You know that heart-achingly wonderful, bittersweet feeling you get when you finish an incredible book? I want more of that in my life.

[SpaghettiBologneighs]

That feeling you're left with when you've been utterly immersed in another life or another universe. I've just finished a wonderful series. Not high literature by any stretch, but beautifully written with characters who lived and breathed and moved me. I finished with my eyes full of tears and I feel bereft, but in a good way :).

I want more of that in my life. What books have left others feeling this way?

[BooksandaCuppa]

Oh, I loved Tully but didn't think it necessarily stood up to a reread. I might give those a go at some point.

[FairyJen]

For me it has to be the brone horseman by paullina Simmons and the other two in the trilogy, tatiana and Alexander and the summer garden.

Utterly utterly beautiful, heartbreaking and gripping!

[Sallystyle]

Some of these may have already been mentioned:

State of Wonder- Anne Patchett
The Stand- Stephen King (best book ever)
This Much is True- Wally Lamb
Rebecca- Daphne dau Maurier
A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving
A Monster calls- Patrick Ness
The Fault in our Stars- John Green
11/22/63- Stephen King

[BooksandaCuppa]

I love this thread!

From childhood: the Sadlers Wells series - I must have read them twenty times or more each. And Katherine by Anya Seton (read 10 times?) And yy to Summer of My German Soldier and The L-Shaped Room.

Adult novels: yy to Atonement, Poisonwood Bible, anything by Atwood, anything by Yates but especially Revolutionary Road and Easter Parade, We Need to Talk About Kevin, I Capture the Castle,.

Some not mentioned yet (or only other books by the same author):

The Colour (Tremain), Paradise and Song of Solomon (Morrison), The Outcast (Sadie Jones), Corrections (Franzen), Oscar and Lucinda (Carey), all of Alice Munro's short stories, all of Margaret Laurence's Manawaka series, The Crimson Petal and the White (Faber), Underworld by Don DeLillo, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, Katherine by Anya Seton.

Ooh, I could go on forever - but those are the ones I've read at least three times and are old friends but make me sad I won't ever read them again for the first time.

I love everything I've read by Rose Tremain but haven't read her historical novels - I'm not usually a huge fan (except for Katherine!) - but I will definitely give Restoration a go after this thread.

Thanks!

[theluckiest]

I know this feeling!!! I tend to be a fast reader and have to consciously tell myself to slow down when nearing the end of a killer book as I know I'll be gutted when its over.....

Recently I loved Me Before You...surpassed my expectations completely. Ok, was a bit chick lit but I invested in those characters and was bereft by the end.

Old faves, The Stand definitely. And Birdsong. Just didn't know where to put myself for a while after that one.

Thanks though....just downloaded Restoration and The Poisonwood Bible. cheers!!

[AuntieBrenda]

Greenshootsandleaves!
I've read 'summer of my German soldier!'

[ILovePonyo]

Anything by Richard Yates, one of books was made into a film - Revolutionary Road - but all of his books really stayed with me afterwards including the short stories.

This thread is great, I have just made a list of books to look for on kindle another day!

[JackieTheFart]

Trills - I couldn't get on with Gone. I liked the first one but I found it really disturbing, the violence, when they are all children. I love apocalyptic stories normally.

Fannie Flagg books are fabulous. Just finished Standing in the Rainbow - just so lovely! Sad bits and funny bits but overall really does just make things seem sunny.

Any Margaret Atwood, but particularly Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. And The Blind Assassin.

The Time Traveler's Wife I couldn't put down. That and The Year of the Flood are the only two books I've read cover to cover twice in a row.

Boy's Life by Robert R McCammon also a wonderful, wonderful book. Magic and suspense and mystery, heartbreak and wonderful things all in one book. I love it.

[Trills]

I loved the Tawny Man trilogy (and the Assassin trilogy). LiveShip books are good, but don't bother with Soldier Son set, they are rubbish.

I just wrote a review of a the Gone series by Michael Grant, which is a sort of Young Adult scifi dystopia sort of thing. It was good enough that when the last book came out I bothered to reread the earlier ones.

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

Nice to see so many of my favourites on here.

I re-read the last few pages of Nights at the Circus several times to stop the book from ending.

I Capture the Castle & The Pursuit of Love both stayed with me and I love them.

Eva Ibbotson is good at making that feeling - The Secret Countess and Song for Summer particularly. Diana Wynne-Jones's character stay with me as well, Sophie Hatter and her sisters are fab and the Derkholm series characters are like real people to me.

[DuchessofMalfi]

It's staggering that The Light Between Oceans is M L Stedman's first novel. It's just so accomplished. The only other novel that has left me a sobbing wreck in recent times was My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young. It think it must be the connection to the WW1 that affects me so much.

[Galaxymum]

The Light Between Oceans - just as Duchess has said, this book is heartachingly beautiful. It stands out in its story and the credibility of the characters above other novels at the moment. I can't praise it enough and hope other people discover this wonderful reading experience. This book will stay with me for a long time. Do read it!

[DuchessofMalfi]

I've just finished listening to an audio version of The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman. Heartbreaking and absolutely amazingly beautiful novel.

[fromparistoberlin]

isabel allende!

[IDismyname]

Oh, and Kate Atkinson (Thank you from paris)

Has anyone read Kates' new book? - "Life after Life"?

[IDismyname]

Margaret Atwood for me - also Daphne Du Maurier, Lynne Reid Banks and Dodie Smiths 'I Capture The Castle'. I had NO idea that the last book was so popular with so may people.

Latterly, I've loved 'The Book Thief' and 'The Help'.

I usually love Rose Tremain, but didn't like the subject matter of Restoration, so didn't buy it.

You lot have persuaded me otherwise! Thank you :)

[fromparistoberlin]

I do think though some books are best on the first read

wally lamb, she's come undoone
kate atkinson
tipping the velvet

[fromparistoberlin]

margaret atwood
jilly cooper riders and lace (albeit when i was 14..)
cutting for stone


cant think but more!!

[LEMisdisappointed]

The pheonix and the carpet - E.Nesbit - read it to DD and we both sobbed at the end only to find a whole series of books about the Psammead - there will be memories forever.

For me:
Rebecca
Jamaica Inn - deeply disturbing
Jonathan strange and Mr Norrel - LOVED this, but couldnt get into it a second time.
Crime and Punishment - by FAR the best book I have ever read, but can't penetrate any of his other work.

I never seem to really remember books, i used to read so much more - i need to do so again. Am reading something by Will Self just now - i'm not sure its good for me [hm]

[tumbletumble]

I think the one with the cousin Miriam was Curtain Up. Loved that one too!

[Sephy]

I read the vicarage girl tumble - that and saplings are two of my recent reads. I loved apple bough as a child, and one whose name I can't remember that had a cousin called Miriam in it - was that also about a circus? My memory of all the different Noel Streatfeild books is awful but I absolutely loved them.

The Childrens book by A S Byatt - those characters stayed with me a fair while afterwards too

[BaconAndAvocado]

Restoration is a wonderful book, though IMO Music and Silence is better!

Rules of Civility was unputdownable, and I keep willing Mr. Amor Towles to hurry up and write another book!