I was looking at the what you're reading thread and it made me wonder this...

What books would you absolutely recommend as a must read? Maybe give us the title, author, and genre so we can all go check out your favourite books!

My all time favorite book is Fall on Your Knees By Ann Marie MacDonald. It's an amazing book that I just couldn't put down. In fact, I've read it 4 times already.

I'd like to say recommend some really smart and challenging fiction but I'm going to be honest and say the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Don't read the description, theysound AWFUL and it took me years to finally read them but AWESOMENESS.

A few more -

Auntie Mame series - Patric Dennis
The No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency series - Alexander Mccall Smith
White Man's Grave - Richard Dooing
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
ANYTHING by David Sederis
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Like Sci-fi/fantasy?
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony (starts with "On a Pale Horse")

When it comes to Stephen King, I'd recommend "Four Past Midnight", which contains four novellas (for the Stephen King beginner).

I always recommend Confessions of a Shopaholic (plus the other Shopaholic books) to my friends. Its by Sophie Kinsella and its chick lit.

Ah, books, my favorite! I have a whole list of must reads.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (fiction/his-fiction) - my absolute favorite book of all time, very long, but make sure you read the unabridged version

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (sci-fi/comedy) - if you enjoy Monty Python, you'll love this book, Adams actually wrote for the show at one time. There are actually five books in the trilogy, but the first one is the best.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (fiction/social commentary) - also very long, but excellent. However the title is a good clue to the feel of the book, so if you're looking for a happily ever after story, this isn't the book for you.

The Harvester and The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton Porter (fiction/romance) - These are some of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read. The men are to die for!

The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel Cervantes (fiction/comedy) - extremely long, and at time a bit difficult to read, but thoroughly enjoyable. Cervantes has a magnificent sense of humor.

Mr. Midshipman Easy by Captain Frederick Marryat (fiction/comedy) - absolutely hilarious book, and the characters are fabulous, plus it has adventures on the high seas!

Absolutely anything by P.G. Wodehouse. British humour is the best! The Jeeves and Wooster books are the most famous, but everything I've ever read by Wodehouse (over twenty books at the very least) has been side-splittingly funny.

I have just recently fallen in love with reading!!

One of my favorite and most inspiring books is

"Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An autobiography" by Lou Holtz

Another really inspiring one that I loved is

"The impossible takes just a little bit longer" by Art Berg


I'm so excited to check some of the ones out already mentioned

Bertie

I love anything by John Irving or Mitch Albom.

Forever by Pete Hamill
Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (if you like fantasy)
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Both Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini (again, fantasy)
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Then of course anything by Tolkien and the Harry Potter books.

If you are into historical romance...Bertrice Small is the queen of those novels. I have them all.

I'm a Historical Romance freak - try Julia Quinn, my all time favorite HR author

Oh, BOOKS!

So many books, so little time...

Some of my all-time favorites:

Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn
...probably my #1 - never read anything remotely like it...

Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
...funny, kind, highly quotable and very, very true...

Ursula K. LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness
...one of the most amazing works of speculative fiction, and very moving...

Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
...so incredibly sad and beautiful...

Henry Roth, Call It Sleep
...wonderful dreamlike narration of a NYC childhood in the early 20th century...

Pretty much anything by Shirley Jackson, Louise Erdrich, Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Chandler, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman...

...I could go on all day but I'll stop here.

Wow! Lots of great suggestions! I'll have to hit up the library on the weekend.

I second the "Angela's Ashes - By Frank McCourt" Amazing book, even more so because it's a true story.

Water For Elephants...Sara Gruen
Lost and Found...Marilyn Harris
What Remains...Carole Radziwill
Night...Elie Wiesel
Dawn...Elie Wiesel
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly...Jean-Dominique Bauby
And what I am currently reading...The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Very good books!

I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife, and its very good so far.