tell me a book you where you said "wow, that was blankety, blank amazing!

[christie1]

I am in a dry spell, been filling it with some solid mysterys interspersed with Dr. Zhivago, but I am craving a reall good read where I fall in love with the book. Help me please! I read anything from chick lit to classics but find everything I pick up, bores me.

The Blind Assasin

"Fragile" by Niki Shisler. Mum borrowed it from Westminster Library, and brought it round for me last night.

I'm only on page 21 and weeping already.

Her website's www.nikishisler.com. Amazing woman.

It's an old one, but The Shipping News, Annie Proulx. Love it so much it's become part of the 'furniture of my mind', often find myself thinking about it. It has a dark, harrowing side, laugh-out loud funny bits, characters you care passionately about and a radiantly happy ending.

Any book by Helen Dunmore but most particularly The Siege and Mourning Ruby. Both made me weep.

The Women's Room by Marilyn French - ground-breaking in its time.

Little, Big by John Crowley - The most beautifully written book I've ever read. You marvel at the phrases used.

Brokeback Mountain, The Shipping News, Annie Proulx.

eemie great minds!

The Magus by John Fowles. I wish I hadn't already read it so that I could read it for the first time again.

i've just finished The kite Runner,by Khalid Hussein.Was a fantastic book thoroughly recommend.

I loved the Kite Runner, too. I also loved The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and The Corrections by Jonathan Frantzen.

MissGolightly, haven't found it very difficult to find the Dunnett books. They're definitely all around on Amazon, I'd guess. Mind you, haven't tried buying any in the last few years, as I have them all. I originally borrowed them from a friend, and read them at work. It was a fair few years ago, honest. Would think of doing that now! Just devoured them. And then had to buy them all myself. I was so sad when I heard that Dorothy Dunnett had died - it was like losing a friend - weird. I'd never felt like that about an author before. Definitely recommend the Niccolo ones too - just as good, maybe, dare I say it, even better...

Paula - Allende

The Whaleboat - can't remember the author but fantastic.

Have any of you Dorothy Dunnett fans read her book about Macbeth, King Hereafter? I LOVED that. I think it's out of print now though

I've never really given the time to the Lymond series to get into it. Will give them another go now though.

Yes, zippy - enjoyed that one too. But I think I've enjoyed the others more. Definitely give them a go, though they are quite dense - take a bit of time to get into, but very rewarding.

Sebastian Faulks Birdsong is my fav book ever

Oryx and crake
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

the real stand out for me in the past year has been "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson. Amazing.

The Glass Bead Game

Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers. Wonderful.

And George RR Martin's Song of Ice & Fire series, if you're into this genre - mainly because it is so vast, so well thought out, and entirely unpredictable.

i also agree with enid's nominations - especially JS&MrN - now that really is an amazing novel.

poisonwood bible - kingsolver

lost in translation - eva hoffman

the emigrants - w g sebald (infact, anything by him. rings of saturn is amazing too)

pale fire - nabokov

disgrace - coetzee

in the middle of the corrections and ots frickin great. infact, i'm off to bed in a mo for some more readin. hooray

"This Thing of Darkness" by Harry Thompson.

So sorry he died as I was reading his book as it was a great debut novel.

Not read them for a few years but I used to think anything by Jostein Garder was amazing especialy Sophie's World.

• jostein gaarder

Saturday Ian McEwan
Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe
Scoop Evelyn Waugh
The Leopard Guiseppe di Lampedusa

Youth Coetzee