It's Official! 2012 Book of the Year.

Well...I got a little waylaid this evening so I'm starting this post a little bit later than planned. What waylaid me, you ask? Facebook. Yup. Really. I just spent an hour reading through posts. Oops. 

In my defense, it's been a long and very rough day. I could seriously just curl up into a ball and go to sleep. But I will soldier on...you deserve to know my pick for the 2012 Book of the Year before the year 2014.

Here's where I left you...

Let's start with getting to the final four. What a sad time...four more books will need to be eliminated.

Match #1 :

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern vs. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

These books are both in my list of favorites. I hated to make the decision on this one. But...in the end I had to default to my girl crush. I just can't say no to Jenny.

Match 1 goes to...

Match #2 :

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare vs. The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

I don't know what it is about The Shoemaker's Wife, but that book seems to make me very indecisive. I once again changed the winner of this bracket back and forth a pile of times before deciding on a winner. Obviously it was a pretty tight race. In the end though, it was defeated. 

Match 2 goes to...

Match #3 : 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green vs. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Oh...look at that...Erin's two picks for the year are running against each other. Yup...she suggested both of these books - thus working her way towards redeeming herself from One Day. Yes...I am still holding it over her for that one. 

I'm sure even Erin knows which one of these books wins. Though they are both very good, this won really wasn't a contest. 

Winner of Match 3 is...

Match #4 :

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare vs. The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

Yup. This one was tough. Like Match #2, this one kept getting tossed back and forth. Cassandra Clare, you are a trouble maker. I really enjoyed The Secret Lives of Dresses, but in the end...it comes down to the stars. No...not those stars...the rating stars. City of Fallen Angels was given 5 stars, The Secret Lives of Dresses was given 4. There you have it.

Match 4 goes to...

Phew. Down to four. Congratulations to Cassandra Clare for taking 2 of the final four slots. Impressive.

Let's keep going...

Left Bracket :

Let's Pretend this Never Happened vs. City of Lost Souls

Oh, come on. You know where this is going... I'm not even going to drag this out.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner...

Right Bracket :

Secret Daughter vs. City of Fallen Angels

Unfortunately, this is where Cassandra Clare's winning streak ends. Secret Daughter is just too amazing to not keep going.

Right side winner...

It's like ripping off a band-aid; the quicker I go, the less painful it is to scrap these books from the list.

This is where it gets sticky. Two fabulous books...one winner. It pained me to make this decision. I read so many great books in 2012 that it has been crazy difficult to get it down to just these two. Either of them would be a great pick. Granted, they are from two completely opposite genres (memoir vs. fiction; comedy vs. drama), but both so wonderful.

And yet, in my heart I always knew who would win.




And so...




...the winner of the 2012 Book of the Year...




...is...

Jenny is just wonderful. I love her. Perhaps a little too much. But she just makes me oh so happy.

Sorry Erin...better luck next year. :)