The best books you've ever read

[JustNotFunAnymore]

Following on the from the other thread
where someone asked what the most ridiculous thing you've read in a book was. (And therefore ruining anything on my wish list 😂)
I want to know what the best book you've read is. What book I must read soon.

I'm partway through 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama. I got it as a sample and after two or three chapters had to buy it on my kindle. It's so good. She writes really well.

@Devillishlypicklypickles
Phantom was my teenage book of choice. I would read it over and over again.
I long ago gave away my copy, and can’t even get it on the Kindle now.

Life after life by Kate Atkinson.
Which reminds me I need to buy a new copy as I lent mine out and never got it back!

My Absolute Darling.
I loved that book so much. It's a properly hard read but wonderful. When I finished it I immediately went back and reread the last few chapters.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khalid Hosseni a great book.
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

The characters stay with you for a long time

The distant land of my father.
All the light we cannot see .
The book thief .
The darling buds of may .
The woman in white .
My sisters keeper .
Far from the madding crowd .
The secret life of bees.
Reading is my passion but i tend not to re read many , i could easily re read these ones though .

Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay or Terry Brooks
The Stand
American History by Philip Roth
Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Breakfast at Tiffanys - Capote
Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfield
And so many more

@SquirrelFan
I’ve lost my copy too, I think it probably fell apart! I think there’s a film but I’ve never seen it.

LakieLady How nice to see Le Grand Meaulnes mentioned. I must dig out my copy. Such a mesmerising book.

Middlemarch
Midnights children
Any human heart
The sense of an ending
I capture the castle
American pastoral

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Very difficult to pick just a few, but these are some of my favourite reads,
Clara ~ Janice Galloway

The Alexander trilogy ~ Mary Renault

A Suitable Boy ~ Vikram Seth

Cicero trilogy ~ Robert Harris

Cromwell trilogy ~ Hilary Mantel

A Little Life.

If anyone can find me a book both as heartbreaking and as amazing as A Little Life I will reward you with money.

I've just finished Steinbeck's Cannery Row which is the best fiction I've ever read. It's almost a bit dreamy and - for me- a real feel good read.

A couple have been mentioned but the ones that have stayed with me are :

The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier
The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
Vilette - Charlotte Bronte
Any Human Heart - William Boyd

All the Adrian Mole books-the end of the last book still gets me all emotional.

Oh gosh, too many. But to pluck a few at random:

A Fine Balance
Half of a Yellow Sun
Anything by Elizabeth Strout
The Way We Live Now
Our Mutual Friend
State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)

I’ve just finished The Guest Book (Sarah Blake) - a randomly chosen Kindle cheapie, but it was beautifully written and very moving.

Oh, and if you haven’t already read it, The Portrait of a Lady Is wonderful.

Another vote for Rachel's Holiday but my absolute favourite is The Heart of London by Monica Dickens. It's set in London in 1960 and describes an area undergoing lots of change from the point of view of different characters. I've read it so many times and it's so fascinating. Would make a great tv series.

"Did you know Marian Keyes is currently writing a sequel?"

No! But it gives me a good reason to re-read it

@Needhelp101 I love The Ogre Downstairs too. I think it's a fantastic book.

I have just bought A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones based on a recommendation on here. I have never read anything else of hers because I was always scared it would never be as good as The Ogre Downstairs and I would be disappointed.

[quote BigSkyLife]@Devillishlypicklypickles
Phantom was my teenage book of choice. I would read it over and over again.
I long ago gave away my copy, and can’t even get it on the Kindle now.[/quote]
Mine too! My mum had a copy and we shared it but it somehow vanished and couldn't find a copy for years! Bizarrely, I found a copy whilst on holiday in Whitehaven, in a rather chaotic used book shop spread out over about 3 floors, I wasn't even looking for it I was just browsing!

@Littlefiendsusan

I've just finished Steinbeck's Cannery Row which is the best fiction I've ever read. It's almost a bit dreamy and - for me- a real feel good read.

I really enjoyed this one too. Try Sweet Thursday if you haven't already (it has some of the same characters as Cannery Row). I love Steinbeck but my all time favourite is East of Eden, it's just perfect.

Oh how funny - I’ve enjoyed the thread and got to the end and mine is East of Eden too. I love it.

Other favourites are House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, the Magician by Maugham, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (this choice driven by nostalgia a lot).

Love in a time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
100 Years of Solitude - another GGM
Rebecca - daphne du maurier
Orlando - Virginia Woolf
All the Harry Potters

Great thread, lots of great inspiration!
My list:

Goldfinch
Great gatsby
100 years of solitude
Days without End
Poison wood bible
Suitable Boy
I am Pilgrim
Far from the Tree
Fieldwork
Peoples Act of Love
Poor Economics
In the Light of the Morning
Catch 22
The Dry
Cold comfort Farm
Norwegian Wood