Best book you've ever read, that you absolutely couldn't put down?

[PollyPocketLucyLocket]

I'm looking for suggestions. Inspired by another thread about getting love of reading back.

I would rather like something that made you feel some emotion. I'd love one that is so chilling, it keeps you stuck to your chair over fear

Sad ones would be good too. Just to balance it out, which books have made you laugh, or feel positive?

Best book for emotion - Lincoln In The Bardo, by George Saunders. Funniest book - Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith, the main character is like a Victorian David Brent!

I loved Shantaram.

Diary of a Nobody as mentioned above is gentle and funny.

I also loved Gone With The Wind.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
When I finished it I had to not start anything new for a few days as I couldn't think of anything to follow it.

The Kiterunner

Also killers of the flower moon come to think of it

Brothers of Karamazov by Dostoyevsky.

Intensity by Dean Koontz. It's not the "best" book I've ever read, but the story is very chilling. It's one of those you can stop reading because you HAVE to see what happens next. It's no literary masterpiece to be sure, but it's a great read. Very much like a movie playing in your mind and very freaky.

Really enjoyed All The Light We Cannot See, and I don't normally enjoy stories set in the World Wars for some reason.

The Heart's Invisible Furies was amazing as well.

My favourite ever book is The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton was a brilliant read, The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric was a corker, and Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day was wonderful!

On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks. So, so moving. I sobbed out loud when reading the ending on the tube

Not the genre asked for but I found Memoirs of a Geisha compelling reading.
Lincoln in the Bardo is strange. Read it once, could not read it again.
Smoke and Mirrors short stories by Neil Gaiman are chilling.

I found The Help unputdownable. Not chilling/scary but you definitely root for the characters and feel emotion

Dracula is amazing. The original, unabridged. The first section in the castle is just terrifying, and the ship...!

Ignore all the adaptations though. They’re usually shit and all about sex.

Water ship Down, beautiful book

Continuing the gothic theme, Frankenstein the original Mary Shelley version. You'll end up terribly sad for 'the creature' and wonder at the beauty of the language (women weren't allowed to publish poetry (too high an art form!) but its incredibly poetic and beautifully crafted.

Light a penny candle and also Circle of Friends, both by Maeve Binchy. When I feel sad or miss my mum, either one of these to read. They are like old friends putting an arm around me.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier... even better if you can find an old battered copy with old yellow pages.. adds to the atmosphere! Great story. Rebecca and Jamaica Inn good too

A thousand splendid suns.

Yes to the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan

All her books talk about magic, superstition, spirts and switch from modern day to a different time with such detailed descriptions you get totally lost in the tragic stories (which are quite complex) I love her writing

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver - the scariest book I have read and I couldn’t wait to get time to read it every night

Not so scary but gripping:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
The Kite Runner
Wuthering Heights (very atmospheric)
The Lovely Bones (emotionally draining)

The Lovely Bones and The Book Theif had me sobbing like a child.

The Historian was scary.

I made the mistake of reading The Amityville Horror when I was pregnant. It's probably nowhere near as chilling when you're not hormonal and don't need to get up to pee 10 times a night

For comfort reading you can't go wrong with the Larkins and the Darling Buds series or a bit of Jeeves and Wooster.

Birdsong
Girl with Pearl Earring
Any Human Heart
Human Croquet and Behind the Scenes at the Museum
A Town Like Alice
The Glass Lake

(none of the above is chilling!) But emotional.

For chilling I really like Jo Nesbo. The first few Linwood Barclay I read were gripping but then it became samey.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King