I was looking for a book right before my trip to Europe but unsure what I wanted to read. I stumbled into the fiction section of Books Inc. and saw this book immediately. I noticed it had a really positive review from one of the staff members of the store. I did the immediate thing anyone who likes to read should do: look up the ratings on Goodreads. Once it met the score criteria of critics harsher on literature than on the American government, I began to read more about the author and the book. I was hooked on the concept of it and bought it within 10 minutes.

Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. He was the most-translated contemporary Italian writer at the time of his death. Invisible Cities is about Marco Polo relaying the details of his travels to fictitious cities to Kublai Khan. Calvino writes in imaginative and poetic prose that really makes you use your imagination and ponder on what makes cities...well cities. A deeply thought-provoking read and a definite recommendation.