What has been taking up my time?

For the past month I have stopped writing so that I could concentrate on a book that I have not been able to put down. The book is, The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I'm almost to its end, and have found myself reading slowly as not to end it so quickly. I want to say it's one of the best pieces of literature I have read, because it is.

The story takes places in Barcelona during the 1950's when a father takes his son, Daniel, to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel is told to choose any book that 'calls to him' from the never-ending shelves of books that have long been awaiting a new reader. His father, a man who knows the place of each book in that room by memory is surprised when Daniel pulls out a book he has never seen, by an author he has never heard of. The book changes Daniel's life, and from that moment, Daniel becomes obsessed with finding any information he can about the author and the whereabouts of his previous novels (that he soon finds out have all been burned). He travels through the small village, a dark shadow of a man following in his tracks, meeting people that withhold details surrounding the true life of the author. As his quest continues, parallels between his own life and the life of the author begin to surface.

I feel lucky to have gotten the chance to read this story, and just had to tell you about it. It must be shared and enjoyed by anyone that still enjoys being taken to another world through language and literature.