What is the most gripping, incredible book you have ever read that you just couldn't put down?

I just read Irvine Welsh's 'Bedroom Secrets Of The Master Chefs' and it was thoroughly entertaining, bizarre and filthy as usual.

Top stuff!

THE LOVELY BONES BY ALICE SEBOLD

AND MOST DOUGLAS KENNEDY BOOKS EXCEPT HIS MOST RECENT

You must get the His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) first, they really are superb. And the film of Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) is out next month so now's a good time to read them.

I also love Thomas Pynchon- Vineland
Keri Hulme- The Bone People
I will now read your other recommendations, Meg, suggest you read mine. Good Vibes to youxx

Megbusset- Someon else who likes Stone Junction! I love that book! Wow!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

It must be difficult managing bedrest if you've already got triplets, gosh.

I agree with those who've recommended the crimson petal and the white, forever amber and barbara vine. all fab.

Foucault's pendulum by Umberto Eco...can't stop re-reading it. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner if you like Sci Fi stuff. Seconded on the Pullman. A bit random, but you might like 'the belgariad' by David Eddings?

On my "I will read again" shelf, I have:

Tuesdays with Morrie
Before I say goodbye
(dying theme, so avoid if necessary )

Foreign correspondence
Song of the Lark
O Pioneers
A valley in Italy
Gonzalez and Daughter trucking co.

This year, I have read and really enjoyed:
Over
On Chesil beach
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
The other side of the bridge
The lollipop shoes

Happy reading!

OK, I'm back, but just to say that if you like thrillers Lee Child and Harlan Coben are fab.

John Irving is really absorbing too, A Prayer for Owen Meany and Ciderhouse Rules are my favourites. The World According to Garp and Hotel New Hampshire are pretty good too.

I'm going to stop recommending now, or I'll be popping back to this thread all week.

Four books that I would challenge anyone not to find unputdownable:

Stone Junction

The Master & Margarita

Catch-22

A Confederacy Of Dunces

Also you can't go wrong with the Northern Lights trilogy.

And an odd book that I'm slightly hesitant to recommend even though I've re-read it loads of times is A Place of my Own by Michael Pollan. It's not fiction, it's about a man building a home office (shed) in his garden. It's beautifully written and soothing.

A Place of Execution.
It really does depend what kind of books you like, but for a crime thriller you'd struggle to beat this, or any of the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver.

I found The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub incredibly gripping. I haven't liked any of his other books as much though, and I haven't tried any of his horror books because I don't like horror.

Jennifer Crusie is a great light read, especially Welcome to Temptation.

The Book People have the first 10 Agatha Raisin novels for £9.99. They're not unputdownable but they are an easy and fairly amusing read.

If you have someone who can go to the post office for you then you could list some of your old books on Read It Swap It and save a bit of money.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Letters from a Lost Generation: First World War Letters of Vera Brttain and Four Friends by Alan Bishop and Mark Bostridge. It's not a novel, but it totally changed how a felt about soldiers. Sobbed my eyes out half way through.

The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault, especially The Persian Boy.

Any book by Robertson Davies, my favourite is The Deptford Trilogy.

Bird Song by Seb. Faulks -life changing

Memoirs of a geysher by ?-stayed on my shelf for ages, as a book I would have no interest in, picked it up in despiration and thought I would give it 3 pages. Didnt sleep till finished it!

Tales of the city by A Maupin - hilarious and sad and lots of them in the series.

A fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry -desperately sad, no upside, but everyone should be made to read it.

Shadow of the wind by ? one of those books you keep reading so you might get to understand it then you do, then its over and you feel you should start right back at the beginning!
sorry for all sps but have flu and can hardly lift my head. Thank go for neurofen cold and flu..

I think some of these choices are drifting away from the OP's question. Dickens and Dostoevsky are great, but you couldn't call them unputdownable (except, maybe A Tale of Two Cities). One of my favourits books is The Pickwick Papers, but it took me about a month to read, so I obviously put it down many times.

Some of the most unputdownable novels I've read are ones I wouldn't rate that highly in terms of overall quality. I was dragged along at quite a pace by The Lord of the Rings (1200 pages IIRC), but I've never had any desire to read it a second time. Same applies with Day of the Jackal. Two unputdownables I would read again (and have) are Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, And Eric Ambler's The Mask of Dimitrios.

Generally, I think manhunts are great page-turners.

Moondog that's my favourite book too

Also Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card- chilling book

More votes for The Secret History, Between Two Eternities and TO Kill a Mocking Bird

Gone With The Wind kept be enthralled but I was only about 10 at the time!

Pompeii by Robert Harris
Wild Swans - can't remember the author though

The Earth Children books by Jean Auel.

They are:

Clan of the Cave Bear
Valley of the Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Stone Shelters

Brilliant Books.

AusteN, I mean. Although I'm sure Jane Auster is very good too!