so what the frig am I meant to do now I've finished his dark materials trilogy? eh??? eh?????

Will the His Dark Materials books give my tiny brain a headache?

Sophable I know what you mean. I think they are the best books EVER. (Leaps up and down in uncool way.) Form, content, great storytelling, IDEAS. I was bereft too. Luckily I have a wipeclean memory so I could read them again a year later.

Music and Silence by RT is very good if you haven't read that.
Kate Grenville is a library find of mine that I thought was great. Ideas and beautiful writing.
Otherwise what about some nice hefty 19th century novels
Oh and second that cloud atlas and oryx and crake should probably be on your list.

Both of my suggestions are already up

Garth Nix - Abhorsen Trilogy
Robin Hobb - Assassins (and Liveships and Fools) Trilogies.

Really need to get round to Atonement (loved The Child in Time, Cement Garden...)

Trudi Canavan is sat on my shelf waiting for me.

Ooh - John Fowles - The Collector - love that book

Also Jonathan Coe - The House of Sleep might appeal.

If you like Fantasy can I suggest:-
Trudi Canavan
Robin Hobb
Elizabeth Hayden
Tad Williams....Shadow series, War of the Fairies
and above all...Sheri Tepper

Crime:-

Lindsey Davies
Elizabeth George
Henning Mankell
Peter Robinson
Val MacDermid

Try to read them in the order in which they were published as there's lots of character development of the main characters

Can you tell I worked in libraries for many years?

No prob Debian! I liked the King/Straub collaborations too but I've just read a book by Peter Straub on his own and it was absolute rubbish - was a bit surprised.

Sorry janeitebus just seen you've written about Sally Lockhart too

Aaaargh I felt the same! Have you read his other books? Not quite as good but still great reading: Ruby In the Smoke, Shadow in the North, Tiger in the Well and the Tin Princess? Also stephen King/Peter Straub the Talisman and Black House. Both great

Another recommendation for the Farseer Trilogy or any of the Robin Hobbs books. I lurve her work.

It's not as quirky or English as the Pullman books but they're pretty epic and absorbing. I also LOVE Tad Williams, The Dragonbone Chair trilogy was just to die for. I know it's the usual serving boy is really heir of the throne with a bit of magic thrown in for good luck, bit of romance, bit of death and derring do. Can't beat it!

I know it's a bit sad, but I'm a die-hard fantasy fan. Started as a kid with the Carbonel books and have never really recovered!

Currently out of Fantasy material, though, so I'm reading a combination of Alexander McCall Smith, The Scotland Street books, Dianne Wynne Jones (still like my young witchcraft books too) and Anita Shreeve (?! Can't categorise these! so won't try).

Hope you find something good...and if you do, let me know before Sunday as I'm off on my hols!

OK I'll admit the first 50pages of Titus Groan can be skipped but then you meet the baddie and it gets magical.

I failed totally with "Labyrinth" - managed about 40 pages and it was boring me senseless.

Daft question but have you read "Lord Of The Rings"?

I really like Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series but it's a big read - 7 books.

Btw - what is nose picky stuff please? For some reason I'm thinking of Ian Mccewan (dp's fave).

Have you read PP's Sally Lockhart books? They are great, though v different to Dark materials.

I have just finished the Garth Nix Abhorsen trilogy - loved them!
I so couldn't get into Gormenghast either - gave them away in the end.

I could not get into Gormenghast at all.

Just don't be afraid to skimread through the excessive historical description and lists. I read it last week and spotted a couple of mistakes too, would be interested to compare notes with someone actually.

Yawn, not Labyrinth, you have to wade through the history lectures to get to the plot.
The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake is what you need, another world to lose yourself in when times get tough. (And I named my DD Lyra so you can't get better credentials for a recommendation that that .)

the farseer trilogy by robin hobb its fantasy but its good in fat it's excellet

I counsel more Coupland though none are as good as Girlfriend In A Coma. Try Hey Nostradamus.
also Cloud Atlas if you haven't got round to it yet
Can you bear Stephen Fry? Making History.

Alan Warner - Morvern Callar, The Sopranos. Havne't read The Worms Can Carry Me To Heaven though

oh dear nothing will do. well it wouldn't for me, i was completely bereft. garth nix is good but you'll hate it if you read straight after pp. somethign really girly might do, a complete change of mood. or have you ever tried laurie r king? beekeeper's apprentice

"Inkheart" is good, yes.

Also another vote for Douglas Coupland - especially "Girlfriend In A Coma".

Have to beg to differ re: Garth Nix though - I read "Sabriel" and hated it - I just didn't think he was a very good writer tbh and the story rather bored me; I felt as if I'd read it all before.

The best children/teen/vaguley fantasy series I've read is The Tales Of The Otori series by (I think) Leanne Hearne. She spent time in Japan to research them and they are very gripping and far more exciting than the Nix - the final one of the four, "The Harsh Cry Of The Heron" takes place about 20 years after the first, so they are quite epic in terms of how much ground they cover.

Sorry I meant Lord Asriel. It was a while ago...

try inkheart and inkspell by cornelia funke

am rading swallows and amazons at the mo.

I am reading John Connolly, 'The Book of Lost Things at the Moment' which weaves together old fairytales into an adult narrative. DW couldn't put it down.
I've read all of Iain Banks too - agree with UQD on the Song of Stone. Shite. I think the Crow Road was his best actually.
Other than that, try and see His Dark Materials on stage if it plays again. DW and I went to see Nicholas Hytner's adaptation over two consecutive nights at the National with Anna Maxwell Martin playing Lyra, Patricia Hodge as Mrs Coulter, Timothy Dalton as Lord Boreal and Niamh Cusack as Serafina Pekkala (mmmm...lovely). Class.