What book could you not put down?

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett the construction of a 12th century Gothic cathedral in England
The author is known for writing spy novels, this was something different from him,its long at 987 pgs
The 1st time I read it was in 1990, again in 2004 when I was off work for 3 months after having knee surgery
The sequels haven't been as good as the original
 

These are great lists, I can tell Mark D likes a lot of my favorites.

I think my first "can't put down" book was Jane Eyre

Then during my teens all the gothic novels by Victoria Holt and anything at all by Norah Lofts.

The Godfather

The Goldfinch

Rules of Civility

A Thousand Acres

All books by:
Anne Tyler
Donna Taart
Ruth Rendell
Kate Atkinson
Anita Shreve

The one book that I couldn't put down to the point of missing meals and having a fever by the time it was done was,
"Them, " by Joyce Carol Oates
 

What book could you not put down?​

Wren said:
Papillon - Author Henri Charrière

Henri Charrière was a French writer, convicted in 1931 as a murderer by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the novel Papillon, a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana.

On finishing it I had to know what happened to Henri and wrote to the publishers, they informed me he had sadly passed away but also there is a sequel to Papillon

Banco is a 1972 autobiography by Henri Charrière, It documents Charrière's life in Venezuela, where he arrived after his escape from the penal colony on Devil's Island.

A brilliant read and true story
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Read the book in my early years
Could NOT put it down

I have the movie
It did not disappoint
McQueen and Hoffman at their best
 
The Joy Luck Club

Being Asian-Canadian, I've had many Asian friends whose parents immigrated from China. I sometimes go on a bender of reading American-Asian and Canadian-Asian
authors.

edited to add:

A few titles/authors:
Ann Hui - Chop Suey Nation
Yasuko Thanh - Mistakes To Run With
Jen Sookfong Lee - The Better Mother
Madeleine Thien - Do Not Say We Have Nothing
Ann Y. K. Choi - Kay's Lucky Coin Variety
Terry Watada - The Three Pleasures, and Kuroshio
 
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I liked all of the Game of Thrones books and could not put them down until Dance with Dragons that left me flat as the story line became too weird for me.

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. I liked the first book of the Hunger Games series. I loved the Poldark series, from start to finish, by Winston Graham. I read them all in the seventies.

I loved The Painted House by John Grisham which was so different from his usual offerings. I loved Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth, the first series. Also The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubois III was a page turner.
 
Very refreshing that no one mentioned The Bible. I don't know how many times I heard someone mention that The Bible was their favorite book, even though everyone listening knew that it was bull, and that they were just trying to get attention.

I have read thousands of book in my lifetime. But about 4 or 5 years ago, I lost interest in books. I just don't have the concentration anymore to read books. The only books I can recall reading more than once when I was younger were: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (one of my favorite authors), and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
 
Paladin1950 said:
Very refreshing that no one mentioned The Bible. I don't know how many times I heard someone mention that The Bible was their favorite book, even though everyone listening knew that it was bull, and that they were just trying to get attention.
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Yeah, well, I read it, study it daily
Sad thing is, I can put it down
However, it's my most prized Book
Most prized possession

'Getting attention'?
If it gets attention toward The Savior
and off the failings of this world
So be it
 
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Larry McMurtry, you say? Love him so much. I couldn't put down, Moving On, Terms of Endearment, or The Last Picture Show. My son and I took a vacation to Texas just so we could follow in his literary footsteps.

@Pinky do you like Amy Tan? I couldn't put down "The Joy Luck Club."
 
Pinky said:
Anything written by James Patterson (Alex Cross series) lately. I read a book over 2 days, usually.
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I read all of the Cross series up to 2021. He has two more published since then

Started with the first one years ago 'Along Came a Spider' which I picked up from local library and got hooked.
Joined a book club so they came to me when published. Great series.

Reading now is a bit of a chore. Memory duh!..
At this age I would have to sit down and read the whole book !....so read them all while you can..eh!!
 
Della said:
Larry McMurtry, you say? Love him so much. I couldn't put down, Moving On, Terms of Endearment, or The Last Picture Show. My son and I took a vacation to Texas just so we could follow in his literary footsteps.

@Pinky do you like Amy Tan? I couldn't put down "The Joy Luck Club."
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@Della
Yes, I enjoyed "The Joy Luck Club". I had many Chinese-Canadian friends who I hung
out with, at their homes. There was a lot of mahjong going on :)
 
Mornings On Horseback and The Splendid and the Vile.

Mornings is about what happened to Teddy Roosevelt after losing his beloved wife and mother on the same day, just days after his daughter Alice was born. Great read.

The Splendid and the Vile is about Winston Churchill, no holds barred. Wonderful book.

I'd recommend both of these books to anyone interested in biographical history. So readable.
 
moviequeen1 said:
The Secret Life of Bees -Sue Monk Kidd
Lonesome Dove- Larry McMurtry-won Pulitizer Prize for fiction
The Dutch House- Anne Patchett
This Tender Land- William Kent Krueger
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Lonesome Dove! Couldn't put that down.
You made me go look at my books.
Sea Biscuit, The Horse Whisperer, Saving Private Ryan, The Great Gatsby, The Red Tent, A Lesson Before Dying, Joe DiMaggio biography, Lord Foul's Bane trilogy, The Stand, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Excuse me.........I'm going off to read.

And I need newer books.
 
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Pinky said:
A Few Favourite Authors:

Lee Child
Elmore Leonard
David Baldacci
Tim Maleeny
Martin Edwards
Robert Crais
Nick Petrie
Benjamin Black
Lisa Jackson
Lisa Unger
Lisa Gardner
Thomas Mogford

I love detective mysteries. If I had a list, it would be far too long to post here.
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I share your appreciation of Lee Child’s Reacher series, read them all, although I gave up on him when Child turned Reacher over to another author.
 

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