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Most avid readers I know have a TBR (“To Be Read”) list, whether they call it that or something else.  I have a long one, and I’ve written before about how insane it gets.  Sometimes books cycle on and off my TBR quickly – especially when they’re new releases that I read about on a book blog, reserve at the library, and then have to finish in one borrowing period because they have wait lists attached.  Other times, they sit.  And sit… and sit… and sit.  Staring me in the face.  Making me feel guilty.

Umberto Eco books are particularly good at staring me in the face and making me feel guilty.  But not as good as the ultimate TBR-sitter, which in my case is One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Really, really, I have no excuse for not reading this book sooner.  I’ve been meaning to get to it for years.  It’s a Nobel Prize winner, everyone seems to love it, and heck, even Oprah found the time.  It’s been at the top of my Goodreads “to-read” list forever, and every time I log in there and check out the books I’m planning to read, it mocks me.

So, I finally checked it out of the library.  Didn’t get around to it, so I renewed it.  Again, didn’t get around to it, so I renewed it again.  And now I’m on my third renewal period, which is all that’s allowed for one book.  (Don’t worry – my library branch has multiple copies.  I’m not preventing anyone from checking out One Hundred Years of Solitude, I promise, and if I don’t finish it on this renewal period I can check out another one of the five copies on the shelf.)  But I think I’m really going to get through it.  I finally made myself sit down and crack the spine, and now I’m halfway through and really enjoying it so far.  The imagery is beautiful – at one point, early in the story, a character looks out a window and sees a soft rain of yellow flowers coming down.  Can’t you just picture that?  Don’t you just wish it rained flowers where you live?

I’ve spent a much-needed lazy weekend on the couch with Garcia Marquez, and I’m just sorry that I didn’t get around to One Hundred Years of Solitude earlier.  Full review coming when I finish it (soon, I’m sure), and in the meantime, I’m just proud of myself for finally tackling the book after meaning to for so long.

What books are sitting on your TBR?  Pick an old one and tackle it this week!