What book was so good you couldn't out it down you burned the dinner and let the kids run wild and chaos reign about you?

[TheMoonOnAStick]

I want something that good to read on holiday you see!

I don't care much for chick lit and can't bear Freya North, but other than that don't much mind. Quite like historical but doesn't have to be.

The last books I felt that gripped by were the Shardlake series, so something absorbing and of doorstop dimensions on that level without being too impenetrable would be good

the time travellers wife- felt bereft when it ended....fantastic

Lol - omg I want thtem ALL!

I'm going to have to be on holiday for about three years to get through all these..Ooh what a wonderful thought. I'd love that

Mumonthenet - Very interested in the Vita Sackville West book you mention there. And that also reminds me that I keep meaning to read the book of Mitford sisters letters too.

Any Sarah Waters or Phillipa Gregory.

Moon I read the Mitford letters, very very interesting to see how bitter Nancy and Jessica were about each other as they got older. A real insight.

The Lovely Bones, The Gargoyle, The Little Stranger,

heart and soul bt maeve binchy. But if you like her, read earlier ones first as she connects the characters with those from previous books - so it would spoil previous plots iyswim. They're not taxing, but definsately absorbing.

Also danielle steele wanderlust

Years ago I read a Ken Follet book, Pillars of the Earth, which was great, although I've not read anything else decent by him.

I'm loving the Shardlake series at the minute and they remind me of that a little, lots of historical/political references, a great story and about a million pages, so a good long read.

1984 - aged about 14, pretended to be sick and stayed in bed all day reading it
The Catcher in the Rye
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Brighton Rock
Times Arrow
Papillion
Trainspotting
Bridget Jones' Diary
Life of Pi
A stack of Marian Keyes (during a sad phase)
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Secret History
The Shops
An Education
The Sea, The Sea

OMG! I forgot Rebecca! how could I?

One Day - David Nicholls. Couldn't put it down, perfect holiday book.

Fingersmith is fantastic,

My 3 Fav books-

Behind The Scenes Of The Museum by Kate Atkinson

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Birdsong by Seastian Faulks

Sorry thats sebastian Faulks

I found Memoirs of a Geisha unputdownable and also enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife - would be a good holiday read.

Everything by Susan Lewis

another vote for Rebecca..so unexpected..

Millenium books.. sad i have finished them and want to just start them again.

the book thief..

and Gone with the wind.. which I sat on a beach in Mexico reading and crying my eyes out even though Id seen the film a million times.

Last time I went away I bought Moby Dick, big mistake, especially as we were in Mexico, where other english books were tricky to get hold of. It was such a relief to change it (unfinished) for a Danielle Steele at a hotel library.

oooh yes I want the Mitford sisters books too,

have a good holiday!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

I also thought Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant was excellent, more so than I would expect of a novel set in the confines of a 16th century Italian convent.

I also liked The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.

Sorry that none of these are imaginative but I did love them all.

Another Richard & Judy choice from a few years ago, historical, Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor.

I second The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, a bit of an epic, but wonderfully written.
The Poisonwood Bible by her is also worth a read if you haven't already.

If you like the Shardlake books check out The Medieval Murderers series - CJ Sansom is one of the authors
I started reading The Help on Friday on the flight home from hols (took 3 books and managed to read them all!!!) and finished it Sunday night.
It made me laugh and it made me cry, it was just fab.

The Dirt - Motley Crue

Sorry for lowering the tone!

ooops, didn't realise I was on fiction thread!

Mara and Dann by Doris Lessing did it for me.

I can't get over the response to my thread. Again thanks everyone! I really will be giving this thread a good trawl in conjuction with Amazon.

Meglet no worries - I put this in fiction but afterwards did hope I'd get non-fiction suggestions too! Yours sounds great - I just looked it up on Amazon. Although not especially a fan, I have heard of their antics and would happily give it a read