Italo Calvino, a writer I admire, once said, "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." Each one of us could interpret that quote differently. To me, it means this: a classic book is one that stayed with me long after I put it away because of how strongly I related to the story through the language the author used. You'll notice I said how strongly I related to the story, not the characters. Yes of course I prefer a character-driven story, but I

Pulling up to the Italianate architecture of our hotel on a rain-soaked weeknight, we were welcomed into an almond-stained, wood-panelled lounge dripping with luxe Edwardian ambiance. Ahhh, the warmth beckoned me and I embraced it! Low lights, Persian rugs, and groupings of worn velvet settees, leather wing chairs, and embroidered Queen Annes immediately put us at ease. The seaweed, matte-textured tiles surrounded a mosaic of a traditional southern Italian landscape and sat s