The Night Circus
I feel like everyone in the world knows this already, because I don't shut up about it, but my favorite book ever is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
It doesn’t matter how many times I read this, how many times I pen excerpts or design characters or scheme up circuses — the power, wonder, magic...every time is like the first time.
I've written multiple essays on how much I admire the craft and *feeling* of this novel. Here is the passage I always quote when I do:
"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift."
Nothing will ever inspire as hard. I'm eternally thankful for stories like The Night Circus, that encompass and enthrall me so wholly. It's really like stepping into another world, which is why I fell in love with books in the first place.
Xoxo
Kylie