The Tin Drum - Gunter Grasse
Perfume - Patrick Suskind
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe
The Right Stuff - Tom Wolfe
Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse
The Glass Bead Game - Herman Hesse
The Book of Dave - Will Self
1984 - George Orwell
Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist - Robert Tressell

.....to name but a few. Hoping people will name more titles worth reading?

SSM

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Measure twice, cut once!

Harry Potter 1-7

The Narnia Series...

and anything by...

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Verwood Handyman
I Know it says I'm On-line, but I might have just left myself logged in, whilst I'm out....

I once read a series of fantasy books (real ones) that I seriously enjoyed. There were about 5 different series that all intertwined at points, ending in an almight battle.

Dragon Lance I think they were called. Never read them all - wish I had.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonlance#Characters

Loved them.

BG

The Bridge - (Ian Banks)

it's about a guy in a coma. Wierd storyline, even wierder setting but the overall concept hasn't (imho) been equalled. Same might apply for 'Wasp Factory'.

For 'atmosphere' you can't beat Wilbur Smith for any of his 'Africa' series novels basically.

As a sci-fi fan I've been impressed by Arthur C Clark, Peter F Hamilton and, surprisingly Ian Banks (again) who writes sci-fi under Ian 'M' Banks.

Bill Brysons 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' should be mandatory reading for all schoolkids.

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This post may contain nuts

When the Wind Blows and The Lake House, by James Patterson. Fantastic idea about human/avian bio engineering, to produce humans with the power of flight. Great character development and the child/young woman "Max" actually sounds believable, inasmuch as you wonder if it could be done.

I did get conned into subscribing to Readers Digest condensed books and there were great because I would read stuff that I would never ready before. But I found two problems - the first wife moaning that I had put up a bookshelf in the bathroom next to the toilet and he banging on the door in the morning and me shouting back "when I finish this chapter babe"

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Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

Factotum by Charles bukowski
Blood meridian , and The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Tortillia flat by John steinbeck

Steinback's 'Of Mice And Men'

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By eck! ©

I'm sure I did that one in school

I did read the Bible (different versions) and after the "Scruff beget Gadget" bits it is really a dark book and completely changed my opinion on religion

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Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

Take a look at The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, for a look at working class lives in the 1930's.
Then sit back, and thank your lucky stars.

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Laird

If all else fails, use 6 inch nails

What ana absolutely brilliant book! Have you read Grass' autobiographical "Peeling the Onion"? I discovered "If on a Winter's Night a Traveller..." by Italo Calvino whilst staying in a B&B in Rome. That really is a fantastic book, really really recommend it!

I've always loved Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea. I first read it as a boy and often go back to it :)

Pretty much anything I've read by tolstoy has blown me away. Anna Karenina in particular.
I also have a fondness for Roald Dahl books, the witches I think was the first one I read when I was quite young. Wouldve been at the first house so maybe 6/7?
And the harry potter lot were extremely good, I read those as they came out.
David copperfield is up there too.

Difficult to say really, I've read some absolute crackers.

Kelly!

Cheers Dave!!

SSM

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Measure twice, cut once!

Megaross,

Tolstoy does it for me too, Anna Karenina being an all time favourite! War and Peace also near number one! Do you read Dostoevsky? Crime and Punishment and the Brothers Karamazov being fav!

SSM

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Measure twice, cut once!

Bukowski - any book by him, they're all intriguing, but its best to read them in the order they were written
Ian M Banks - A cut above other sci fi writers
Sarah Waters - Takes years to write a single book, all fantastically rich and beautifully woven together, usually with a bit of lesbo action too!
Murakami generally
Herman Hesse also generally is good.
William Goldings book about a boat to 'To the ends of the earth', very rich again.
Clive James's memoirs surprisingly funny and interesting.
P G Woodhouse, the occasional Jeeves and Wooster goes down a treat.
Alexander McCall Smith - very very light, but nicely calming tales about the ladies detective agency in Botswana.

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To err is human.

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