I don’t think I have seen anybody do a Favorite Friday book tag (if they have let me know so I can credit them), so I wanted to start one up! Every week I will be picking a different bookish favorite of mine–whether it be favorite main character, genre, author, or something else. This is mostly just for me to have more meaningful weekly discussion on my blog, but feel free to tag me in your favorites as well!
So without further ado, I present to you my favorite book of 2020 so far:
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I read The Starless see a couple of months, and dozens of books, ago but I still can’t get it out of my head. The level of mystery and whimsy in this book is absolutely unparalleled; if I could choose to live in the storyline of one book, it would probably be this one.
Throughout the novel we mainly follow Zachary Ezra Rawlins after he discovers a book in his school library with impossible contents; including a chapter from his own life. He follows the mysterious book to the Starless Sea, a type of archive between time for all manner of stories. There he discovers a world of love, friendship, and storytelling that he must fight to keep alive.
Personally, one theme I will never get tired of is books about books, and boy does this take the trope to a whole other level. Morgenstern’s imagination is absolutely astounding in the way that she weaves stories together. Both how she connects the short clips between chapters, and intertwines them into Zachary’s narrative are so magical. I think I could read the novel a thousand times and never fully understand how it all fits together (but in a good way).

I very much believe that you are doomed to love one and hate the other of Morgenstern’s works. Personally, The Night Circus wasn’t for me. It didn’t have much plot, and the bits between chapters felt pointless. But everything that book lacked, this one had. In fact, at the end I thought there was just the tiniest bit too much going on (which is why I gave it 4 instead of five stars on Goodreads). The last one hundred pages got a little too chaotic for my liking. So, the fact that this remains my favorite of 2020 really says something about the work as a whole. I was truly surprised with every page turn, and immersed until the end.
If you aren’t a fan of writing based in beauty, wonderment, and mystery, this may not be for you. A lot of the critiques I read commented on how it wasn’t cohesive enough, and that it felt like a lot of beautiful words randomly strung together. In my opinion though, it is a work that speaks to the joy of journeys, fate, and how all of our stories are more connected than they seem.
So if the glowing review of a bibliophile who seldom gives praise and the enchanting description aren’t enough for you to pick this one up, I don’t know what is. I hope you guys enjoyed my first Favorite Friday! Feel free to tag me in your own, or leave a comment.
Happy Reading!
All graphics and animations on this site were designed by me. Click here to inquire about custom blog graphics or here to view my Etsy shop.
Ooh, amazing! I don’t know any other ‘Friday Favorites’!
LikeLike
Yay! I’m super excited to be doing it (:
LikeLiked by 1 person
Also, you wrote ‘weather’ but you are supposed to write ‘whether’!😊
LikeLike
Oops, thank you, I always make at least one face-palm worthy typo in my posts
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, no worries!
LikeLike
Awesome idea! Favorite Friday, it’s weird nobody already started this since it goes along so well.
LikeLike
Right?? That’s why I was thinking it must be too good to be true 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your tag idea! Might have to take part in that 😁 also been weighing up whether to read Starless Sea and you have definitely sold it to me!! 👍
LikeLike
Hello J. That was fun, reading your review. I don’t think it would be the book for me though. My favourite this year was “Redhead by the Side of the Road” by Anne Tyler. I read it on my kindle but will have to buy the paperback to have on my bookcase. And I, too, love books about books!
LikeLike
“The Night Circus” is one of my favorite books of all time. Very excited to check this one out. It seems like it would be a lovely winter read.
LikeLike
You definitely should!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My favorite book this year is 100% The fifth season by N. K. Jemisin. But this year still has nearly four months to surprise me, so we will see. I want to read The starless sea sooo bad, but it feels like a paper read, and I’m on a buying ban 😭😭 (soon, soon).
LikeLike
That’s true, I think I’ll do another fav book post at the end of the year! And hmm that may be true, I read it in ebook though and still loved it (:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m going to have to check this one out! I had read The Night Circus and it wasn’t for me either, and I figured that this was going to be a similar style. I’m glad to hear that it isn’t!
As for Friday Favorites, there used to be a weekly post, but the person who hosted it stopped doing it a while back.
LikeLike
You def should! I thought it was so much more engaging. And I’m glad I can start it again then (:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wanted to read The Night Circus before this one, but I think I might just skip it at this point from all that I’ve hear about it! I think I would also end up liking Starless Sea more anyway. Looking forward to your other favorite books 😊
LikeLike
Let me know what you think, and thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool idea!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 😇
LikeLike
My answer belongs to more than one book.
Recently, I finished the Shades of Magic series. It takes place in 18th London, but it in so many ways is a newly imagined London. Four parallel, but different Londons: Red, White, Grey, and Black. V.E. Schwab managed to create a new language. Along with Antari (they are the only ones who can travel between the the Londons). The very original characters. Kell is center of the book: while he is the main character, he does have a co-protagonist Lila.
If you love London, lots of suspense and plot twist, fantasy, magic of different kinda, and character-driven plots, you will love this series. I already have two reviews on my blog- for the first two novels .
LikeLike
I’ve heard such mixed things about this one, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
LikeLike
Thank you! And I have too, I think it just depends on the person reading
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the idea of Friday favourites! I’ve had this book in my TBR for a while now but you’ve convinced me to read it next!
LikeLike
I’m so glad! It really is an adventure (:
LikeLike
This book has very mixed reviews. Your review made me feel maybe it’s worth a shot!
Thanks for this.
LikeLike
This is really good. And after reading your review I’d love to read it
LikeLike
I’m glad!
LikeLiked by 1 person