Also by Khaled Hosseini ( kite Runner already mentioned) - A thousand splendid Suns.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver, though can be stressful to read was amazing.

then as mentioned Jane Austen, Miles Franklin, Harry Potter, Ben Elton for different reasons.

anything by Jodi Picoult & Paulina Simmons. Anita Shreve is awesome too as is some of James Pattersons novels.

Oh there are too many lol

Another vote for Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I must have read it a dozen times and it still makes me laugh, still makes me cry. THe only part i don't like is that the sequel was so incredibly, incredibly bad.

I'm another one who can't stand Jodi Picoult. I always end up reading her books, but am always left disappointed and bored by the end of it. I think she's got some great ideas about some really interesting topics, but she's *yawn*....zzzzzzzz.........

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but I've just succumbed to popular culture and read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and it was possibly the best pop fiction book I've read in a long time. I would recommend it to anyone.

Thanks to this thread my Book Depository account is working overtime tonight!

Just finished The House Of Special Purpose, by John Boyne - loved it!!!!

Hmmmm... I'm reading "The Historian" at the moment, but I'm kinda not getting through it. It seems well-written so far, but it's a huge book, and the story is very slow-moving... do I really wanna go through 700 pages only to go, "What a waste of time!"

I might get another book, and come back to it later... keeping this thread in mind!

Some really great books

Possesion by AS Byatt
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (it's harrowing though!)
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Classics

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

stylish femme-I haven't added descriptions but the four books you recommended I loved and I think you would enjoy the comtemporary ones on my list.

She's come undone - Wally Lamb completely engrossing and involving

Lion the witch and the wardrobe (read the background behind this as an adult reading it)

Love in the time of Cholera

Joy Luck Club

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield - beautifully written!
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

When I 1st started really getting into reading something like "Harry Potter' would have bored me to tears, even as an adult it was difficult to stay interested, one of the books is almost all talking and nothing happening, great concept but I dont understand the hype, I liked anything from Tamora Pierce, David Eddings, Anne McCaffery, the Eragon books were actually quite adult for a supposed teen age book. it really depends what you are interested in.

Hate Twilight. Jodi Picoult is over rated.

I've more or less given up on 'new' books, and only read classics because of the number of times I've read a book that is hyped up but actually sucks. A Time Travellers Wife was really good but not my style - but at least it was fantastically written.

Some of my favourites:

The Count of Monte Cristo - massive but AWESOME!
The Phantom of the Opera - this was fantastic, I loved it.
Around the World in Eight Days - a very fun read, for a classic.
Dracula - great book.
A Little Princess - this was nice.

Another book I really enjoyed was "Sense and Sensability and Sea Monsters" - it is a parody of the original novel by Jane Austen, and was just very funny!

Oh, and of course, Harry Potter! Artemis Fowl is also great for kids.

Oh gosh. So many books, so little time.

Another vote for Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series. Jamie Fraser - need I say more?!

Margaret Attwood - Handmaid's Tale is my favourite, although The Robber Bride is wonderful, too.

Joyce Carol Oates - Blonde. A fictitious account of Norma Jeane Baker (Marilyn Monroe)

Patricia St John - Treasures in the Snow - thanks to a PP for reminding me of this beautiful story.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - quite possibly my favourite book of all time.

I absolutely love Philip Pulmans "The Northern Lights" and the two sequels. Although they're teen fiction, they are really well written and have an original plot. Brilliant.

Have re-read "Mad About the Boy" by Maggie Alderson a number of times.

For something a little different, I'm going to add that I've started to read Malcolm Gladwell's books.

I really liked Blink, even ordered it for a relative in another language as I knew he'd love it.

Ok I've pretty much skipped the whole thread, so excuse any double ups, but I wanted to get them all down before I forgot any!

Stephen King...My fav's are The Stand, any of his collaborations with Peter Straub,his Dark Tower series and Hearts in Atlantis, The girl who loved Tom Gordon. But I love pretty much all his stuff.

The Bronze Horseman series, amazing, I didn't read it for years because I try not to be a sheep and read books just because everyone is raving...but the only person I hurt was myself this time haha

Jilly Cooper for wonderful crap, if you have the flu and want to curl up in bed I vastly recommend Jilly.

Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth novels.

Captain Correlli's Mandolin, funny and yet sad all at the same time, and it made the island it was set on sound amazing.

The Memory Keepers Daughter

The Girls by Lori Lansens, a novel about conjoined twin sisters.

The Birth House by Ami Mckay

Any of the Phillipa Gregory books, especially The Wise Woman

To Kill a Mockingbird *rolls eyes*

Gone with the Wind. Another bood i didnt read for years because of the cheese factor, but when I did I couldnt put it down. I loveRhett. One of those books you read and wander around in that world for days afterwards.

Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates ( just Amazing)

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Sarah Douglass' Troy Game series (not as mad keen on her other books, but they are still awesome)

The Passage ( my latest new read, OMG EPIC, MUST READ!!!!!)

Golden Compass series


OT, but for Fantasy Freaks, a few years back I read a huge tome, I forget the name or the author, but it was basically a red headed protagonist in an Ale house telling his story to someone? Involving the normal fantasy epic swashbuckling stuff. He was basilly telling about his time at like magicians college, book ended before it got onto any of the really good stuff , Im desperate to find out the book.

ETA sassy, I LOVED the Historian!

Ohh and edited to add, The Red Tent is a wonderful novel too

Edited Again to add...lol

The Mists of Avalon , Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Big Trouble, Dave Barry

Rage, a short story by Stephen King published under Richard Bachman

Penmarric and Cashelmara by Susan Howatch

I'm a prolific reader, and so excited because I have a "to read" pile after a couple of trips to the books shops. and after reading this thread I have even more on my list now!

OP, if you enjoy Philippa Gregory, look into Sharon Penman, similar era to "The White Queen" and I enjoy them even more than Philippa Gregory. "Here Be Dragons" is one of my favourite books ever.

I shall think more on my list

These are the books that spring to mind:

Murder in Amsterdam - Ian Baruma (Non-Ficiton; about the murder of Theo Van Gogh)

Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller (I can't say whether the book is ruined if you have already seen the film, as I haven't seen the film. The book is great though)

Belle de Jour, diary of a London Call Girl - Belle de Jour

The secret diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4 - Susan Townsend (funny)

Joe Cinque's Consolation - Helen Garner (Non-Fiction; about the murder of Joe Cinque in Canberra by ANU student Anu Singh)

I agree about Jodi Picot - I have never managed to get through any one of her books, and I have tried many times as my sister who is an avid reader loves her.

I love Judy Nunn, have read all her books now
also Marian Keyes
I too like Pat Conroy's "Prince of Tides" really is much better than the film
and John Grishams "a time to kill"

I have read and liked loads more but can't think of them at the moment.
oh and if you like Science books (not science fiction) then Simon Singh are good
oh and I like Dan Brown too

and another vote for Harry Potter,
and Memiors of a Geisha was brilliant

Definetely read this! Its a fantastic book and very humbling - I was "forced" to read it at school and then revisited it later in life because I loved so much.

I partially agree with the comments on Jodi Picoult - I have read most of her books, and I love the first 5 or 6 but after that they all seemed very similarly written. I do like Nineteen Minutes by her though.

I really enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife - made the movie much more enjoyable anyway!

I also love April Fools Day by Bryce Courtenay and of course Jessica.

I also go through phases of liking crime / murder mysteries so if you are into that to mix things up I highly recommmend both Lisa Gardner and Karin Slaughter.

Thats it for now.

FWIW - when I am in a book store I always judge a book by its cover!

On tough days I bury my head in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. So cute and quaint but so much bravery and integrity. Different chapters 'call out' to me every time I pick it up.

I'll second White Oleander by Janet Fitch, and also recommend Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre - very different books but amazingly hypnotic writing styles.

But IMHO the greatest writers ever are Henry James and Iris Murdoch (some of Murdoch's books are a little crazy but still brilliant).

But with 2 little kids, I have the dumb these days and tend to just pick up aga sagas by Joanna Trollope and Mary Wesley.

Another vote for The Lovely Bones and I didn't mind the first few of the Harry Potter series too.

Also recommend

The History of Love - Nicole Krauss (lovely characters, I love intelligent child protagonists)
Three Junes - Julia Glass (modern family drama - loved the characters)
Things We Didn't See Coming - Steven Amsterdam (interconnected short stories about a doomed future, but not sci-fi)

and anything written by Kazuo Ishiguro except The Unconsoled - they are all so heartbreaking and follow the themes of lost love and regret. I'm a sucker for sad stories.

What a brilliant thread! There's so many ideas across a lot of genres. Here's some of mine.

Repeating any votes for:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, L.M Montgomery books (especially the Emily ones), Jane Austen, Magician series (but I liked the linked Daughter of the Empire series more), To Kill a Mockingbird, and Ender's Game (dislike the author's ideology but love this book).

I skipped some pages so some of these may be repeats too. These are all 'desert island books' for me that I happily reread every couple of years.

Zodiac by Neal Stephenson. His first book and vastly different from his later ones. Think cynical eco-thriller with sardonic humour.

e by Matt Beaumont - Contemporary cynical humour. Written entirely in emails and yet sets the scene and personalities at a London ad agency in Jan 2000.

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - A fantasy author I really like who writes stories that reflect the politics, moods, eras and aspects of our history. For me, I really love the characters and feel involved in the story lines. Warning - he's not afraid to kill off a loved character to make the story stronger. An early trilogy by him is also the Fionavar Tapestry which has one of the better takes on Arthurian fantasy that I've come across.

Tales of.... series by Armistead Maupin. This series made me have that 'you are there' moment of San Francisco and America during the 60's through to the 80s. Linked friendships and storylines of a group of disparate people; leading to their friendships and relationships. The slice of life these show each year really well.

Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh. Science Fiction. Strong female main character. Storyline deals with ethics of cloning, genetic engineering as well as a concept of cloning to 'replicate' a person. Very compelling storyline of how the replicant deals with learning about what she is, what she could be and whether she is (or should be) all her predecessor was. Plus a whodunnit.

Sandman Graphic novels by Neil Gaiman. No one else mixes up mythology from so many societies, (inc roman myths) Shakespeare, death, and contemporary culture. I'd never ever thought of reading a graphic novel ("aren't comics for kids?") until a friend years ago said 'look at this artwork - and read this story". Well worth looking for them at your library.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis: Kind of literary science fiction written as a tribute to Three Men In A Boat, with the same fast paced humour and is a mix of future people travelling back to the victorian era.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Non fiction, collection of memoir articles focussing on her love of reading and of words written by Anne Fadiman. I especially love the story of how she and her husband found living together or getting married easier than the time they later decided to merge their bookcases.....

Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin - Non fiction, Some other PP recommended biographies which I've only started getting into the past few years. This one won the Whitbread award and is simply wonderful in making his life and the times he lived in so interesting.

I often read a lot of older era and cosy crime stories as well as chick lit but they all run together. There's none that really stand out for me as a 'you must read this' book.

I've given up on The Historian for now. It just wasn't interesting me enough. I don't hate it - but perhaps I'm not in the right frame of mind to want to read it yet. I think it might be one I have to spend days on end reading... whereas I seem to enjoy reading a bit here, and a bit there, more at the moment.

So I've started Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood which is her newest. It's a side-tale to Oryx and Crake apparently... and according to Good Reads it's not as good... but I'm really enjoying it. I look forward to picking up teh book when I have time. Def need to get Oryx and Crake when I'm done... IF Philippa Gregory doesn't get her next book out soon! Last I read it was due out this month (The Red Queen)... but still haven't seen it in shops. Hope she hurries up!

Definitely glad to see some titles in this list though, as some I have had my eye on and wondered about...

I LOVE both those books!!! Get a huge must read from me.

I would also recomend for a laugh:
Nick Earls - Zigzag Street
Nick Earls - Bachelor Kisses

for more serious:
Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient
(even if you have seen the movie the book is BEAUTIFUL and quite different to the movie in a lot of ways. I love it more then the movie and that is saying something because I love the movie)

but this thread is reminding me I have not read fiction in sooo long!

James Herriot books - v funny
Long way round - Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boorman. So funny.

delli - I haven't ever seen anyone else mention Lisa Gardner! I have read and loved all of her books even if Say Goodbye gave me the heebie jeebies.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a must read.

I also enjoy the Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) and Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton) series.

The Tomorrow and Ellie series' by John Marsden too.

Yep, that's the only way I get to read nowadays and not that much either which makes getting into a 700 page tome tricky to keep immersed in (which is the way I like to feel when I read books - completely immersed).

But some that I've read that haven't been mentioned yet are:

Eucalyptus by Murray Bail - poetic fable-like book, one of my alltime faves (didn't think I could ever add a modern book in my alltime faves list) but then I really like trees
The Go-Between by L.P Hartley - I'm reading this to my DH as I'm sure he will like it; so Victorian; I like a good opening line and this one's "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." gotta love a good opening line
The Water Gipsies - A.P Herbert - I really like houseboats and this is set in the 1920s/30s
I Claudius - Robert Graves - absolute classic

Also more popular choices:
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt - liked the first paragraphs of this too: "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."
Wild Swans - Jung Chang

Would recommend Oryx and Crake and Year of the Flood too! Get both books - they're connected.

Both by Margaret Atwood. Both V. Good.