Who Wrote Best Book of 2011? WE Decide!

It's the end of another year, time to look ahead to (hopefully) better times, more opportunities for writers (the digital revolution is well-underway), and the excitement which comes at the stroke of midnight on December 31st!  Before we raise our glasses to toast a new year,  let us reflect on the literary high notes of the passing year.

Who do you think wrote the best book of 2011?  Let me know who you believe wrote the best book of 2011 and why. 

What drew you in as a reader to the novel?  Did you feel affection or disgust for key characters? 
Was there a unique plot line?  Tell me your thoughts. 

As for me, I will be donning a red scarf, or adding a red flower to my hair, as my choice for best book is, The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. 

Having toted this book around with me the last two days (yes I read the entire novel in a mere two days because it was too scrumptious to put down!), I've had a few people ask me what the book is  like or about, so I tell them this, "It's like Phantom of the Opera meets a grown up Harry Potter, except this time he falls in love with Hermoine, as it should have been." 

I was never a fan honestly of the whole Harry/Ginny faux-mance, so this is one book which finally makes sense to me, in the sense of proper matching of romantic characters. 

Fanciful, beautifully-written, she created a story world like no other, as you are beckoned to enter the black and white striped tents of the Cirque du Reve.  Rarely does a book make me shed a tear, but this one did, (for a few pages I was careful not to let any moisture hit the pages) with its' tender romance between the two main characters. 

I will not remove any magical charms nor reveal any other plot temptations, but please..relish the first few lines of the book, if you will:

(Excerpt below from The Night Circus)
"The Circus arrives without warning.

No announcements proceed it, no paper on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not."

You will be enchanted as you work your way through this story and through the circus with the turn of each page.  The sights and smells are almost tangible, palpable, and it is worth every penny! 

I say, march right into your favorite bookseller, proclaim yourself a "reveur" to any people working there, (the name the book gives for super-fans of  the Circus of Dreams, who follow the circus from city to city), and wear something with a flash of red, while you wait for them to hand you the best read of the year.  You shall feel no pain at all as you part with your hard-earned money.

Now this is totally superficial of me, but alas, it's also very much like me to say that this is a gorgeous book to acquire and place upon your shelf.  The cover art is beautiful, and the inside of the book is also well-done.  Applause and an ovation to Ms. Morgenstern on her creation, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.  Maybe it's just me..but I see a fabulous film in the works?  Maybe?  This reveur crosses her fingers and waits.

May 2012 be wonderful to both you and your family, and may all writers be blessed with great ideas, grammar, and inspiration.  I know my wish for 2012 is to become a writer with agent (emphasis on agent!).  Let's make this our best year yet, and hope and pray the Mayans got it completely wrong regarding the whole doomsday- prophecy- thing.

Happy New Year, y'all!