Do The Right Thing by Shyama Perera

I have just read it in a day, brilliant.

Lyra: There not bad I think there is 4 altogether - about a young girl who goes to vampire finishing school. Have you read the stookie stackhouse series by charlaine harris? Also, trying to find someone who has read hunger games by suzanne collins - stephanie meyer recommended this and on amazon.com it has great reviews. Vampire Acadamy by Richelle Mead is also supposed to be really good. Haven't read anything yet though that is as good as the twilight saga but they get me through ...

I think I'll finish Twilight. I've waited this long for City of Glass - a couple more days wont hurt.
These books you're reading, are they any good? I might need them once I've finished Mortal Instruments.

Lyra - decisions, decisions , I'm also in a dilema, as well as getting city of ashes and city of glass from the library they also had Chosen from the house of night series - have decided to go with Chosen I have just finished betrayed but I am racing through it to be with Jace

I now have City of Glass in my possession. The dilemma is, do I finish Twilight (just past the meadow scene ... sigh) or ditch it in favour of Jace Wayland and co.

City of Glass arrived from Amazon last week while I was out. Instead of just leaving the parcel on the doorstep, like they usually do, they took it back to the sorting office. I've rearranged delivery for tomorrow. But now I'll have to finish Twilight before I can start.

LyraSilverTongue: Just picked up City of Ashes & City of Bones from the library - can't wait to start reading them - have you started City of Bones?

*Antdamm & Sunshinemummy* Please let me know what you think about Twilight once you have finished.

although twilight is a bout vampires, which are technically dead or undead ( or whichever way u look at it) and they kill people..... maybe I'm not moving too far from that genre at all

okay, I have caved and ordered twilight along with about 25 other books from amazon (thank goodness it was my bday at the weekend, and ppl were kind enough to give me amazon certificates)

Thanks for the recommendations, maybe I can move away (ever so slightly) from the crime/thriller genre I love so much and read books about something other than death for once.

Will let you know how I get on

Excellent choice

OK I bought Twilight after reading this thread. Will report back.

Yes, finished Midnight Sun last night. I was so grateful that even though it's incomplete, it did contain the bit where Bella tells Edward she knows - that is my favourite chapter in the Twilight book, and I'd been wondering while reading it what Edward was thinking the whole time!

I really hope she does finish MS. There is so much more to Twilight that you can only get through Edward's side of things.

Oh, I'm going to start a new thread, this all really has nothing to do with general makes-you-breathless books!

Hmmm, well, the only thing I've found is The Romantic by Barbara Gowdy.
I bought it while on a trip to Canada, and read it on the flight home. I remember sitting in the Transit lounge when we stopped in the middle of the night, and sobbing my heart out as I read. It was rather , but I remember being overcome by the sadness of the love story...

I haven't read it since, so can't say whether it would still have that effect!

I don't read much teenage fiction <Note to Self : read more teenage fiction>, but I don't think I ever did, even when I was a teenager myself. But if Twilight is any indication of what's out there, then I have really been missing out.

Hi - did you finish Midnight Sun? Also, have you by any chance read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins???

I actually do think you have to have read the book to make sense of the film, which is obviously a bad thing for the film (and anyone who was watching it not having read the book), but for me personally it was fine. I've only watched it the once, though - I'm waiting until dh has one of his rare nights out, then I'm going to indulge myself with a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates and the Twilight DVD. We watched it together the first time, and I was aware that it would not be good at all for me to be sitting there drooling over Edward Cullen

Bizarrely enough, the book which I have been most reminded of whilst reading the Twilight books has been Secret History by Donna Tartt; not because of the whole teenage love thing, but more because of secretive, special group with bizarre rituals thing that is the Greek group in SH - and I am feeling some sort of connection between Edward and Henry (I may be totally off here - I need to re-read SH to see what I'm really on about!). Hmm.

I read quite a bit (and I used to read a hell of a lot more - easily a couple of hundred books a year ) but I'm struggling to think of books which have a really good, strong, makes-you-breathless sort of love/romance in them.

I'm just going to peruse my bookshelves to see if I'm missing anything that I could recommend....

Hopeforthebest: What did you think of Midnight Sun and if you find any good teenage romances please let me know

Hopeforthebest, I see what you're saying, but that means you have to have read the book to make sense of the film. If you haven't read the book, the love story in the film makes no sense at all.

HopeForTheBest - I totally agree with you. The twilight book brought back great memories of how I felt when I was 18 as that is when I met my husband and it made me feel all nice inside. The vampire books I am reading are okay but no-where near as good as Twilight and I think that is because the love and passion is just not there - I think also Edward Cullen is just such a great character no-one can replace him. The stookie stackhouse book is good but the vampire acts like a real vampire unlike Edward ..

I thought the film was fine. It missed out lots, as films do tend to, but if you'd read the book before, it was sort of a brief visualisation of that, iyswim. I thought both Edward and Bella were cast well .

But however much I'm enjoying the Twilight series, I don't think that the attraction for me is the vampire aspect as such. It's the love, the feelings, the emotions that Edward and Bella are going through, and in fact the characters of Edward and Bella themselves - is there anything more exquisite or exciting than first love? The vampire thing makes it more edgy and interesting, but it's not making me want to go and read more vampire books - it's making me want to go and read more teenage romances!

We are going to be reading Twilight for our October (Hallowe'en!) bookclub meeting. The suggestion caused much outrage and rolling of eyes - "You want me to read a teenage romance about vampires? Really?" - but both I and the woman who suggested it are confident that it's actually about lots more than that, and that we will have much to talk about, and that even those who are most definitely not into vampires will find something of interest in it.

<makes list ready for library visit>

Hi - Yes done Buffy, I'm just starting on Supernatural and waiting for True Blood to start on t.v. this Friday - which is why I am reading Dead until Dark. I'm reading all these to try and not go back to reading the Twilight Saga yet again

You'r obsessed!
Have you tried Buffy?

Hi Yes, I have read City of Bones - just waiting for the other 2 books to come in at the library. Also have started the Morganville Vampire Series and the House of Night series. I have the Study series and the vampire diaries yet to start. I have also heard that Vampire Academy is really good. As you can see - I just can't get enough of vampires at the moment but no-one has my heart like Edward .........

I got about halfway through Interview with the Vampire, which I couldn't really get into. They sleep in coffins fgs and murder people every night and never get older and nobody, in the big city they live in, notices
Other than that, only the Mortal Instruments series. Was it you who was reading them too?

LyraSilverTongue: I can understand that - in some ways I wish I didn't like Robert Pattinson so much and then I wouldn't be obsessed about googling him . It doesn't help that I see a huge picture of him every morning on my daughters bedroom wall ......

LyraSilvertongue: Forgot to ask - have you read any other vampire books that you can recommend? I am nearly finished Charliane Harris Dead until Dark and it is quite good and I think there is about 7 books in total.

Sandy, reading the book last night I had to make a real effort to get RP's face out of my head and replace him with my own, far superior, Edward.

Sunshinemummy, in the film, they go from ignoring each other to declaring undying love with seemingly nothing in between. The main point of the book is the developmnent of that relationship. The filmmakers chose to leave all that out, bizarrely.

LyraSilverTongue Different Edward!!!! NO!!!!! I loved Robert Pattinson as Edward - I think his face speaks volumes, whereas Bella was just plain awkward and mumbled the whole time. I also didn't get Rosalie - she was nothing as described in the book.

One problem with the film is that Robert Pattinson chose to concentrate on the 'tortured' side of Edward's personality, completely leaving out all the wonderful qualities that make Edward so fascinating and compelling. And Bella comes across and limp and passive.
And they really ballsed up the magical, heart-stopping meadow scene. There was no magic in it, in the film. I ould go on at length about this

I must admit I just didn't get the fuss over the film. Their relationship developed too quickly, the music annoyed and it just seemed like vampires with teen angst. i may read the book if it's good.

It does annoy me that they did such a crap job of translating the book to the big screen. Having just started reading Twilight again last night, it really brought that home to me. They need to make the film again, and properly this time. And with a different Edward.

The book and film are really worlds apart.
You don't get a proper sense of their relationship from the film. Reading the book, you feel their relationship intensely like it's happening to you.

*Sunshine Mummy* Honestly the book is so much better - this is what normally happens, the books are great and the films are just okay. I personally didn't really like Kristen Stewart - didn't think she was Bella at all and you just don't get the same closeness that comes over in the book.

Sandy22 I hated the film and it's put me off reading the book.

Antdamm I can't say enough about Twilight - if you do buy it please come back on this thread and let me know what you think? Have you seen the film? If so, the film is okay but honestly is nowhere near as good as the books although I do love to watch Robert Pattinson every week

Well, after reading so many positive things, I feel compelled to go out and buy a copy of twilight - just to see if it is as good as it sounds.

I usually read books from the crime/thriller genre. So for me, the books that I can think of as having taken my breath away or left me thinking about them long after i have finished the book are:-

The Straw Men - Michael Marshall - i have frequently told DP that I would go back in to rescue these books if the house were on fire (he just tells me that i could buy new ones )

And

Heartsick - Chelsea Cain. This book left me feeling very strange. Dont know how to explain it. I could not wait to buy sequel, then when I did I didnt want to read it for fear of disappointment. But am pleased to say the sequel is very good also. Just waiting for number three now.

Hopeforthebest I got your e-mail thanks very much, I have replied to you.

Lyra My kids are now in bed, itching to read Midnight Sun but will leave to later I think when it is completely quiet and I won't get disturbed and I can concentrate fully - oh Edward Cullen (swoooooooon)

I've read Owen Meany so many times, I start welling up from about halfway through
Interestingly (for me, anyway ), the last time I read it I found it even sadder than usual, and interpreted it differently to how I always had. I think this is the sign of a wonderful book for me - that I can come back to it again and again and a)not get bored and b)find new things in on each reading.

I'm really trying not to finish Midnight Sun too quickly, but it's SO GOOD!!!
Sounds like you have both have a nice evening planned, Lyra and Sandy - and I think I'll be joining you! (not in the bath, obviously )

I just finished Owen Meany last night. It was good, but a bit of a slog, especially all the religious stuff. I did predict the end though - all that practising of The Shot had to be for something.

Sandy and Hope, I'm going to re-read Twilight again tonight. I'll run and hot bubble bath and pour a cold glass of wine. Just have to get the children in bed first (may put them to bed early ).

Ah, I already sent it earlier today! Hope it hasn't buggered up your email....

Hopeforthebest - managed to sort Midnight Sun out so no need to e-mail, thank you anyway - oh can't wait for tonight, good reading material and a glass of wine ...

HopeForTheBest - just e-mailed you, please let me know whether you receive the message - many thanks for doing this.

It would, theoretically, be a rather large PDF file - about 16MB, so certainly emailable if one had a good internet connection....
(rebelmum72 @ gmail . com)

Hopeforthebest If only you lived near me I could pop round and also do a copy for myself that was if you would ever think of doing this and of course if you could get round the PDF file ........

One could also - theoretically - having gone to all that trouble, then realise that one actually has a rather nifty little program which will batch crop the pages so the captured window bits round the edges are gone, leaving only text, and then by using two columns in a horizontal layout in Word, insert the whole thing in pairs ie making 132 pages with two sides on each page, which one - again, theoretically - could look into printing double-sided and binding so that one ended up with a rather smart little booklet....

I would just like to make it clear that I in no way support the use of such methods, nor would I ever consider using them myself, to get round a security-blocked PDF file.

Hopeforthebest you are soooo funny - can't believe you went to all that trouble - if one could do all that king of thing let me know what you think when you have read it - my daughter has been on youtube all afternoon looking for robert pattinson stuff - just can't get away for it lol!

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. I stole it from ds one afternoon and then I couldn't bear the thought of letting him finish. It broke my heart and killed dh as well. The book is still well hidden.

A Thousand Splendid Suns and the Kite Runner. My teeth ached when Miriam ate rocks. They were both horrible, horrible stories that I was compelled to keep reading.

Sandy22 - well, I'm not saying that I did this, because that would be unethical (and probably illegal?), but it is technically possible to do a screenshot of each page, which would result in 264 single graphic files, which one could then paste into for example a Word Document, which one could then print out. And to make the whole taking screenshots thing a bit easier and automated, one could, should one be so inclined, download a trial version of a super screenshot software which makes the whole thing quite a bit easier.

And, if one had no morals left whatsoever, one could then ask one's dh to drive into work on a Saturday evening to print the whole thing out, because one's own little printer really wouldn't be able to cope with 264 pages and one was not willing to wait until Monday morning when the Copy Shop would be open....ahem, but this is all completely theoretical, ok?

Also loved the Diddakoi, does anyone remember the tv series? It was about 1976 I think

I bought the book for my DD but she's not keen on it. I think some of the phrases used are a little dated now and confusing for her. Shame!

Chegirl Hope you had a lovely birthday

hopeforthebest please let me know if you find a way to print midnight sun.

Ah, but the fact that we all have different tastes in books is what makes it all so interesting, serin : I thought Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was one of the worst books I have ever read - badly written, no coherent plot or themes, not even vaguely funny or amusing and generally bad. Yet APFOM had me sobbing in my bed the night I finished it - I woke up with dark rings around my puffy, sore red eyes from so much crying

Oh, and I'm working on a way to print out Midnight Sun - no way can I read it on the laptop!

Belated Happy Birthday to chegirl too

Happy Birthday (for yesterday),

Am amazed at the posters who were moved by A prayer for Owen Meany, I found it the most irritating book ever. I resented the time I spent reading it but felt that it had to get better, so kept ploughing on.

Also could not get into; The time travellers wife or We need to talk about Kevin.

I loved

The life of Pi (stunning)
The wasp factory
The pearl (John Steinbeck)
A town like Alice
Salmon fishing in the Yemen

Ballon OMG too! I thought of mentioning that book when I first saw this thread but I thought . I remember the moment I finished reading that book. I could only have been about 8. I was sitting on the 'ali ba ba' laundry basket in my mum's bedroom. I finished the last page and burst into tears.

I turned 42 today

Humphrey Cobbler - OMG! - "The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden"

I didn't know anyone apart from me (and a old bf who has probably forgotten it) who has even read that book. I love it.

Am flapping my hands . . . !

Hopeforthebest I don't think you can print out Midnight Sun - I tried but had to read it on the computer in the end. Let me know what you think of Eclipse - this was my favourite book. I did all my cleaning today listening to breaking dawn on the i-pod .

It is astonishing listening to it on headphones. Thank you so much for the tip!

I've just finished re-reading (should there be a hyphen in there? Does anyone know? It's been bothering me for ages) Twilight and am going to print out Midnight Sun to read over the weekend. I don't know whether I'll then re-read New Moon or go straight to Eclipse.

I missed so much the first time I read Twilight though. I noticed so much more this time around, and it's given me a great deal to think about.

HopeForTheBest glad you found it - its great isn't is especially through listening on the i-pod. I still can't believe how much I love the Twilight Book, I read it back in May and still can't let it go. I think I love it so much because it isn't all about sex and the way he just seems to love her .............

Found it. Oh. Tis lovely. Making me shiver.

(am referring to the remix of Bella's Lullaby btw)

I've been thinking an awful lot about how some books can touch you so deeply, and stay with you way beyond the time that you're reading them.

I am always amazed that simple words on a page can have that effect, especially these days, when we are bombarded with so much media in so many forms from all sides. It's sort of reassuring that ultimately the most powerful images and feelings are the ones that I see and feel in my own my head.

<Hope has been drinking. Can you tell?>

I feel this way about any book by James Rollins, I love him, his books are so exciting they leave you breathless, you get so absorbed by the story that you can't put the book down, you can't wait to turn the page and see what is going to happen next. Once you have finished, you feel cheated, as if a bit of your life is missing .

His new one is out this month and I am ssoooooo excited.

I guess you could say I am a fan

Hopeforthebest & Lyrasilvertongue have you read any of the twilight fan fiction? This story is really good http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2800923/1/TheLion_and_theLamb

Hopeforthebest I downloaded it - also has Rob Pattinson singing Let me Sign (thats the bit were he saves Bella from James) I think some cd's had bonus tracks. If you haven't heard it you must go on youtube and have a listen!

TsarChasm - that's reminded me of a book called Amnesia by Douglas Cooper. I bought it, when I was a student, in a small bookshop in Shepherd's Bush which was closing down. It was really cheap, and something about the cover appealed to me.
Anyway, nobody I know has ever heard of it, it is a truly bizarre and amazing book, but I'm also scared to read it again in case it doesn't live up to my memory of it.

Sandy22 I've been listening to it whilst working (forgot I had to finish something tonight, so no reading for me ) It's not what I'd usually listen to, but somehow fits so well with the film/book, I'm really enjoying it. Am off to find version of the lullaby with Edward's voice on it, I think I need to have that!

...Ok, had a look and cannot find it! Which version of the CD is it on? Or have you got the ISBN no (or whatever it's called for CDs)?
<woman possessed >

The Magus by John Fowels.

I really felt I was in it. It was wonderful and surreal, but I read it years ago and I'm scared to read it again in case it doesn't live up to the memory I have of it.

I always think of it as my favourite book though.

HopeForTheBest - ooooh lucky you - hope you like it - let me know what you think. The soundtrack I got had the lullaby re-mix which has Edwards voice - its wonderful. I have to say I'm not sorry this is turning into a twilight thread - its nice to chat to other people who love the whole twilight saga as much as I do ....

Oooh! Oooh! Soundtrack arrived today, so guess what I'll be plugged into while reading tonight?

Sorry, this is turning into complete Twilight thread, when it's really not meant to be at all.

I must re-read After You'd Gone, I remember it being wonderful, but have only very vague memory of what it was actually about.
I have it in my mind as being somehow similar (in a positive way) to The Last Time They Met, which I think is a wonderful book (Anita Shreve).

I would have read it before but that's not an option now is it. Read it after Twilight and before New Moon.

Hopeforthebest: Some people have read the two together, I personally would read twilight and then Midnight Sun straight after, I think Midnight Sun is excellent and it gives you more of an insight into the rest of the Cullens - oh how did I ever get by without my daily dose of Edward Cullen .

Very Important Question : should I read this Midnight Sun thing before, after or during the re-reading of Twilight (which I am about 1/3 of the way through re-reading...um, which sort of rules out the first option I gave there, doesn't it? )

LyraSilvertongue: I never used to be a vampire addict until I read twilight - I can't believe I kept putting off reading it - I'm so glad my daughter pestered me into it. I'm thinking of starting to listen to Eclipse on Audio but again trying my very best to control myself! I'm loving the pictures of Rob Pattinson shirtless in Italy

I read a book called Cinammon Wharf and there was something about it, it always sticks in my head

Very descriptive I had a clear picture of every character, where they lived etc and I just loved it

must find it and have another read

Girl with a Pearl Earring
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Grapes of Wrath
After You'd Gone
Handmaid's Tale
Time Traveller's Wife

A bit of a vampire addict then, Sandy?
I'm also trying hard not to re-read Twilight series ( already read them twice) but I'm finding it hard to resist. I think I'll probably read them all again before the movie of New Moon comes out in November.

Chris Cleave "The Other Hand". Still in the middle of it but it does just make your heart stop from time to time.

Time Traveller's Wife too......

They are about a girl who goes to a vampire finishing school; noticed in the first book marked that the language was a bit more mature. I think there are 4 books altogether, I am starting the 2nd book Betrayed. I have also ordered the first book (dead until dark) of the stookie stackhouse by Charlaine Harris. Also ordered Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith. I have read Glass Houses by Rachel Caine which was good and there are about 7 books in that series I think. I have yet to read the Nighworld series by LJ Smith. As you can see I love my books and am desperately trying not to go back to the twilight saga books for a while even though I think about Edward every day ...

Those teenage hormones - obv. affecting my spelling!
and Wodehouse - Oh wow!

I totally fell for the twilight series - all that teenage hormones!! brought it all back I really surprised myself by being all giggly when I had a fabulous looking hairdresser the other day.
I was blushing like a teen!! Too utterly sad

I love His Dark Materials triolgy also
and also I love

Ursula Le Guin Earthsea series - five books. In fact anything by U leG.

And patricia Mc killop's the riddle master trilogy.

H. Potter was a jolly good escape also.

And I love PG Woodhouse for a giggle - and for appreciating the plot. Also SAKI.

Flan O brien has surreal effects on me also. I can't look at a bicycle the same way now since Seargent Fotterel in the Dalkey Archive. I try not to put my foot on a curb for any length now, just in case

Never heard of them but always keen to get good book recommendations. What are they about?

Mine is Ps I Love You

Oh, I'm really disappointed - I too loved the kissing scene in city of bones - I'm really gutted now .... I'm starting on the house of night novels now - I have read marked and now on betrayed - have you read them?

They are
Although I suspect that situation could change in City of Glass (just a feeling I have).
what a waste, eh? The kissing scene in City of Bones gave me goosebumps.

LyraSilvertongue: (SPOILER ALERT FOR CITY OF BONES) - tell me Clary & Jace aren't really brother and sister !!!!!

Here Mummydragon Sorry I spelt her name wrong earlier on...

Me too. It fills in lots of gaps.

Janeite - I'm shocked! I personally thought midnight sun was brilliant and it made sense of other things within Twilight - oh well each to their own ..

I think I must be missing something. I started reading 'Midnight Sun' on t'internet and thought it was drivel. I had already read Twilight so why on earth would I want to read the whole thing again but from soppy Edward instead of soppy Bella's point of view. Extremely lazy writing imho and I'm glad she didn't make any money from it.

Runs away quickly before the fans attack!

City of Ashes is good too. I got fed up of waiting for the library to get City of Glass so I've ordered it from Amazon. Jace is lovely but he's no Edward...

LyraSilvertongue: I'm nearly finished city of bones, waiting for city of ashes and city of glass to come into the library - was city of ashes good? I too am liking Jace very much but not as much as Edward, oooooh he is just adorable....

Sandy, I'm also reading Mortal Instruments. I've read City of Bones and City of Ashes and I'm waiting for Amazon to deliver City of Glass. I really like them but not as much as Twilight. I'm secretly a bit in love with Jace Wayland

Hopeforthebest, I agree, you should read Midnight Sun (what there is of it) before re-reading Twilight. You'll understand so much more, for example where Edward went and what he did when he left town after meeting Bella, what was going on with the Cullens, lots of stuff that isn't in Twilight.

Hopeforethebest: If you are going to re-read twilight then you should read the 12 chapters of midnight sun on the stephanie meyer website (Edwards point of view) it is just wonderful and I really hope that one day she publishes the book - it makes twilight a much better book.

Sunshinemummy: Re. the Harry Potter books, I cried when Dumbledore died and also when Dobbie the elf died - I just love those books.

I am trying to read a lot of new books to try and get away from the twilight saga. I have started the Mortal Instruments series (City of Bones, City of Ashes & City of Glass) bit of vampire & werewolves - quite good but not as good as Twilight. Also am going to start reading the Stookie Stackhouse house series.

claireybee I LOVED The Girl in Times Square too! But can't seem to find any of the author's other books - Amazon don't have any ...

Already mentioned but The Kite Runner. Sobbed throughout.

Several of the ones mentioned here, plus also:

Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (defintiely the book, not the crappy film)

The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende (again the book def not the rubbish film)

and - if you can include books that you get into just in a very happy, lovely warm bath sort of way - 'Standing in the Rainbow' by Fannie Flagg.

There are two bits in HP where I absolutely sob my heart out, no matter how many times I read them. In The Goblet of Fire when Harry's wand is linked to Voldemort's and his mum and dad are telling him to hold on; and in Deathly Hallows when he's walking into the woods to sacrifice himself.

Other books that have really moved me include The Kite Runner, Silk and Fugitive Pieces. There are more but I can't think of them right now.

There are two bits in HP where I absolutely sob my heart out, no matter how many times I read them. In The Goblet of Fire when Harry's wand is linked to Voldemort's and his mum and dad are telling him to hold on; and in Deathly Hallows when he's walking into the woods to sacrifice himself.

Other books that have really moved me include The Kite Runner, Silk and Fugitive Pieces. There are more but I can't think of them right now.

Reading through all the replies, there does seem to still be a tendency towards either children's / young adults books OR books which we read when we were younger ourselves.

And I'd agree that the quality of the writing ie whether it's great literature or not seems to be rather irrelevant.

All most interesting and makes me glad I asked the question!

I have decided to postpone reading Eclipse (it arrived today, so will have to put it somewhere out of reach ) by re-reading Twilight first.
I used to do this with the Harry Potter books - before the new one came out, I always re-read the previous ones, both to get myself up-to-date, and to get "in the mood". And, of course, to delay the pleasure of reading the latest book!

I shall definitely be looking into some of the titles mentioned here. I've read so much crap over the last few years, books which have meant nothing to me and I've almost forgotten as soon as I've finished. It's been so, so good to be totally enjoying and loving reading a book again. And when I say "crap", I don't mean that the books weren't good - many were excellent - but they just didn't strike anything in me. I wouldn't want to be an emotional wreck with every book I read, but it would be nice if it happened a bit more often!

I'm thinking that this probably has something to do with the thing I mentioned above ie that it's younger books or books we read when younger; those are times when we are much more emotional and tend to feel more deeply anyway, what with all those hormones raging around

The Bronze Horseman - I think it was because dh and I were in a long distance relationship at the time and so it struck a chord with me. I don't know how good it really is though...I got very excited when I saw the sequel in the library but didn't enjoy it.

I also got really into The Girl in Times Square (also by Paulina Simmons) and felt completely wrung out by the end.

That's not to say it is good literature though-sometimes the poorest quality books get me sobbing (PS I Love You for example )

The Book Thief took me ages to get into but I found myself thinking about it all day.

On reading the thread title the book that came to mind was 'The Girl in as Swing' by Richard Adams but then I realised that it must be 20 years since I read it! I am going to dig it out again tonight... so thanks!
others - To Kill a Mockingbird, the book and film will never leave me
Love for Lydia H.E Bates
I have just realised that I read all these in late teens obviously a very influential time!

'On Green Dolphin Street' and 'Birdsong' -both by Sebastian Faulks (genius).

Both books had me literally erupting into tears at one point - both times when on a crowded train

Thanks for the recommendations on here - will be hitting Waterstones/the library this week!

MrsF - so pleased to find another Lymond devotee! I read them when I was a teenager - they've pretty much spoiled me for any other hero, ever! It was the first book I ever cried over.

'Girlfriend in a Coma'

'The Bone People'

'To Kill a Mockingbird'

'His Dark Materials'

The Road by Cormac McCarthy...I can't even talk about it now..and I read it 2 years ago!...harrowing from the first sentence but absolutely beautifully written.

The film version is coming out soon.

hopeforthebest: I'm soooooooo jealous your only just starting Eclipse - wish I was. Excellent idea, mp3 player, book, wine - doesn't get much better.

Oh, I loved Maggie O'Farrell's first book, but completely forgot to see what she's written since

Have indeed seen the film, but seeing as I had the book in my head, I was able to fill in all the bits which weren't in the film iyswim...so in my mind, it was a brilliant film
And I do think the casting was spot on for Bella and Edward.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is really good- by Maggie O'Farrell.

Have you seen the film? It doesn't do the book justice, sadly.

Lyra: I am vaguely considering re-reading Twilight and New Moon again before reading Eclipse (I've ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet), just to prolong the pleasure and delay the inevitable when I'll have finished all three...sad, isn't it?

Sandy22* I have also ordered the soundtrack, which I thought was excellent. And then I'll just plug in my mp3 player, book in one hand, glass of wine in the other...ah, bliss

Hopeforthebest,you finished it Isn't the bit after Edward comes back just magical? It gave me goosebumps.
You're really going to enjoy Eclipse.

Hopeforthebestexpecttheworst: I too ove with Edward Cullen - I can't believe how many times I have read and re-read these books, I have them also on my i-pod and have the soundtrack in my car - I'm over 40 and just can't think about anything else. It doesn't help that Robert Pattinson is absolutely goregous and is definately Edward in my eyes ........

Oh - Pawn in Frankincense! How could I have forgotten the Chronicles of Lymond?

The sequel "Checkmate" is also totally riveting - one of the most nailbiting endings I've ever read!

"The Shack" by William Young

I echo Mists of Avalon and Shipping News. The first book that made me catch in my throat was "A death in the Family" by James Agee (I think it won a Pulitzer). I was only a teen when I read it, I think I should read it again. Recently, I read Rohan Mistry's A fine Balance which is a thoroughly depressing yet strangely hopeful book and did tear up a bit. Tough read though but worth it.

started 'kevin' i stopped becuase i bored me shitless.

really loved 'ha;f of a yellow sun' but i was not there like twilight. i loved it the way i haven't loved a book since lord of the rings.

actually own a copy of the amber spyglass - but i started to read northern lights and it wasn't doing anything for me at all.

I was given My Sisters Keeper which I read a few months after DD was born. I sobbed, totally unexpected

lol at littlepurpleprincess Join the club!

I have just ordered Eclipse, having breathlessly finished New Moon last night. I don't understand why these books are having such a effect on so many of us, but personally I'm enjoying feeling like a teenager totally in love again ...sigh...

Sorry, this actually wasn't supposed to be a Twilight thread as such, but that's what got me wondering about which books provoke such a reaction.

Ok I have to admit it. I bought Twilight yesturday and I read the entire thing in one go. It took me 9 hours.

DS was left to fend for himself, poor thing.

I am totally in love with Edward, I must have MORE!

Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett, mazing mazing book.

Just finished The Believers by Zoe Heller, so I was going to look for something else by her...might have to splash out on both. Should of course use the library more but I find that while I am in the kids section regularly I cant face the trauma of racing through the adult section trying to find what I need before one of the girls 'rearranges' the tape books or just starts cheerfully shouting random things about the world.

Definitely Black Beauty when i was younger.

The Kite Runner and The Wise Woman by Phillipa Gregory.

I re-read 'Tom's Midnight Garden' recently (am very fond of all the books I loved as a child), and the ending is almost unbearably poignant, much more so to me now, as an adult, than it was when I was 10!

grapes of wrath

What WERE you planning to get Cathpot?

Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks
Canopus in Argos series - Doris Lessing - ("Shikasta" in particular)

Amber Spyglass
The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
The Night Watch - Sarah waters

And another vote here for the Mists of Avalon....

The Time Travellers Wife made me howl too, even though I didn't rate it particularly - must have been pmt! .

Oh another is The corrections by Jonathan Franzen - i know some who thought it over hyped, but I though the characters were fabulously real. Not soe keen on the other stuff of his I have read.

Agree with Remains of the Day.

Oh and the Age of Innocence and The BEll by Iris Murdoch.

Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley, is a biography of sorts but makes it all the more powerful as you follow his own journey into the past with the hindsight of the present.

Also Twelve Bar Blues, Patrick Neate, my brother gave this to me and I love how the worlds collide.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, in fact anything by him I find amazing.

Marguerite Duras 'The Lover'. loved it, left me breathless!

Jux - I agree Use of Weapons is so so good, i always lend to people who havent read Iain M Banks as it was my way into all his other sci fi stuff. On a sci fi theme 'Enders Game' - Orson Scott Card, is also really fab and sucked me in completely, and can safely be lent to people with no interest in the sci fi genre.

I have a book token in my bag and I thought I knew what I was going to get but now I might have to go and try this Twilight business...

Nice to see I'm not the only one who gets like this.
There have been a few books mentioned that I'd never heard of, but will be investigating <opens new tab for The Book Depository and gets out credit card...>

Of Mice And Men is, as far as I'm concerned, about as perfecta novel it is possible to write. As an English teacher, I revisit it at least once a year and every time I discover something new in it.

The Remains Of The Day left me cold and I gave up on Life Of Pi.

Mintyy - please, please explain Hawksmoor to me because I thought it was awful. I just didn't ^Get It^.

hassled I agree about the writing in Tender is the Night. It's sublime in parts.

yy snorbs, woman who walked into doors really gets you inside her head, doesn't it - the image of her putting her kids to bed early and searching in the dark for the key to the booze cabinet will stay with me forever.
The sequel was (imho) very disapointing...

This happens to me all the time. I think I'm a bit over-empathetic.

There are two books which have really strongly affected me like this. One is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov,, and the other is The Insult by Rupert Thomson.

I have re-read the M&M many times and it is still as brilliant. I did re-read The Insult, and although I loved it it did lose its impact a bit when you know what happens at the end.

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. In a way I wish I hadn't read it even though it is so amazing because I can't stop thinking about it, and it is heartbreaking. And breath taking. Sob, sob...

We read "The Lord of the Flies" at school and that was quite disturbing at the time.

"The Third Policeman" is such a peculiar book that it's almost like it infected my mind with surrealness for a while. Very odd.

"The Wasp Factory" gave me the absolute screaming heebie-jeebies. I'm glad I read it, but (unusually for me) I'm not sure I'll ever read it again.

"Koba the Dread" by Martin Amis is shocking and harrowing, not least because it's a biography (of sorts) of Stalin and so you know it's real

"The Woman Who Walked Into Doors" by Roddy Doyle affected me a great deal. I thought it was an extraordinary book and a powerful examination of a character but, crikey, was it bleak. I heard there was a sequel but I'm not sure I could take any more...

The Mists of Avalon!

God I LOVED that book.

How could I have forgotten? Thanks SGB, will look for a copy.

Kevin I read when I was pregnant with DS (thankfully my second child!!! Do NOT read it when pregnant with your first). I have forgotten a lot, but it might have been a bit breathy.

I read a book when I was about 11 (probably some sort of christian propaganda stuff - was leant to me by a friend who lent me lots like that!) all about what happened to unnamed (ie unchristened) children if they died Was very sad.

Three that come to mind immediately are The Remains of the Day, Of Mice and Men and The Road Home.

And, unexpectedly, Margaret Foster's Diary of an Ordinary Woman really had me gripped.

Agree with lots of these especially 'Time Travellers Wife', my DH was in pieces at that one too. 'The Book Thief' is brilliant but I know I couldn't read 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', especially now I have a DC of my own.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned The God of Small Things. This gave me the biggest emotional hit and is still my favourite book of all time. Sobbed uncontrollably for ages and it still makes me want to cry thinking about it now.

I haven't bothered with 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' as I wasn't that keen on her other book.

Oh, and thanks to whoever mentioned 'Diana' - I loved that as a teenager. Must get it again and some of the others mentioned here. (off to Amazon)

KerryMum - I keep every bloody book I come across... American Psycho is the only one that I took to a book exchange place knowing I would never in my life want to read it again. not sure signed copy is a good thing!

Twilight did it for me to. I am about it, but there ya go.

Amber Spyglass has me sobbing every single time.

I was the same with finishing Harry Potter purely because I was so attached to them all. (Oh and I never got over Sirius)

Looking round my shelves... I know many grown up books have done it, but can't think of any

The Chrysalids affected me quite a bit.

The end of Life of Pi took my breath away.

I was so shocked that it took a moment to completely register.

The ending turns it from a really good book into an amazing book.

The Book Thief was a real hit at our book group and my mum had to reread the end as she was crying too much to take it in. I loved it even though I am a total wimp when it comes to anything to do with the Holocaust. Mr Pip got me very involved too and was another book group fave.

I read Disgrace years ago and hated it - I remember it as so bleak that I just finished it, put it down and felt desperate.

Fingersmith is a book that made me gasp at the twists in the tale - twice!. Perfume I loved but have never seen the film in case it's a let down...

I must look up this Twilight stuff. I'm in trouble for choosing kids books at book group (His Dark Materials, The Christmas Mystery) so will have to read it in between times. Can you please tell me book titles and authors as am a seldom MNer and have missed the excitement over these books...

oh and i should say (like 99.9% of the population) that the time travellers wife made me cry, really really cry. not a good read on the train

The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson. it gave me goosebumps with every page. loved it.

I remember snivelling my way round Rome about 25 years ago as my holiday book was the Mists of Avalon and I got to the bit about the death of Viviane one afternoon and had to pretend I had hayfever...
More recently I got utterly utterly caught up in Freda Warrington's two books: Dark Cathedral and Pagan Moon - they are not the greatest literature ever but there is something utterly compelling about the characters, particularly the central couple.
Oh, and the books I am always on about that no one else has read but me: Gwyneth Jones Bold As Love quintet mindblowing stuff.

Ooh some good choices... Agree with 'Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' - completely harrowing, can't believe it's a children's recommendation. And re-read 'Wuthering Heights' for the first time since teenagehood when pregnant with DS. Was actually worried that all the emotion would be bad for him

I'm up to Jacob's revelation in New Moons. And even though nothing really surprising has happened yet - I sort of knew what was going to happen from reading too much on the internet! - I cannot breathe properly when I realise, along with Bella, that Edward has gone (or not. Doesn't really matter, he's not actually there).
It is so not my kind of book, and yet she has captured the intensity of love, particularly forbidden love, in such a way I am utterly caught up in it.

themachinist I was very upset at Disgrace, too, it certainly is bleak and harrowing. I think I cried, if I remember correctly.

Oh! Oh! Just remembered another one - The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve. I tend to like her books anyway, but this one took me right into its world. But sad too.

Hawkesmoor by Peter Ackroyd.

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien.

Some people seem to get it and some don't - but Disgrace by J M Coetzee. Sparse, bleak but profound book about many more subjects than it first appears. The ending is utterly harrowingly wonderful, and returns to me at weird and wonderful moments. A metaphor for so many things in my life...

No, you are definately not alone in your madness!!

Have read Kite Runner, Thousand Splendid Suns, Book Thief, Beloved, and Cider House Rules recently and loved them all for their
humanity. In fact, I've read most of the books people have mentioned.

However, nothing has captivated me the way the Twilight books have. Am now reading Midnight Sun draft and reliving the first book again through Edwards eyes and it's made me go all swoony again and awash with thoughts of first loves. Shame it's left unfinished (for now)

Feel a bit by it, cause it's nothing like I would normally go for but am hooked by it all. I'm following loads of Twilight Twitters and Twilight Lexicon is a fabby website with good summaries of each of the chapters - if you are a complete saddo like me.

Really struggling to read anything so enjoyable again!

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. The last part was so powerful, I was shaking, and the tears were running down my face.

the Line of Beauty was good and yes The Amber Spyglass reduced me to a sobbing heap by the end.

Black Beauty sends me into orbit just thinking about it and I remember seeing 7 Little Australians on the telly donkey's years ago! How funny seeing it mentioned on here?

Watership Down as a child was very powerful.

The Kite Runner was very moving too as was Splendid Suns. Can't quite bring myself to read The Book Thief after reading The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas which was bad/good enough.

All Quiet on the Western Front was very moving as was A Very Long Engagement.

fugitive pieces anne michaels

the vintner's luck elisabeth knox

The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner

The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies

The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden

Diana, by R F Delderfield. Wonderful.

I have a signed, first edition of American Psycho....

I don't know if I'm happy about that or not...

for me, cormac mccarthy's "the road" beats everything else i've read in terms of emotional involvement. the crushing responsibility of protecting a child in a savage world is palpable. kept my eye open for places to hide with my children when armageddon begins for too long afterwards!!

Where are you up to in New Moon?

The Line of Beauty. I should have hated it on pretty much all fronts - but I was just stunned by it. It's a very, very long time since I read anything that good. Each sentence is a dream...

Rebecca as well - I was utterly living in that (reading it very late as an adult - suspect it would have totally overwhelmed me as a romatic teenager )

Splendid Suns passed me by, too.

mariamerryweather The Sea by John Banville would have put me to sleep, if I hadn't been so annoyed at all that poetic language - it drove me nuts!

Have to ration it, Lyra, partly because I don't want it to ever end <saddo>, and partly because I am becoming an emotional wreck with red-ringed eyes and a stuffy nose :O

We need to talk about Kevin - heart breaking

Tender is the Night- F Scott Fitzgerald. It's not the plot, it's the quality of the writing, and the characterisation. It's the perfect book.

When I was a teenager, Clockwork Orange
To Kill a Mockingbird
the Canopus in Argos Archives, Doris Lessing
Animal Farm, Orwell

As an adult, American Psycho had an awful effect on me while I was reading it (I had observed the same effect in dh when he had been reading it)

The Rebel Angels (Robertson Davies)
The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
Use of Weapons, Iain M Banks

There are a lot more but I can't remember atm!

Very Few.

Steve Erickson "Days Between Stations"

Dostoevsky "The Idiot"

Steinbeck "Of Mice and Men"

The Life of Pi is very original.

The Sea - John Banville - incredible, poetic writer - still rave about it

The Life of Pi - found it totally absorbing and unlike anything else I'd ever read

You can't ration it! You need to immerse yourself in it. I read all four books in a week and I'm a very slow reader. I did nothing else. DP was peed off at the house being in a mess but I didn't care.

Yes to The Kite Runner but I was utterly unmoved by 'Splendid Suns' and thought it was just a re-hashing of ideas.

Not quite on the same level, but when we read Wuthering Heights for our bookclub, I was astonished at how passionate and utterly tragic it was. I'd completely missed that when we read it at A-level.
It didn't draw me in the way Twilight is at the moment, but the passion and depth of futility and sadness did take my breath away.

I found Flowers for Algernon very upsetting in parts, and ever so sad too, but I didn't "live the book".

LycraSilvertongue - I'm rationing how much I'm allowed to read each day!

x-posts Lightshines! I second The Kite Runner (same author as A Thousand Splendid Suns) and also To Kill A Mockingbird.

It takes a lot to get me really hooked into a book but I couldn't put down 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khalid Hosseni (sp?). I read it over a year ago, and despite reading several books since, I still think about it.

The only other one which came close to that was 'The Island' by Victoria Hislop; again, very emotive and stays with you.

I'm watching this thread with interest as I'm struggling to find other books to rival the above and the way they made me feel.

And I thought The Subtle Knife was pretty breathtaking too...esp the bit with Hester.

A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Knowing that some women's lives were, and remain, as in that book, was truly humbling. I cried for a long time, and carried the book in my head for ages afterwards.

The Kite Runner... parts of it were just unbearable.

Hopeforthebest, since reading Twilight I haven't read anything that's grabbed me so completely, so enjoy them while you can. Eclipse is another fantastic book, Breaking Dawn is a bit, shall we say, different from the others.

Overmydeabody, I loved Mara and Dann too. I think it was a thread you started that made me read it. Thank you

Ah, the children's books trend continues!

I've just thought of another - the third HP, The Prisoner of Azkaban. The first time I read that, I was breathless with excitement and fear and suspense.

I'm trying to remember if there are any others, not necessarily ones that have upset me (there have been a few) but ones which I've really been drawn totally into whilst reading, to such an extent that I feel like I'm living in the book world...

The Time Travellers Wife. I was in pieces for weeks! I gave it to DP who read 2/3 and stopped because he couldn't bear it. Bless him.

I am so curious about Twillight, I might just read it!

Hopeforthe best, I had exactly the same thing with the Twilight series. I think that's why they're so popular - the author makes you feel everything her characters feel. I was hopelessly in love with Edward Cullen by the end of the first book.
Oh dear, I think I might have to read them again...
I'm currently reading Owen Meany and not having the same experience, sadly.

Oh, as a child it was Black Beauty. How could she have killed off Ginger?

Look Homeward Angel - Thomas Wolfe. Unbelievable.

The only book that has ever taken my breath away totally is Mara and Dann by Doris Lessing.

Time traveller's wife made me cry,a lot, as did the end of We need to talk about Kevin (that one got my husband waving book at me saying 'for goodness sake, didnt you read the phrase 'tragic denoument' on the back cover, did you think it would end well??')

Oh and a few years ago Captain Corelli's Madolin (sp?) tipped me over the edge in a big way.

I recently read The Book Thief followed by The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, loved both but I dont recommend the combination unless you are feeling very strong...

goodnight mister tom (as a child)
the last book by Primo Levi had me sobbing and sobbing.

I remember sobbing unconsolably (as a child) whilst reading 7 Little Australians

Oh God, yes to the Amber Spyglass - I was crying so hard I physically couldn't hold the book, let alone read it <pathetic>

And, on a completely different note, American Psycho (probably the only book I recommend people not to read...) - I utterly lived it, and then was absolutely furious at the end - just felt totally, totally robbed...

for adult fiction, the most recent was "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham. Absolutely astounding; he write so incredibly well from a woman's point of view; it was harrowing but very very worthwhile.

The third book in His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass. I sobbed for hours.

To Kill A Mockingbird.It made me cry

I'm surprised at myself with Twilight - it's not great writing, and it's actually overly dramatic and very teenagey (teenagerish?), but something about it has hit me right there and I am living this novel as I read it.


I am too scared to read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, as I'm not sure I could bear it.

Interesting that from the small number of responses, it seems to be children's books that are really getting to people...

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels. Some of the prose in there took my breath.

'Walk Two Moons' by Sharon Creech - it's a kid's book but I read it when I was about 18 I think. I won't spoil it but it had me in floods of tears, and that takes some doing.

Well, not Twilight.
I read 'A Clockwork Orange' last month though and it really did leave me speechless and then, after absorbing it for a while, desperate to talk about it to anybody who cared to listen.

The Deathly Hallows did it for me too because, although her writing is sometimes rather clumpy, I was so attached to the characters by then that watching them die, one by one, from the opening onwards, felt like a personal affront and Dobby's death scene was such a shock and happened so quickly that it had me gasping for air and reading back, questioning why and how she could have let it happen.

the boy in the striped pyjamas.

oh my god i will not be reading that again. it was FANTASTIC but i was far too emotional for far too long afterward

literally! Which books have you been so emotionally involved with whilst reading that you actually feel what is happening?

I haven't had this for years - I think the last time was A Prayer for Owen Meany back when I was in high school - but I felt it (somewhat to my shame) reading the first Twilight book . My heart was pounding, I was breathing faster than usual...

Anyway, I have just got round to reading the second book, and I am experiencing the same thing again. I am in agony over Edward having left, I am literally fighting back the tears - I've had to restrict my reading time so that I'm not getting unnecessarily upset at inconvenient times throughout the day.

Am I alone in this? I don't mean Twilight - I think that has just struck a chord in me, even though it's teenage vampire romance <cringe cringe> - but any book at all?

<waits and hopes is not alone in this madness...>