5 absolute must read book recommendations please

[mousemole]

I have 5 child free days in the sun. I will read a book a day and I can't wait.
Please please let me know your top picks ?

Depends on if you are looking for new fiction or something from the classics. If your aiming for a book a day, I would forgo the classics as they take longer to read generally but here is a start.

If you want something classic but a fast read, perhaps, The picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. For more recent and less heavy reading but still enjoyable, I suggest Exit Music by Ian Rankin (if you like crime fiction), Shopaholic and baby (if you like chick lit and this one is funny), or another nice light but interesting read is anything by Jody Picault (especially My Sisters Keeper was very good). Have fun.

thanks Christie. I guess the shorter easier reads are appealing, like the Kite Runner or the more cerebral end of chic lit. Thanks for your recommendations.

Off the top of my head I would say:

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
A suitable boy - Vikram Seth (although this will take more than a day and is probably not good for your baggage allowance !)
3 men on a boat - Jerome K Jerome
Half a yellow sun
The other boleyn girl (for light relief ).

i read the curious incident of the dog in the night time by mark haddon in a day.

also managed mister pip by lloyd jones in one sitting.

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is very good

Agree with cowboy, it is very good up to the last third then goes too sciency imo...

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a total delight.

oh yes freaky penguin - curious incident is a good one.

The Secret History - Donna Tartt (classic, intelligent writing, un-put-downable)
The Matchbreaker - Chris Manby (funny chick lit - i normally hate chick lit)
The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe (really funny, with a gripping story)
All IMHO obviously!
enjoy your holiday, you lucky thing

Agree with God of Small Things, also The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - one of my favourites ever.

I really enjoyed "We need to talk about Kevin" but some hated it.

And for a classic, I just re-read Watership Down and found it brilliant: and I'm not an animal person at all. It's a great story with great characters.

Poo - my experiment with making text bold didn't work.

Caspercat's suggestion of The Secret History is PERFECT intelligent holiday reading (I'm afraid I don't know the rest you suggest, casper).

Re-reading stuff from school / uni is also good (I've reread Jane Eyre about three times now and still enjoy it every time...). Have you got any faves hanging around on the bookshelves which you'd like to reread?

I don't know anything about chick-lit, but these are interesting and easy to read:

• Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon)
• Shibumi (Trevanian)
• Miracles of Life (J. G. Ballard)

This Book Will Change Your Life-A.M. Holmes
The Accidental Tourist Anne Tyler
The Orchard on Fire Shena MacKay
The Tenderness of Wolves
Sleep With Me Joanne Briscoe
All quite short and 'easy' but gripping reads.
And Nicki Gerard novels-Things We Knew Were True,Solace and The Moment You Were Gone.

ooh wow, love some of these suggestions
I have read and loved:
we need to talk about kevin
the curious incident of the dog...
the time travellers wife
anything by jodi picoult

have considered the other boleyn girl - a couple of you recommended this, so think I should buy ?

I like the idea of re reading the classics so will trawl by bookshelves.
I am so excited to be able to have some time to indulge a favourite but much neglected passion. The doctor has ordered some rest as I have an auto immune disorder .
Thanks for your suggestions to date - keep them coming though please....

These were some of my favourites

The Secret Lives of Bees
Shantaram
Memoirs of a Geisha
Curious Incident of the dog
The lIfe of pi
The Kite Runner and THousand Splendid Suns

thanks budhababe. just remembered a thousand splendid suns, been meaning to read that forever.

Mr Pip just went down very well at our book group.

Perfume is one of my all time faves....

I have to say that "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is quite unbelievably bad.

In what way CDA?

OK, what about:

Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
The Pest House - Jim Crace

Alias Grace and Fingersmith should keep you intrigued to the end.
Prodigal Summer is warm and hopeful and beautiful and leaves you with a smile
Other Boleyn Girl is a gripping, well-written page turner (even though we all know it will end in tears)
Pest House is brilliantly written (Jim Crace is the master of economical yet evocative writing) and is surprisingly optimistic given the subject (dystopian future)

Disgrace by J.M Coetzee (deeply un-nerving)
Remains of the Day by the bloke who write Remains of the Day (at once simple, beautiful and intricate and layered)
Jane Eyre (great story; great heroine)
The Blind Assassin, Atwood (total page-turner)
Bonfore of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (seminal, brilliant, jaw-droppingly sharp)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Tracey Chevalier) bit like Remains of the Day - nothing happens yet it's beautiful and intricate
anything except on Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

bloody hell mousehole - did yuo say 5 child-free days in the sun.