Somehow I missed reading anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez until one of my book clubs picked Love in the Time of Cholera. I really loved it.

I love any book that takes you to a different place and time. The unrequited love Florentino carries for Fermina for his entire life is somehow not diminished by his extensive list of conquests, but somehow it works within the story. Even more compelling for me were the descriptions of Colombia and the Caribbean.

This book inspired one of the longest discussions I've ever had in a book club - we never wound up devolving into talk about cats or work, so I consider this a first-class book club pick.