What is your favorite book of all time?

[Fishpants]

I'm hoping to gather some ideas and some real people recommendations rather than the Top 100 Novels to Read Before You Die type lists.

Disclaimer: I know it's hard to pick just one, so you can pick more than one if you really must. [hwink]

Anything by Georgette Heyer, well any of her Regency romances

My Family and Other Animals
The Cider House Rules
Such A Long Journey
Midnight's Children
Blindness
Ballet Shoes
Middlesex
Her Son's Wife
The Vivisector
Blood Meridian

I'll stop at 10....

Moonshine - Victoria Clayton

Anything by Victoria Clayton [hsmile]

Gone with the wind

Hully Midnight's Children? I tried that a couple of times and could barely get past page 5...is it worth persevering, then?

yy to Gone With The Wind

It is quite simply superb. And The Satanic Verses.

All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy, frankly any of his books if you want beautiful prose.

Weaveworld - Clive Barker, the most interesting tale I've ever read, first read at 13 and reread a million times over since then, it stands alone as my favourite book EVER.

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon, which is vast but the first 3 novels are the most fascinating, after that they get a bit indulgent.

rock - I think Blood Meridian is better than the Pretty Horses Trilogy (though I loved them too).

Hully - I'm yet to start Blood Meridien. Its on my list, I'm looking forward to dark winter evenings when I can stay in and read a good book again.

Anything by Octavia Butler, for instance 'Kindred'
Or, Ursula LeGuin. Really love most of her books, too.

Rebecca
The Stand
A Thousand Splendid Suns

Shogun - James Clavell
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck, ooh and Of Mice and Men
The Godfather - Mario Puzo...not a dull page in the whole damn book

I love Stephen King: The Stand is my favorite. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a newer one that is superb and Firestarter is a cracking good story.

For laughs I like Wodehouse.

Maria De Los Santos is another one I'm getting into. The titles are Love Walked In and Belong to Me, which are rather trite but the imagery in the books is great.

So many more...I'll have a think and get back to you. :)

Pride and Prejudice
Or
Rebecca
Or
Alias Grace

Summer people by Marge Piercey

Oh yes, I love ol Marge

we have similar tastes Hull :)
who is her sons wife by?
Ballet shoes in not quite as good as the vicarage children book

I have just got an adult book by Noel. V excited.

Her Son's Wife is Dorothy Canfield (Fisher possibly). It's a Virago mod classic. It is SO GOOD. I keep giving it to people.

Ooo and The Rector's Wife and everything by Elizabeth Taylor

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
The Kite Runner
Captain Corellies Mandolin
A Room With a View
A Patchwork Planet
Middlesex
Wild Swans
Amsterdam

There is a Nick Hornby one about a family and the man has a breakdown and it ends with him trying to fix the guttering outside the house when it is pouring with rain? Its is brilliant.

Love JD Salinger, Anne Tyler, Carol Sheilds, Rose Treman,

What's the vicarage one?

yy Anne Tyler (not last five or so) and Rose Tremain. Expecially Music and Silence and the one with lots of snow.

Capt Corelli but not the shit shit shit end.

Cloud Atlas

Helen Dunmore

A Place of Greater Safety and Wolf Hall

(sorry I'm going to need 500 or so)