what books couldnt you put down?

[caykon]

i am looking for inspiration on what to read. I read any genre, but i do like books i find hard to put down, to me this is the true sign of a great book. so what books did you find this with?

The Outcast by Sadie Jones
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni

thankyou princess.
come on everyone there must be more than 2 books that people cant put down

Anything by Harlen Coben - not a great litery but gripping crime stories if that appeals.

The outcast
A thousand splendid suns
we need to talk about Kevin
Monsterlove
No time for goodbye
Broken

Ditto We need to talk about Kevin (author?)
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

The vanishing act of Esme Lennox
Life of Pi
We need to talk about Kevin
Notes on a scandal (read in one sitting)

Notes on a scandal definitely
The Kiterunner
The handmaid's tale
Anything by Ben Elton
Anything by Emily Barr

private papers of eastern jewel. excellent book (and can't usually be bothered to read)

The Savage garden - can't remember who wrote it, but I really enjoyed it
The Last King of Scotland, although I read it after watching the film

Perfume - Patrick Suskind. Weird and a bit scary but very well written.
Small Island - Andrea Levy. Lovely book 1948 England, very nostalgic and makes me think of my Grand dad who I never met as he was kill in the East End.
All of the No1 Ladies Detective stories. Alexander McCall Smith put the kettle on get the biscuits kind of stories fab

didn't read it that recently but Bonfire of The Vanities sticks in my mind. Didn't expect to get into it but was absolutely gripped, great story, great detail. Unputdownable. Also read The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan in one fell swoop recently: woke up at some ungodly hour, picked up the nearest book (that was it) and read it through. I haven't done that for years! Another one that was great, if a little more difficult to get in to was LA Confidential by James Ellroy.

The Handmaid Tale
Damage
Pefume

Time Traveller's Wife.

Oh, and 'I'm Not Scared'. The film's great, too.

The red tent..i sat up till 4am to finish it

I love the Poisonwood Bible, which I have read 3 times. Also just had a look on my bookshelf and books that jump out are:

Cloud Atlas and other books by David Mitchell
Stolen Child - Keith Donoghue
The Secret History - Donna Tarte

If you don't mind being a bit teenage, the Stephanie Meyer vampire books are kind of addictive too. Even my mum who is 50+ enjoyed them!

Have read and loved most of the recommendations on this thread .

Birdsong.
I was literally holding my breath for the last third of the book. I had to finish it quickly or I thought I'd suffocate!

Birdsong.
I was literally holding my breath for the last third of the book. I had to finish it quickly or I thought I'd suffocate!

Oooh, anything by Matthew Reilly or James Rollins, totally gripping. My husband says Matthew Reilly regularly ruins our sex life and makes me grumpy (read - tired), I can read, and read and read and before I know it, its 1 a.m.

ooh starbear, i agree with all of yours & the red tent - fantastic. Also Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett an epic with rather unpromising subject matter on the surface but fab!

stayed up until 4am reading the wasp factory

I read a lot from chick-lit to classics and usually once I'm into a book I can't put it down. However, these are some that stick in my mind as ones I really couldn't put down:

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernières (shame the film was so crap)
Noble House - James Clavell
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy (much better than the film)
The Devil Wears Prada (you must read it even if you've seen the film which was no where near as good)
The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
Ladder of Years - Anne Tyler
Atonment - Ian McEwan
The Secret History - Donna Tart
Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

grapes of wrath, steinbeck
life of pi
duchess of devonshire
fanny hill
catch 22
tess of the durbervilles
enchanted april
the sheltering sky
early john irving

Ihave read loads of Judy Picoult and some are great (My sister's keeper and Salem Falls) and some are not so good (the tenth circle) but read "19 minutes" recently and it's fantastic.
ALso loved

To be someone- Louise Voss
Anything written by Lisa Jewel or Nick Hornby
The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
Time travellers wife
Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons