Absolutely Unputdownable Books

[spacemonkey]

Just interested to know what books mumsnetters found absolutely impossible to put down ...

Here are some of mine:

• Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
• anything by Jane Austen
• Villette - Charlotte Bronte
• Diary of a Nobody - George & Weedon Grossmith
• If This Is A Man - Primo Levi
• His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pullman
• The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell
• Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry
• Things Can Only Get Better - John O'Farrell
• The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Botton

and (ahem) all the Harry Potters

What are yours?

Has any one read Angelas Ashes by Frank Mccourt,
Its one of my all time favourites that i can read over and over. Lent it to a couple of people who gave it me back and said that they couldnt get on with it and it was rubbish....i was dumbfounded.
Other favs:
the shining,(Steven King)
To kill a mocking bird,(Harper Lee)
stories from a small Island (Bill Bryson)
Around Ireland with a fridge(Tony Hawks)
Tuppence to cross the Mersey (Helen Forrester)
Lovely bones(Alice Sebold)
Any thing by Roddy Doyle
Bridgit Jones...of course
so so so many more not mentioned!!!

Yes, I have read it, and thought it was great.
Have you read the next one "Tis"?

I agree with so much on this list, and am so happy to see so many Americans (incl. Canadians) on the list.

But no one mentioned J.D. Salinger. . .I wonder if he doesn't translate so well over here. I like Catcher in the Rye, but I am obsessed with the Glass family, who appear in:
9 Stories
Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenter
Franny & Zooey

The first is a collection of stories, the second 2 are novellas you can read in a day practically without stopping to breathe, they are so engrossing. Works of genius (I think). Franny is the character is literature I most relate to. . .in fact, when my dad was laid up in hospital earlier this year, I had him read it, and he said, "I think I finally understand you now!"

I must try him again then Expatkat, I had a go at Franny and Zooey years ago (and I do mean about 25 years ago ) and could not get on with it. I also didn't seem to enjoy/relate to Catcher in the Rye like you are supposed to

And oh--Marina, that was nice of you to pick up on my J.E. comment, though I instantly regretted writing it b/c it probably seemed like I was showing off. I actually don't know if we're friends anymore because shortly after I wrote that post, I contacted him and never heard back but I think he's pretty busy & can be like that, I think. . .

It makes me a little mournful to remember this, but he & I did a reading together at an American university some years ago when I was in my 20s and had "promise" as a writer (ie before moving here, having kids & just generally getting unfocused which is no one's fault but my own.) I have a habit of reading with people who later become successful (tho J.E. was already v. well known) but going nowhere myself, so I think of myself as a sort of good luck charm to other writers, which I suppose is a useful enough purpose in life. . .

More & more I think it's a translation thing, Marina. You probably still won't Franny & Zooey, so perhaps you ought not to bother with it again.

Anything by Paullina Simons (Shrub, have you read the sequel to the Bronze Horseman - Tatiana & Alexander - even better!)

Also love Prue Leith, John O'Farrell, India Knight, Pearl Abraham & Maggie O'Farrell. Have just read the most amazing book called 'Truth or Dare' edited by Justine Picardie where different authors share their secrets - includes Julie Myerson, Nick Hornby, William Fiennes, Andrea Ashworth etc etc - it is the best thing I have read for ages - the only downside was Sophie Dahl's contribution which didn't really fit with the rest.

Has anybodyread My Sister's Keeper by Judi Picoult? I've just read a review in an old Good Housekeeping and it looks like an interesting read.

Kate Fitzgerald has a rare form of leukemia. Her sister, Anna, was conceived to provide a donor match for procedures that become increasingly invasive. At 13, Anna hires a lawyer so that she can sue her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned

Ellaroo, have to agree re Tatiana and Alexander, so wonderful, think I even shed a tear or two!!!

My most recent enjoyable read... the da vinci code (Dan Brown) - couldn't put it down.

I've just read 'A Vicious Circle' by Amanda Craig. My sister in law forced me to read it, I was a bit sniffy but it was just fantastic. And to be found in a charity shop near you....

Message withdrawn

I'm getting there Yorkiegirl! Have since read Digital Fortress and have Angels and Demons and another one to read. They are all in the same style so i feel i need a little break between (well that and little things like work and children!)

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if it's been mentioned already but I found 'The Grass Memorial' by Sarah Harrison to be one of those books that stays with you for a long time afterwards. Unputdownable, thought provoking and very cleverly written.

Marina - just finished the Salterton Trilogy and I definitely think it goes down as one of my all time favourites. I particularly liked the last book about the bitter/twisted will trust and the music scholarship the naive young singer was sent on.

hoxtonchick, since you and I seem to have identical taste, do try The Way the Crow Flies . I can't tell you how good it is. Really interesting moral dilemmas, passages of lyrical prose and a completely gripping thriller. Cover makes it look sappy, but it isn't.

Recommended to anyone BTW, not just hoxtonchick

after refusing to read any more books following my eng lit degree some yonks ago, frank mccourt's tis has made me eat my words!! extremely readable, incredibly funny, and you just have to feel for the poor guy!
haven't read angela's ashes, but i love the movie.

just started reading my first robertson davies after hearing him mentioned on here ... picked up The Rebel Angels from dp's bookshelf

Roobie, it really is a wonderful, if deeply sad, book in places isn't it. Glad you enjoyed the whole trilogy. Did you identify Giles Revelstoke as inspired by Peter Warlock (music critic turned composer, satirist and bohemian, took his own life by gassing himself but put the cat out first...)? Davies' evocation of how post-war London must have seemed to an ex-pat was spot-on, I thought. So much to treasure...
Hope you enjoy The Rebel Angels as much, spacemonkey! Parlabane is priceless. Wait til you get to the unspeakable Christmas lunch with Maria and her family...and the ingredients for the love potion...

oooh, thanks tamum, looks v. good. as soon as i emerge from my early pregnancy can't-move-from-the-sofa inertia i'll buy it. in fact, i could even drag myself to waterstones tomorrow.

Marina, must be honest and say I've never heard of Peter Warlock but having just googled and read a brief biography of him it is definitely him.... all the aspects are there, the insecurity, the bohemian lifestyle, the family home in Wales, the magazine editorship. Right down to the open verdict over his 'suicide'.

I went and rediscovered his music, such was the impact of the book on me Roobie. He didn't write anything large-scale but his song and especially carol settings are exquisite and very accessible. Bethlehem Down is lovely, and so is his faux-medieval piece Capriol Suite. Talk about a life extinguished too young.
Glad it's not just me who found all the connections unmistakeable.

Wish I hadn't discovered this thread now!! Am currently knackered and bleary eyed after endless late nights reading "The Quincunx" - still haven't finished it but am absolutely loving every bit of it - dd has had no attention over the last few days!!

when I have 5 minutes to myself

"Music and Silence" by Rose Tremain (have read 80 pages in one sitting and would whole book in a day if had the time)

at the mo no more since all my time is with children and household chores....have been told the Da Vinci Code is good by older sister...will come up with more "Stranger in the Mirror" is a thought provoking read.

read slave earlier this year but can't remember who by, i lent it out and never saw it again so sorry can't check author. Anyone else read it and can anyone recommend anything lighthearted and funny please, anything to take my mind of heartburn in early hours.