your recommendations please!

[NinjaChipmunk]

I would like some lovely new books for Christmas and would love for some recommendations. Some of my all time favorites are
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin
The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Little Stranger by sarah Waters
most of Stephen Frys books, esp The Hippopotomus
cider with rosie by laurie lee

Please inspire me!

Have you read the rest of Sarah Waters? Fingersmith and The Night Watch are particularly good. If you like the same time period as The Little Stranger, how about trying The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski? It's another horror-ish, very creepy and atmospheric novel (although short). It's published by Persephone who are one of my favourite publishers; they specialise in female writers from between the wars.

Paula - Isabel Allende
MissPettigrew Lives For A day - a Persephone book
Wilkie Collins - The Woman In White - makes Sarah Waters look like the writings of a studious but boring sixth former imho
The Stand - Stephen King
Anything by Frances Hodgson Burnet (she wrote The Secret Garden)
The Bolter

The Secret History, and The Little Friend both by Donna Tartt
The Pursuit of Love, and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (I'm part way through reading it)

Some brilliant sounding recommendations here, thank you. I have read both the Donna Tartt books and they are also some of my favorites - The Secret History is just fantastic. I have also read some Isabel Allende but not Paula i think. Will definitely check out the others mentioned.

I read Paula by Isabel Allende a long time ago. It is a really moving story, as I recall, mostly autobiographical, as her daughter Paula lies seriously ill in hospital dying from porphyria. It sounds depressing but it is an excellent book and I'd recommend it too.