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Original poster

Best book you've ever read, that you absolutely couldn't put down?

81 replies

PollyPocketLucyLocket · 03/01/2020 06:38

I'm looking for suggestions. Inspired by another thread about getting love of reading back.

I would rather like something that made you feel some emotion. I'd love one that is so chilling, it keeps you stuck to your chair over fear Grin

Sad ones would be good too. Just to balance it out, which books have made you laugh, or feel positive?

OP posts:
kinsss · 05/01/2020 18:22

Everyone's taste is different re books, but it's great to hear others faves.

I have to say for me my book of the year was "The Hearts invisible furies" by John Boyne. OMG I was so fed up when I finished it, because, well, I had finished it!

What a read!

TotheletterofthelawTHELETTER · 05/01/2020 17:54

A Little Life by Hanya Yanighara made me cry so much I thought I’d never stop

SinkGirl · 05/01/2020 17:45

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, picked it up on a whim, hands down the best book I’ve ever read.

Binglebong · 05/01/2020 17:39

The art of racing in the rain. Has me in floods every time. Ignore the fact that it says it's about motor racing- it really isn't. That's just the setting.

thebluearsefly · 05/01/2020 17:39

@SutterCane - yes! I loved that book! It’s chilling. Also Cujo and The Rose Madder - any Stephen K really

thebluearsefly · 05/01/2020 17:37

A thousand splendid suns, Half of a yellow sun, The colour purple, Under the dome.

SutterCane · 05/01/2020 17:35

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Palavah · 05/01/2020 17:35

(none of the above is chilling!) But emotional.

For chilling I really like Jo Nesbo. The first few Linwood Barclay I read were gripping but then it became samey.

Palavah · 05/01/2020 17:33

Birdsong
Girl with Pearl Earring
Any Human Heart
Human Croquet and Behind the Scenes at the Museum
A Town Like Alice
The Glass Lake

MargotsBumpyNight · 05/01/2020 17:29

For comfort reading you can't go wrong with the Larkins and the Darling Buds series or a bit of Jeeves and Wooster.

MargotsBumpyNight · 05/01/2020 17:28

The Lovely Bones and The Book Theif had me sobbing like a child.

The Historian was scary.

I made the mistake of reading The Amityville Horror when I was pregnant. It's probably nowhere near as chilling when you're not hormonal and don't need to get up to pee 10 times a night Grin

EnthusiasmIsDisturbed · 05/01/2020 17:25

The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan

All her books talk about magic, superstition, spirts and switch from modern day to a different time with such detailed descriptions you get totally lost in the tragic stories (which are quite complex) I love her writing

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver - the scariest book I have read and I couldn’t wait to get time to read it every night

Not so scary but gripping:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
The Kite Runner
Wuthering Heights (very atmospheric)
The Lovely Bones (emotionally draining)

sproutsandparsnips · 05/01/2020 17:16

Yes to the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

KTD27 · 05/01/2020 17:14

A thousand splendid suns.

Fleamaker123 · 05/01/2020 17:13

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier... even better if you can find an old battered copy with old yellow pages.. adds to the atmosphere! Great story. Rebecca and Jamaica Inn good too

chrispenrallt1 · 05/01/2020 17:12

Light a penny candle and also Circle of Friends, both by Maeve Binchy. When I feel sad or miss my mum, either one of these to read. They are like old friends putting an arm around me.

raspberrymolakoff · 05/01/2020 17:07

Continuing the gothic theme, Frankenstein the original Mary Shelley version. You'll end up terribly sad for 'the creature' and wonder at the beauty of the language (women weren't allowed to publish poetry (too high an art form!) but its incredibly poetic and beautifully crafted.

jakinaboxx · 05/01/2020 17:05

Water ship Down, beautiful book

WellErrr · 05/01/2020 16:55

Dracula is amazing. The original, unabridged. The first section in the castle is just terrifying, and the ship...!

Ignore all the adaptations though. They’re usually shit and all about sex.

Cakemonger · 05/01/2020 16:52

I found The Help unputdownable. Not chilling/scary but you definitely root for the characters and feel emotion

Beamur · 05/01/2020 16:49

Not the genre asked for but I found Memoirs of a Geisha compelling reading.
Lincoln in the Bardo is strange. Read it once, could not read it again.
Smoke and Mirrors short stories by Neil Gaiman are chilling.

MrsSpenserGregson · 05/01/2020 16:46

On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks. So, so moving. I sobbed out loud when reading the ending on the tube Blush

Hippychickster · 05/01/2020 16:45

My favourite ever book is The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton was a brilliant read, The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric was a corker, and Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day was wonderful!

CalamityJune · 05/01/2020 16:43

Really enjoyed All The Light We Cannot See, and I don't normally enjoy stories set in the World Wars for some reason.

The Heart's Invisible Furies was amazing as well.

Aquamarine1029 · 05/01/2020 16:43

Intensity by Dean Koontz. It's not the "best" book I've ever read, but the story is very chilling. It's one of those you can stop reading because you HAVE to see what happens next. It's no literary masterpiece to be sure, but it's a great read. Very much like a movie playing in your mind and very freaky.

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