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Original poster

What book was so good you couldn't out it down you burned the dinner and let the kids run wild and chaos reign about you?

92 replies

TheMoonOnAStick · 03/08/2010 11:53

I want something that good to read on holiday you see!

I don't care much for chick lit and can't bear Freya North, but other than that don't much mind. Quite like historical but doesn't have to be.

The last books I felt that gripped by were the Shardlake series, so something absorbing and of doorstop dimensions on that level without being too impenetrable would be good

OP posts:
mumonthenet · 03/08/2010 22:01

oooh yes I want the Mitford sisters books too,

have a good holiday!

Lucydog · 03/08/2010 21:38

Last time I went away I bought Moby Dick, big mistake, especially as we were in Mexico, where other english books were tricky to get hold of. It was such a relief to change it (unfinished) for a Danielle Steele at a hotel library.

scubagoose · 03/08/2010 19:54

another vote for Rebecca..so unexpected..

Millenium books.. sad i have finished them and want to just start them again.

the book thief..

and Gone with the wind.. which I sat on a beach in Mexico reading and crying my eyes out even though Id seen the film a million times.

rotool · 03/08/2010 19:48

Everything by Susan Lewis

JaynieB · 03/08/2010 19:39

I found Memoirs of a Geisha unputdownable and also enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife - would be a good holiday read.

QuickLookBusy · 03/08/2010 19:37

Sorry thats sebastian Faulks

QuickLookBusy · 03/08/2010 19:35

Fingersmith is fantastic,

My 3 Fav books-

Behind The Scenes Of The Museum by Kate Atkinson

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Birdsong by Seastian Faulks

LetLoveRule · 03/08/2010 19:24

One Day - David Nicholls. Couldn't put it down, perfect holiday book.

MissWooWoo · 03/08/2010 19:21

OMG! I forgot Rebecca! how could I?

MissWooWoo · 03/08/2010 19:16

1984 - aged about 14, pretended to be sick and stayed in bed all day reading it
The Catcher in the Rye
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Brighton Rock
Times Arrow
Papillion
Trainspotting
Bridget Jones' Diary
Life of Pi
A stack of Marian Keyes (during a sad phase)
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Secret History
The Shops
An Education
The Sea, The Sea

wubblybubbly · 03/08/2010 19:06

Years ago I read a Ken Follet book, Pillars of the Earth, which was great, although I've not read anything else decent by him.

I'm loving the Shardlake series at the minute and they remind me of that a little, lots of historical/political references, a great story and about a million pages, so a good long read.

PotPourri · 03/08/2010 19:05

heart and soul bt maeve binchy. But if you like her, read earlier ones first as she connects the characters with those from previous books - so it would spoil previous plots iyswim. They're not taxing, but definsately absorbing.

Also danielle steele wanderlust

teameric · 03/08/2010 19:00

The Lovely Bones, The Gargoyle, The Little Stranger,

ethelina · 03/08/2010 18:53

Moon I read the Mitford letters, very very interesting to see how bitter Nancy and Jessica were about each other as they got older. A real insight.

bluebump · 03/08/2010 18:42

Any Sarah Waters or Phillipa Gregory.

Original poster
TheMoonOnAStick · 03/08/2010 18:40

Lol - omg I want thtem ALL!

I'm going to have to be on holiday for about three years to get through all these..Ooh what a wonderful thought. I'd love that

Mumonthenet - Very interested in the Vita Sackville West book you mention there. And that also reminds me that I keep meaning to read the book of Mitford sisters letters too.

OP posts:
ellasmum1 · 03/08/2010 18:38

the time travellers wife- felt bereft when it ended....fantastic

mustrunmore · 03/08/2010 17:33

Ooo, Fingersmith was a good hliday read, yes!

The History of Love
The End of Mr Y
Natural Flights of the Human Mind

All unputdownable!

Lucydog · 03/08/2010 17:27

Fingersmith by Sarah Walters (don't let anyone tell you the plot) or The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. Any Norah Lofts for good historical fiction, if you can get hold of it.

PrincessBoo · 03/08/2010 17:19

Also - one of my fave books of all time is 'The Red tent' by Anita Diamant.

Not too daunting size wise, and very engaging.

mumonthenet · 03/08/2010 17:14

by Nigel Nicholson, not Hugh Nicholson!!

deaddei · 03/08/2010 17:14

Kinflicks-Lisa Alther
Women's Room-Marilyn French

piratecat · 03/08/2010 17:13

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan -Lisa See ( wanted to buy one for my best girlfriends)

The Tent the Bucket and me-- Emma Kennedy funny

mumonthenet · 03/08/2010 17:12

Portrait of a Marriage by Hugh Nicholson (I think). The lives of Vita Sackville West and her husband, written by their son. Caused a bit of an uproar in the 1970's when it was published.

Not too heavy but riveting.

30andMerkin · 03/08/2010 17:05

Oh, another vote for Atonement too! And Enduring Love.

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