Readz

Gabriel García Márquez

He was born in Colombia, and he writes about Colombia;  the wildly enchanting life of his parents, and his own adventures from childhood thru adulthood...some embellished in the most outlandish extraordinary ways...I found a torn apart One Hundred Years of Solitude early in the year in a used book store for $4...a maze of crazy adventures too fantastical to put life aside for an hour but then go on as normal with your day. 

Living to Tell the Tale his Nobel Prize Winning Memoir of sorts, gives a lot of insight into his other books. His stories of banana plantations, smoky train cars, and an abandoned childhood.

Of course, there is Love in the Time of Cholera..a romance so heartbreaking, so lovely.  The first line of the book is a hook and reel-- 

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love."

A classic that is SO classic, I'll probably buy a copy or two for Christmas gifts.  So worthy.