Absolutely Unputdownable Books

Just been flicking through here and saw Howard Jacobson mentioned. I haven't read any of his books but I did see him at Gatwick airport in November!

DH wasn't impressed and no one else knows who he is so I thought I would mention it here!

has anyone read 'The five people you meet in heaven'? author Mitch Absolm. Also Tuesdays with Morrie, same author. Not to be put down reads and very thought provoking

recent unputdownables:

I Sent A Letter To My Love - Bernice Rubens
Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
Charlotte Gray - Sebastian Faulks

I've just read, I'm not scared by Niccolo Ammaniti. Fantastic! Couldn't put it down. Really shocked when it ended. Could've read on.

oh lovely sponge, i'll buy a copy today, nip over to covent garden on my way to the tube, x

No, not girly at all.
It's a mystery about a lost author and someone trying to destroy all their remaining work, set in Barcelona.
The reasons for this seem to be based on a relationship but the story is about a boy trying to uncover what happened, not about the love story.
Really nice turns of phrase and the plot is getting twistier.

sponge is it a bit gooey then? i was going to recommend it to our bookclub but i don't want something too girly, as it's not an all-female group. tia

Reading "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at the moment.
It's advertised everywhere and I wouldn't have bought it as I'm sceptical of books that get promoted heavily but I was given it for Christmas and it's fab. Beautifully written and a great, sort of love/mystery story.

Reading Dan Brown at the mo - so much packed into each page!

read slave earlier this year but can't remember who by, i lent it out and never saw it again so sorry can't check author. Anyone else read it and can anyone recommend anything lighthearted and funny please, anything to take my mind of heartburn in early hours.

when I have 5 minutes to myself

"Music and Silence" by Rose Tremain (have read 80 pages in one sitting and would whole book in a day if had the time)

at the mo no more since all my time is with children and household chores....have been told the Da Vinci Code is good by older sister...will come up with more "Stranger in the Mirror" is a thought provoking read.

Wish I hadn't discovered this thread now!! Am currently knackered and bleary eyed after endless late nights reading "The Quincunx" - still haven't finished it but am absolutely loving every bit of it - dd has had no attention over the last few days!!

I went and rediscovered his music, such was the impact of the book on me Roobie. He didn't write anything large-scale but his song and especially carol settings are exquisite and very accessible. Bethlehem Down is lovely, and so is his faux-medieval piece Capriol Suite. Talk about a life extinguished too young.
Glad it's not just me who found all the connections unmistakeable.

Marina, must be honest and say I've never heard of Peter Warlock but having just googled and read a brief biography of him it is definitely him.... all the aspects are there, the insecurity, the bohemian lifestyle, the family home in Wales, the magazine editorship. Right down to the open verdict over his 'suicide'.

oooh, thanks tamum, looks v. good. as soon as i emerge from my early pregnancy can't-move-from-the-sofa inertia i'll buy it. in fact, i could even drag myself to waterstones tomorrow.

Roobie, it really is a wonderful, if deeply sad, book in places isn't it. Glad you enjoyed the whole trilogy. Did you identify Giles Revelstoke as inspired by Peter Warlock (music critic turned composer, satirist and bohemian, took his own life by gassing himself but put the cat out first...)? Davies' evocation of how post-war London must have seemed to an ex-pat was spot-on, I thought. So much to treasure...
Hope you enjoy The Rebel Angels as much, spacemonkey! Parlabane is priceless. Wait til you get to the unspeakable Christmas lunch with Maria and her family...and the ingredients for the love potion...

after refusing to read any more books following my eng lit degree some yonks ago, frank mccourt's tis has made me eat my words!! extremely readable, incredibly funny, and you just have to feel for the poor guy!
haven't read angela's ashes, but i love the movie.

hoxtonchick, since you and I seem to have identical taste, do try The Way the Crow Flies . I can't tell you how good it is. Really interesting moral dilemmas, passages of lyrical prose and a completely gripping thriller. Cover makes it look sappy, but it isn't.

Recommended to anyone BTW, not just hoxtonchick

Marina - just finished the Salterton Trilogy and I definitely think it goes down as one of my all time favourites. I particularly liked the last book about the bitter/twisted will trust and the music scholarship the naive young singer was sent on.

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if it's been mentioned already but I found 'The Grass Memorial' by Sarah Harrison to be one of those books that stays with you for a long time afterwards. Unputdownable, thought provoking and very cleverly written.

I'm getting there Yorkiegirl! Have since read Digital Fortress and have Angels and Demons and another one to read. They are all in the same style so i feel i need a little break between (well that and little things like work and children!)

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I've just read 'A Vicious Circle' by Amanda Craig. My sister in law forced me to read it, I was a bit sniffy but it was just fantastic. And to be found in a charity shop near you....

My most recent enjoyable read... the da vinci code (Dan Brown) - couldn't put it down.