What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

[lostinthoughts]

Holidays coming up and I’m fed up of starting books and not finishing them as they just don’t grip me. Give me your best ever books that have had you hooked….

Stephen king -Holly

Still life by Sarah winman

Fingersmith is up there. I also love Remains of The Day. And I think any Elena Ferrante is a good holiday read.

Not sure but great books this year

strange sally diamond
last one at the party
end of the world running club

Katherine by Anya Seton.

Imajica by Clive Barker. It really is an extraordinary story. A wholly different type of fantasy where portals to alternative worlds do exist, where love and loss and greed and hate and history and fate circle back round to love again.
There is no pretention in the writing style but the story is so well crafted with little hints along the way so that every so often you have a lightbulb moment over some detail that came before. So good!

Changes over time but here are some recent ones. I’m fairly mainstream and not very literary!

Lessons in Chemistry
The Appeal
Convenience Store Woman
Conclave
Big Little Lies
Rivers of London
Lady in Waiting (non fiction)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I’ve just started her book The Secret History which is also good.

I was coming on to say these two books (but in the opposite order, I read TSH as a teenager and am currently rereading The Goldfinch!)!

Circe and The Song of Achilles, both by Madeleine Miller. The writing is just beautiful.

Second Circe! Fantastic book. I loathe Achilles so I never like books about him, he’s such a PITA.

The Grapes of Wrath and/or East of Eden
Fingersmith and/or Affinity
The Slow Horses series by Mick Herron

I absolutely love the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker. Not easy or light reads but they have stayed with me since the first read and I go back to them often. Absorbing, thought provoking and gripping.

East of Eden - Steinbeck
Golden Hill - Spufford
The Goldfinch - Tartt
The Saturdays - Enright
Out of Love - Clayton
Coming Home - Pilcher
The Heart's Invisible Furies - Boyne
Carrie - King (or maybe Firestarter)

Emily of New Moon - LM Montgomery
I'm sure there're more!

The Goldfinch for me as well.

I loved Last One At The Party but I’m disappointed after watching 28 Days Later to realise it is a bit of a rip off…

Pet Semetary Stephen King

Fiction (full length)
The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass

Fiction (short)
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

Non-fiction
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to Antarctica - Alfred Lansing

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - I haven't read anything since that has had the same effect.

Loved The Secret History and The Goldfinch

I love Wuthering Heights and have re-read it several times.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes has stayed with me.

I love Dickens and Hardy too

All Souls Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches...) by Deborah Hawks for those long lazy days.

For a quick read: Chess by Stefan Zweig

If you fancy a biography and a bit of background knowledge about the current conflict in the middle east , I can highly recommend Queen of the Dessert: The extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgia Howell. A truly amazing and inspiring woman!

My family and other animals by Gerrard durral is my all time favourite ( tons better than the TV series)
Bill bryson, all of his all very good but Notes from small island and A walk in the woods are my favourites.

Spike milligan Puckoon is Outstanding !

Some top books for me in recent years:

• James by Percival Everett
• Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
• Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (nonfiction)

And some I’ve recommended on another thread -

• Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
• Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I really liked The Little Friend too, but I don’t think many other people did!