Your recommended books?

[AJC]

Marley & Me by John Grogan. I hardly ever read but I just couldn't put this one down. Brilliant.

[Mother Goose]

I loved 'The Memory keepers Daughter" (can't recall author name though). It was a tear jerker though...

And any of the Jodi Piccoult books - 19 Minutes was brilliant, so was Salem Falls, Keeping Faith, The Pact, My Sisters Keeper... A friend of mine has all her books and I've borrowed the ones I haven't read... I can't get enough of her books!

[Hollybolly]

I loved 'The Memory keepers Daughter" (can't recall author name though). It was a tear jerker though...

Kim Edwards

I didn't mind this one, though I was a little disappointed in the ending

[MantaRay]

A Town like Alice (Neville Shute) is an all time favourite - haven't read it in years though, I wonder if I'd be disappointed.

Plus the best one I've read recently is the Timetraveller's Wife.

I love anything by Jodie Piccoult too.

Oh, and anything by Ann Tyler. I love her but her books are hard to get. Good book shops have some in the literature section. If you've never read Ann Tyler, give it a try. Digging to America is a recentish one of hers that I enjoyed.

[Isadora]

Highly recommend:

Tully - Paullina Simmons &
Chill Factor - Sandra Brown

[Chalalan]

Time Travellers Wife is gorgeous so I second that nomination.
Behind the Scenes at the Museam by Kate Atkinson - one of my favourite books
The Live Ship traders / Royal Assasin / Tawny man trilogies by Robin Hobb - that woman can write!
Can't go past Wuthering Heights - Emily (?) Bronte and for something of a groundbreaker in its day - try The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte - not as well known as the other Bronte books but excellent.
I love Tess of the D'urbevilles by Thomas Harding - very dark
and if you're interested in something a bit way-out-there - love it or hate it - try The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks - I love it and just thought that for a debut novel it was really brave and original. Other friends have hated it with a passion.

Have fun and let us know what you're reading. I miss discussing books.

[~Kaz~]

These are my picks (mainly for fiction):

Anything by Helen Garner (esp. Joe Cinque's Consolation, The First Stone and Monkey Grip) or Tim Winton (esp. Dirt Music, The Riders and Cloud Street). Andrew McGahan is pretty good too (Praise and 1988).

Another fave is John Birmingham - especially 'He died with a falafel in his hands' and 'The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco' - both hilarious, especially if you've ever done lots of communal or raucous shared living

I am also a Paullina Simons and Jodi Picoult fan - they're easy reads but also raise interesting issues and questions. I just finished Paullina Simons 'Road to Paradise' and am currently reading 'The spare room' by Helen Garner. I have 'The Kite Runner', and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' (Khaled Hosseini) and 'Water for Elephants' (Sara Gruen) lined up after that!

[Lolli]

I highly recomend anyhting by Jodi Piccoult... My Sisters keeper or The Pact especially.

[Aimz]

I haven't read the previous posts but I will give you my top 5 reads:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arther Golden - this is such a beautiful and intriguing story
2. Harry Potter Series (looks like you've already got to these!)
3. The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden - this is supposed to be teenage fiction but it is a brilliant series, I felt like I was there with a characters. The story over the 7 books is brilliant and hard to put down!
4. A Boy Called 'It" by Dave Pelzer - this is so sad but it's a true story of triumph over evil.
5. Trading Up by Candace Bushnell (author of Sex and the City) - this is such a funny read!!

Oh one more - The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - absolute tear jerker!!

[AnyDream]

Leasha, DON'T read The Memory Keeper's Daughter while you are pregnant - it contains baby content that will have you howling for days.

I second "The Book Thief". It was my best read of 2006 AND I bought an audio copy for my stepmum who can't get it back off my Dad (who never reads anything but has been completely sucked into the story).

Another favorite novel of mine (the novel that made me start reading fiction again) is Cold Mountain by Charles Frasier. The movie is excellent but read the book!

Also, if you want a bit of human drama, you can't go past Elizabeth Berg. Any or all of her titles, I'd rate her right up there with Jodi Picoult.