What was the last book that you couldn't put down?

Hey all! I'm on the hunt for a new set of books to read for the summer, and I CANNOT find anything that I want to read! The last book that I really got sucked into was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and I'm a big sucker for historical fiction. (I loved "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" and some other time pieces are just to die for.)

So, what was the last book you couldn't put down? Whats your favorite book of all time? Do you have any other suggestions for books I should read?

Favorite Book(s): The Virgin Suicide, The Hobbit, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Gemma Doyle Trilogoy

Last book that you couldnt put down: Water For Elephants

Other suggestions: _____

I can't stop reading Michener.  The combination of historical fact and engaging fiction makes for some very entertaining reading.  Each book is a chocolate-covered history lesson!

Original Post by grateful_deadhead13:

The last book that I really got sucked into was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and I'm a big sucker for historical fiction.

Speaking of getting sucked in- in a bad way- someone on these forums once recommended "Oryx and Crake" by Atwood.  So I bit, and I read it.  Probably one of the most unimaginitive, nihilistic, and depressing books I've ever read.  I, personally, do NOT recommend it.

i love oryx and crake.  but i love most of atwood's novels.

i flew through the girl with the pearl earring pretty quickly. 

and as always, i recommend anything by timothy findley.  although if you're a fan of god, you'll probably want to stay away from not wanted on the voyage.

roddy doyle is always fun.  it takes a bit to get the dialect (if you're like me, and actually hear the dialogue in your brain), but once you get it, it's wicked.

Favorite Book: Catcher In the Rye

Favorite Author: Stephen King

Last book I read that I couldn't put down: Steve Harvey's Act Like a Lady, Think Like  Man

Running With Scissors, if you can handle it

Original Post by raynsong:

Running With Scissors, if you can handle it

 What exactly is there to "handle?"

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - SO GOOD!

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys =) These are awesome. I haven’t heard fo a lot of these—like “We Need to Talk about Kevin,” but I for sure will look into them =)

Minda_spk—I love a lot of those books. My friend has been reading “Dry” for ages (she’s a super slow reader) but I’ve gotten lots of good reviews for that. I also love Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” and Camus is great too =) I’ll have to look into some of your other books too. And I haven’t read The Beach or Corelli’s Mandolin, but I’ll check them out. I’ve got a long summer ahead of me and nothing to do but read, so yay =)

Sookum—Thirteenth Tale was a great book, I read it last summer. So Good. Haven’t read Wicked, and I don’t know if I will. But I’ve heard good things about it, so I wont put it out of mind =)

Dkenworthy- I love the Golden Compass and have The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on my list to look for today.  I haven’t read anything Jane Austen yet, but I cant really get into her sadly. All of her plots have seemed very similar with different names for her characters, but again I haven’t read them and am therefore not a very good judge haha.

Mmdsc—loved Devil in the White City. I’m a Chicago girl, so I love that kind of stuff =)

And Flonklar—I was totally wondering the same thing haha. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle that book… I just couldn’t get into it. Running with Scissors, that is.

Thanks again all!! I’ve put almost all those books onto my list to look in to =)

Original Post by littleallen:

I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns...can't put it down! i think its supposed to be a follow up to the Kite Runner or something, 

A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner are completely unrelated stories. You're not missing any previous story reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" first... but Kite Runner is better in my opinion so if you're loving A Thousand Splendid Suns read Kite Runner when you're done.

Back to the thread...

I loved Water for Elephants and Running with Scissors as well. I didn't think I'd like Water for Elephants but I really couldn't put it down. I think I read it in two days.

I'm reading Everything is Illuminated now and it's fantastic. I love it. I'm going to read Jonathan Safran Foer's next book (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) when I'm finished. 

Books I've read recently that I couldn't put down: Loung Ung wrote two memoirs about her escape from Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge was in power ("First They Killed my Father" and "Lucky Child"). Both are fantastic. Also, "Memoirs of a Boy Solider" is good, "Three Cups of Tea", "Untouchables", "Middlesex" and "Little Children".

Just remembered some more... Jhumpa Lahiri is a great author. Check out "The Namesake" and her other book (whose title is escaping me) of short stories. 

Original Post by alibsam:

 

Books I've read recently that I couldn't put down: Loung Ung wrote two memoirs about her escape from Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge was in power ("First They Killed my Father" and "Lucky Child"). Both are fantastic. Also, "Memoirs of a Boy Solider" is good, "Three Cups of Tea", "Untouchables", "Middlesex" and "Little Children".

 

Middlesex is so good! I think Eugenedies did better with The Virgin Suicides though. #1 Favorite book ever.

Original Post by grateful_deadhead13:

And Flonklar—I was totally wondering the same thing haha. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle that book… I just couldn’t get into it. Running with Scissors, that is.

Well, it was actually a legitimate question.  I haven't read it, and I'm wondering what the "handle it" comment meant.  What's in the book that warrants this kind of warning?

So I dont know if these are in your type of books but they are probably the funniest books ive read ever chelsea handler she does the show chelsea lately on E! and shes the funniest person ever I LOVE HER!  She has 2 books out the first one is "My Horizontal Life:A Collection of One Night Stands" its amazing its a sexual humor book about the guys shes hooked up with. laugh out loud funny. Her second one is "Vodka, Are you there? its me Chelsea" another great book. reccomend to everyone who reads this.

and if your a miley cyrus fan, her book miles to go is good.

The last book/s I was unable to put down was/were, in fact, most of the series by Vince Flynn.  The main character is Mitch Rapp.  First book is Memorial Day, then Consent to Kill, Act of Treason and so forth.  I went through 5 books in a ridiculously short period of time.  I was staying up late at night.  I was reading at red lights.  I took my book along with me during the day at work when I went outside to smoke cigarettes.  It was really crazy, my life was consumed by this series.

Fiction.

My Visit To Hell was an amazing book . . . right now i am reading The Tommyknockers by Stephen King, can't put it down :D

Could not put down Evelyn Waugh's Scoop! Absolutely hilarious!

Recent faves - PD James A Certain Justice, Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray, Martha Grimes The Old Contemptibles, Gyles Brandreth's spot on depiction of Oscar Wilde as the sleuth (and Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes) in A Game Called Murder, Stuart Isacoff Temperament, and PG Wodehouse Cocktail Time.

any of the Diablo series, also could never put the game down.... 

Original Post by lrmitchell22:

"A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R.R. Martin.  Right now there are 4 books out, with the fifth to be released (hopefully) in October. 

Ooh, that's great news! The first four books were gripping!

And if you liked "The Hobbit", you might also like "The Tamir Triad" by Lynn Flewelling or "The Curse of Chalion' by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Best books I've read in years.

'The Meaning of Night' by Michael Cox. BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I didn't really like Wicked.