not a ‘Best of the Year’ in my opinion. Sure I gave it a ★★★★ but I would never say it’s an award winner. Anxious People, I could just not get into it. Maybe I’ll give it another shot in 2021 but I’m just going to have to admit that Fredrik Backman is not for me.
My pick for BOTY
The Vanishing Half, The Girl With the Louding Voice, & The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue were all ★★★★★ reads for me this year. While I loved all three for very different reasons, I would love to see The Girl with the Louding Voice win Book of the Year. The simple fact that this is Abi Dare’s debut novel blows me away. The story is fantastic, emotional, lyrical, and just overall impactful. So I’m casting my bets for The Girl with the Louding Voice.
Comment below and tell me which of the 5 finalists are you betting on to win?
WHAT IS BOOK OF THE MONTH?
For those who haven’t heard of Book of the Month club or BOTM, it is a subscription program, similar to audible or other box subscription services, where you get (you guessed it) a new book every month. Each month members are given 5 different books to choose from. BOTM generally focusing on debut and emerging writers, and is known for having helped launch the careers of some of the most acclaimed authors in American literary history. In an attempt to read more books outside my favorite genres without having to siphon through all the duds, I decided to sign up for the monthly subscriptions. It costs me $14.99 per month, I choose 1 of the 5 books on the first of every month, and it’s delivered straight to my door. You can skip any month or roll your credits over to the next month, at any time. Since I started getting BOTM in 2018, I’ve really enjoyed some of the new authors I’ve been exposed to. If you’re interested in joining BOTM, I’ve added my referral code to the bottom of this post, which if you use, you’ll be able to get a discount on your first month (book)! If you’re interested in joining Book of the Month use my referral code to get your first box for $9.99. Either click HERE or enter the url into your browser: https://book-of-the-month.ixmz.net/kvzez https://book-of-the-month.ixmz.net/c/1803400/761424/9782