It seems as though there’s always a blog trend.  Every year, it’s something new.  This year, I can’t help but notice the hilarious monthly “Superlatives” posts that have been floating around, started by the brilliant John and Sherry of Young House Love.  I like to follow the crowd while simultaneously marching to the beat of my own drummer, so I’m doing a “Superlatives” post too but I’m putting my own spin on it.  And now, without further adieu, I shall proceed to give high school yearbook-style awards to some of the books I read in 2011.

Brainiest: War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

It has to be War and Peace!  This is the ultimate “intellectual snob” book around, if you ask me.  Want to come across as smart?  Be reading War and Peace.  Preferably while wearing a pair of librarian specs and a cardigan with elbow patches.  But don’t overlook this book just because it’s smart.  War and Peace was one of the most epic and moving books I have ever read.

Brainiest (Runner-Up): Beowulf, by Anonymous

If we’re crowning a valedictorian, we need a salutatorian too, right?  Beowulf is another one of those books that people think only smartie-pants types read.  But it’s definitely worth a look!  Beowulf is exciting (there’s monster-slaying, y’all) and fast-moving.  And since it’s an epic poem, it’s pretty short.  So if you want to up your library cred over a weekend, pick up Beowulf.

Best Looking: The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, by Caroline Preston

This gorgeous book is the prom queen of my 2011 book list.  A novel almost entirely made up of pictures, in the form of a 1920s scrapbook, it’s just visually stunning.  With page upon page of colorful vintage memorabilia and a charming, spunky heroine, no one can begrudge this lovely lady her tiara.

Most Creative: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

In every high school, there’s bound to be an artsy type who just astonishes you with the depths of her creativity.  In the high school of my bookshelf, that’s definitely The Night Circus.  The descriptions of the magical Cirque des Reves and the incredible characters who populate it were lush and vivid, and the writing was magnificent.  It was probably my favorite book read in 2011.

Most Likely to Give You Nightmares: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

I know from experience, because The Hunger Games did give me nightmares.  But wow, I was so sucked into the world of Suzanne Collins’ novels that I just couldn’t put them down, bad dreams or not.  I usually don’t read dystopia and I’m not big into young adult fiction, but that mattered not one iota – The Hunger Games is just that good.

Class Clown: Notes From a Small Island, by Bill Bryson

A little levity should help us recover from dystopia-induced nightmares, and there’s no one better for that than Bill Bryson.  In Notes From a Small Island, Bryson skewers England, the English and Scottish people, his wife, his kids, and especially himself with his trademark wit.  While he comes across as a bit curmudgeonly at times, there’s no one better for a laugh.

Biggest Flirt: Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s killing it on these superlatives, huh?  Anna Karenina, the story of a woman who enters into an extra-marital affair, definitely takes the award for biggest flirt.  No one knows better how to rock a ball gown than Madame Karenina.

Most Likely to End Up In Jail: All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren

This story of a politician tumbling from a pedestal of honesty into the swamp of corruption is beautifully written, and the characters draw you in even as they make terrible choice after terrible choice.

Most Popular: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

Is there a book club in America that hasn’t read The Help?  I’m guessing not.  But The Help is definitely worthy of its popularity.  The story of a daring group of women, who decide to tell it like it really is in the segregated South at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, is intelligent, thought-provoking, and moving.

Most Likely to End Up In Hollywood: A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

I could have given this one to The Hunger Games, but since that one has already wrapped filming, it wouldn’t be much of a prediction, would it?  But A Discovery of Witches is destined to be pure movie gold if you ask me.  A fragile blonde witch and a brooding, brilliant vampire falling in love and starting an inter-species war?  Come ON, that’s got movie script written all over it!  And you betcha I’ll be at the theater on opening night, cranky husband in tow.  Oh, hey, the book was pretty good too.

Most Opinionated: The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell

A little history, a little current events, a little – okay, a LOT of – opinion.  Mix them together and you get an explosive concoction by Sarah Vowell, heroine of history booknerds everywhere.  The Wordy Shipmates is that girl who always has her hand in the air in American History class, ready to regale the group with obscure trivia and tirades against the government.  But don’t tune her out – listen to her.  She’s got a lot to say, and she’s well worth hearing (or reading).

Most Athletic: Believe It, Be It, by Ali Vincent

I don’t normally read “inspiration lit” – not my cup of tea – but I’m a fan of the Biggest Loser show and Ali Vincent is one of my all-time favorite past players.  I downloaded Believe It, Be It, mainly because I wanted to read some inside dirt on what life is really like on the Biggest Loser Ranch, and Ali definitely delivered.  She dished out a VIP tour of the ins and outs of her season of the show, gossiped about the trainers, told you what a day of filming a reality show is really like, and finished with a heaping helping of inspiration (which, fortunately, is calorie free).  Ali is truly an inspiring person and I loved reading about her journey.

Most Likely to Succeed: As Always, Julia, by Julia Child and Avis de Voto

When the letters start, Julia is an unknown wife of a relatively unknown diplomat, living in Paris and developing an interest in cooking and food.  By the last page, she has written the masterpiece cookbook of the century, lived in several different countries, and made a friend for life in Avis, her correspondent and literary champion.  There aren’t many success stories bigger than Julia’s, but Avis is just as interesting of a woman and the reader gets to know both of them through this wonderful collection of their letters.

So there you have it – my 2011 reading highlights!  What were your favorite books this year?