Absolutely Unputdownable Books

hoxtonchick, I have and loved them, that's why I bought Spankie, am v disappointed! (yes your cheque did arrive, so sorry, meant to email you about it and reply to the lovely photo, nostalgia is great isn't it? Has your SIL made some balloon knickers yet?)

Thanks for the idea, frogs, I shall go & investigate on Amazon.

janh, try some other Barbara Trapido, she's normally fantastic, honest (did my cheque ever turn up btw?)!

Miaou, I read the Big Stone Gap triology. I hought they were great - read all three one after the other which is something I've never done before. Am saving Lucia,lucia for my hols. Is it as good as her others ?

I like Marika Cobbold btw - the Guppies one and Frozen Music (?), have another one just waiting to be read now I've given up on Spankie.

Oi, tamum, I can't believe you let me show you my new copy of Spankie and Frankie or whatever it's called (B Trapido) while still in Waterstone's wothout saying "actually I thought it was crap, quick, go and change it!" - I have been persisting with it at the rate of about 3 pages a night before my eyes roll into my head, I'll stop reading it now and start something else!!!

Just caught up with this thread so I thought I'd mention some that have not come up before:

Adriana Trigiani - Big Stone Gap and Lucia,Lucia
Salley (sic) Vickers - Miss Garnet's Angel
Ayn Rand - The Fountainhead
Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
Tim Winton - Dirt Music

Anyone else read these ones?

Lara2 - I love his ideas, and the films made from them...however, I do not enjoy his style of writing. Dh loves his books though.

I loved The Persuit of Happiness by DOuglas Kennedy

I missed this thread first time round.

hoxtonchick -- Barbara Trapido seems to be a bit of a minority taste, but agree with you totally! Also Jane Gardam.

Have you tried Arturo Perez Reverte? (The Nautical Chart, The Seville Communion). Have yet to read The Flanders Panel, but is next on my list.

Having a bookwormish 9yo dd have to say that most kids' books are much better than I remembered, and you can read them in a couple of hours, too. Jacqueline Wilson is very fine, as is HP and His Dark Materials.

Chinchilla - I did my dissertation on SK for my English degree (20 years ago now - good grief!!) - so I'd be the one to definately sing his praises to you all! 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordan' is brilliant too.

This is a fantastic thread. I have skimmed most but got so carried away went straight to Amazon to order some. I love
Anita Shreve
Christopher Brookmyre
Janet Evanovich
most victorians
ben richards
deborah moggach
john o farrell
kate atkinson

for starters. John Grisham was great for breast feeding and I read a new one every time I had a new baby at night with chocolate!

I will add more later, but, just to second what many of you have said-

His Dark Materials Trilogy-
Possession
Middlesex- (Genious, I especially appreciated as I am originally from Detroit and it is sooooo accurate. Eugenides is genious!)
Jane Eyre
Music & Silence
The Way I Found Her
The Cazalet chronicle by Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Bridget Jones Diary (laughed my arse off)

I could go on and on...
Fabulous idea this thread!

Try Rose Madder then Suzy. It has a very supernatural theme.

I know Bundle.
Chinchilla, no I havne't read that one. Tried 'Gerald's Game' and it was awful. Incidentally he wrote a short story based around the Police Station in Crouch End

Suzy - I liked The Shining too, but I find SK's style not to my taste. Love his ideas though. Have you read Rose Madder? That is the best SK IMO.

oh god, sw, that's really put me off
the cover looks so old fogeyish...but says it's a page turner..

ooh dinny & hoxtonchick I loved Valley of the Dolls too. I had completely forgotton about it till you mentioned it. Brings back memories as I can remember reading it at around the age of 12 or 13, probably long before I should have . It must be one of the few books I have read more than once.
Also loved The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon.

Richard and Judy were terribley keen on it
Isn't he Sinead's brother

I've just bought Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor (my book club's book of the month) and just wondered if anyone here had read it?

The Shining, Stephen King
Absolutely terrifying, the only one of his worth reading IMHO.

OK, so I have ordered The Quincunx from Amazon. It was £0.99, & £2.75 p&p. It is a bit creased, but for 99p, who cares! If I don't like it, I haven't lost anything have I?!

Hoxtonchick, I love Valley Of The Dolls - especially Neeley O'Hara. Fabulous.

I Claudius, Robert Graves. I literally did not leave my bedroom save to attend to bodily functions from start to finish (was long before kids!)

Hoxtonchick, next stop Grace Metalious and Peyton Place, surely! And then how about Kathleen Winsor's Forever Amber?
These things are long-standing best-sellers for a reason...
Mammya, glad someone else enjoyed Donna Tartt's second as much as her first, it took some getting into but I loved The Little Friend.
Must go and suggest another category to Freddiecat for the Book Club...Southern Gothic. Or maybe problematic second novels?

And, oh yes, the Corrections, brilliant!