The best book you’ve ever read?

[ICECream821]

There we go! Sorry if there is a thread like this…but what’s the best book you’ve ever read? Or I guess the book that left you thinking about it for days after?

For me I would say The Kite Runner

The Screwtape Letters... CS Lewis. I'm an athiest, but his older devil instructing a younger one on how to get your human into hell is just..incrediblly brilliant (and moving at the end)

In fact any of CS Lewis' adult fiction!

A Christmas Carol

I am David (I'm glad someone else mentioned this one!)

The Time Traveller's Wife .

I also enjoyed Wild Swans. I just picked it up somewhere never thinking I would be interested as I knew absolutely nothing about China.I couldn’t put it down

So so many! Don't think anyone's mentioned these wonderful couple yet .. How I live Now (Meg Rosoff)
On the Beach (Nevil Shute)

You're not alone @CoolCatTaco! I loved Enderby too, it's one of my favourites. So much in it- mortality, Cambridge, the 70s/ music of the time and, of course, the protagonist himself.

Continuing my depressing post-apocalyptic theme ...
Children of the Dust (Louise Lawrence)

Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. I read it aged 19 and thought it was good. Reread at 28 and thought it was the best book I'd ever read. Attempted it again recently (age 32) but found I didn't have the headspace.

Crow Road by Iain Banks. Have read so many times over the years and feel like I take something different away each time.

My favourite funny books are Lucky Jim and the Adrian Mole series.

Another vote for A Fine Balance.
A small Island is also a good read.
Shuggie Bain moved me too.

An evil cradling by Brian Keenan
and
Therese Raquin by Voltaire

Also 'A Painted Bird by Jerzy Sarkozy

Loving this thread. Taking notes for myself. And Ds1 who is avidly reading atm. He's on a book about Napoleon. After just finishing one on Maximus.

The Old Man and the Sea. Tidy writing.

@MistySkiesAfterRain

I loved the Book Thief, and Shantaram purely as it was gripping and kept me going over a 3 week trip round India, during which I spotted practically every 5th person reading it! I can't believe all that happened to one person, and the story still could have gone on for another book and I'd still have been gripped. I appreciate some people might have found it boring as hell though.

I would have agreed with you re Shantaram, but I unfortunately looked up the author and he seems a rather horrid man who exaggerated everything in the book to make him look like the hero. I heard that the family of his friend who died in the crash tried to sue him. Shame.

The Book Thief - Marcus Zosak
Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
Looking for Alabrandi

EmmaGrundyForPM

All The Light We Cannot See - absolutely spellbinding

Agreed. I loved this one
We read it for my book club. 2 of us read it and loved it. The other 4 didn't even finish sad

This was the same in our book group, very split, but I was one of the ones who couldn't finish. Just didn't get the love and didn't have the energy to make myself keep going with it...

Also hated We Need To Talk About Kevin the prose is so self indulgent and unnecessary.

Forgot about Crow Road - loved that (and I lived on Crow Road when I read it )

I have enjoyed loads of these but can't believe the love for Shantaram - badly written and absolute tosh form the word go. He just seemed like a creepy con man from the beginning.
I made it to the end but had completely lost the will to live by then.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larson is the only book I stayed up all night to read.

Lots of great ideas and reminders of old favourites here; thanks OP.

My outstanding books:

Middlemarch
A Fine Balance
The Shipping News

And authors I find consistently good:

Ann Patchett
Rose Tremain
Steinbeck
Anthony Trollope

Plus The Observations by Jane Harris and all of Christopher Brookmyre for sheer entertainment

Most is Ian McEwans earlier work especially The Cement Garden

It's lovely to see so many people enjoyed The Shipping News. I was thinking or rereading this the other day, I have now decided.

I couldn't just pick one
Love khaled hosseini with a thousand splendid suns being my favourite. I read a few by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie last year and loved both half a yellow sun and purple hibiscus both taught me a lot and I spend many hours reading about Nigeria afterwards.
Like PP I couldn't put the nightingale down and also really enjoyed the great alone also by kristen hannah.
I have also recently finished the regeneration trilogy which was brilliant, such a different perspective of ww1 and beautifully written.

Also loved The Shipping News and all the Elizabeth Strout ones

Love how everyone is coming back with a notepad.

Love how 'best book you ever read' results in an average five suggestions.

Love this thread!

I am reading the Shadow of the Wind and mesmerised by his incredible story telling. There is also a book I have been recommended that I was keen to read but could not remember the title. Now I know it's 1000 splendid sons!

Manda Scott's Boudicca series - I look forward to re-reading them every few years.

Lovely thread thank you OP, it has reminded me what's already on my bookshelf that I need to get back out, and also some new titles to put on my birthday list