Top 5 books on a desert island: I can read them over and over and never get bored. #6 is tied with #4, but on a desert island, may be too depressing...

1) The Stand
2) The Time Travelers Wife
3) Horse Heaven, Jane Smiley
4) American Gods, Neil Gaiman
5) His Dark Materials, Phillip Pullman (kind of cheating since it's 3 books in 1, but I do have them as a single book)
6) The Road

My faves in no particular order:

1. The Secret History - Donna Tartt - always #1 because I actually felt how cold the protagonist was in a section of the story

2. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova - because it's a hugely ambitious story that's well researched and very well written

3. Alive! The Story of the Andes Survivors - Piers Paul Read - because it reads like fiction

4. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote - classic? not sure - because it changed the genre forever - also reads like fiction

5. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett - because it sounds boring but the characters are so 3 dimensional you really feel like you're a part of it. I was literally sad and moped when it ended.

Ooooo, how interesting! I love that there are no classics allowed on this list - it kind of prevents of the pretentious "book-snobs" from being unoriginal.

Okay,
1. "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon
2. "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory
3. "Lamb" by Christopher Moore
4. "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie
5. "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

I could read all of those books over and over again and never get sick of them :o)

Mike, I am currently reading All the Pretty Horses right now. I plan on reading the entire Borders Trilogy. Have you read the others?

hmmmmmm, top 5 as of this day, random order:

#1 Middlesex
#2 Empire Falls
#3 All The Pretty Horses
#4 The Amateur Marriage
#5 Memoirs of a Geisha

Boy This is hard....
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brian Udall
Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
The Instance on a Fingerpost - Ian Pears
The Kindness of Strangers - Katrina Kindle
The Glass Castle - Jeanette Wells

Top five?!

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. Looking for Alaska by John Green
4. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
5. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Here's my list from the top of my head. They aren't listed in order, and if you asked me this tomorrow, I bet you'd get a whole different list. It's pretty varied though!

1. The Beet Queen A Novel by Louise Erdich
2. When you are engulfed in flames by David Sedaris
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
4. Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish
5. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Books I love, not sure I could pick an all-time top 5.
I Capture the Castle
Same Kind of Different as Me A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
The Hiding Place
Redeeming Love
The Shadow of the Wind

1. The Stand - Stephen King

2. The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

3. All Families Are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland

4. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

5. These are all currently vying for the 5th spot. I know, it's cheating but I can't narrow it down!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Safran Foer
The Book Thief - Zusak
Never Let Me Go - Ishiguro

These are just the top 5 that come to mind, I'm sure with some thought I would revise the list.
1.To Kill A Mockingbord
2.Anne of Green Gables
3.The Giver
4.Fall On Your Knees or, The Way the Crow Flies (Ann Marie Macdonald)
5.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

I'm also really enjoying The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb) which I am nearing the end of.

Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
I Am Messenger by Markus Zuzak

I'm not really sure how to define "classics", so it's possible that some of these may fit that.

These are books that have really stuck to my bones.

1. Howards End by E.M. Forster
2. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
3. The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
4. Tracks by Louise Erdrich
5. The Dispossessed An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Yes, Jane Eyre is a classic, but we won't toss you out for that!

Thanks for your comments.

I would say....
1. Twilight Series
2. Gemma Doyle Triology
3. Harry Potter Series
4. Jane Eyre [[is that a classic?:]]
5. A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks

1. Harry Potter series
2. The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker
3. Sex. God. by Rob Bell
4. The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick
5. Twilight series

I LOVE Firefly Lane! Def one of my favorites.

1. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
2. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
3. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
4. Cold & Gray: When Days Seem Like Years, and Years Feel Like Days by Robert Brown Fulford, IV
5. True Colors by Kristin Hannah

I also love the Shopaholic Series and all books by Jane Green! That was difficult to pick 5!

Time Travelers Wife (Audrey Niffeneger)
Whale Music (Paul Quarrington)
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (can't remember)
The Great Santini (Pat Conroy)
Hey Nostradamus (Douglas Coupland)

These are the ones (quasi-contemporary no classics) I can think of at the moment that made me go "Wow!". Ask me again in 10 minutes and I would probably come up with a different list.

Tough choices, but would go with

Money by Martin Amis
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The White Hotel by DM Thomas
Blach Dhalia by James Ellroy
The Diceman by Luke Rhinehardt

Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke
All books by Anne McCaffrey
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Hell's Kitchen by Jeffrey Deaver

BAD BOY - Jim Thompson

"In this uproarious autobiographical tale, the author of After Dark, My Sweet and Pop. 1280 tells the story of his chaotic coming of age and reveals just where he acquired his encyclopedic knowledge of human misbehavior."

Monsignor Quixote
by Alec Guinness
A retelling of the old tale but an interesting tale on it's own.

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
by John le Carré
Patriotism, loyalty, love, betrayal, the individual serves the collective needs of society no matter the cost to the individual - it reminds me somewhat of "The Old Bolshevik"

Montana 1948: A Novel - Larry Watson not quite 1984 but an interesting view of another small world.

Please excuse my careless mis-naming of "ONE Day in the Life..."

There is the question : What is a "modern" classic? "Down & Out in Paris & London" ? " Slaughterhouse 5" ?
Watership Down, Tin Drum, Catch 22, One Day... are likely to be considered classics so let's drop them, ok?


Charity wrote: "And A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch?

I am assuming you mean 1984 and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...


Maybe it's just me, but I would consider ALL of the books you've listed as m..."

Charity wrote: "And A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch?

I am assuming you mean 1984 and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...


Maybe it's just me, but I would consider ALL of the books you've listed as m..."

Charity wrote: "And A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch?

I am assuming you mean 1984 and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...


Maybe it's just me, but I would consider ALL of the books you've listed as m..."

Charity wrote: "And A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch?

I am assuming you mean 1984 and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...


Maybe it's just me, but I would consider ALL of the books you've listed as m..."

Susanna wrote: "What's 1948?"

Montana 1948: A Novel
by Larry Watson

Life in a claustrophobic small western prairie town, where the narrator learns some unpleasant facts about his family, racism, sexism, elitism... yeah, just another fine day on the prairie! yippie i yooo!

And A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch?

I am assuming you mean 1984 and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...


Maybe it's just me, but I would consider ALL of the books you've listed as modern classics.

What's 1948?

Watership Down
Catch 22
A Day in the Life of Issac Denisovitch
1948
Tin Drum

Laura wrote: "Kellie wrote: "Laura,
I was actually going to do a little research on some of Zusak's other books. I loved The Book Thief so much I thought I'd try another one of his.
I will definitely see about..."

It is on my wishlist now...

Emily wrote: "I almost added A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius but alas it's not fiction."

Actually, according to the inside copyright/publishers page, it is a work of fiction...even though it is autobiographical...because the author says he can't attest to the full truth of everything written in the book.

Kellie wrote: "Laura,
I was actually going to do a little research on some of Zusak's other books. I loved The Book Thief so much I thought I'd try another one of his.
I will definitely see about The Messenger...."

You could consider it a tear-jerker in small parts - and of the heartwarming variety of tears, not the heartBREAKING variety like Book Thief. You would almost not know the 2 books were written by the same person, they are so different.

Zusak's style is unique though, and that is the same with both books.

Please let me know what you think, Messenger is one of my all-time favorites without question.

Catch-22 -- Joseph Heller
Geek Love -- Katherine Dunn
All the Pretty Horses or The Road or Blood Meridian -- Cormac McCarthy
The Namesake -- Jhumpa Lahiri
Handmaids Tale -- Margaret Atwood

UGH that's 5 already!?
I almost added A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius but alas it's not fiction.

Mine have changed:

BEAUTIFUL LIES - Lisa Unger
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS - Khaled Hossieni
PRIVATE PEACEFUL - Michael Morpurgo
The Anatomy of Deception - Lawerence GoldstoneEndal: How One Extraordinary Dog Brought a Family Back from the Brink - Allen & Sandra Parton

Laura,
I was actually going to do a little research on some of Zusak's other books. I loved The Book Thief so much I thought I'd try another one of his.
I will definitely see about The Messenger.
It's not a tear jerker is it?

Kim wrote: "Kellie wrote: "Haven't been on this site in a while. Was looking around today and stumbled on this thread. I thought I would share mine. I have to make 2 lists though...Fiction and Non-fiction.
H..."

I have read every book written by Lehane. He is one of my favorite authors. the only one I didn't like was Coronado

Kellie - have you read I am the Messenger, also by Zusak? Completely different, but also a terrific read.

OK I have to add another book to my list already.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Any book that makes me cry is immediately put on my all time favorite list.

LOVE Atonement! I'm reading it now. What a tremendous book. And I'm not even 1/3 of the way through. I actually don't want to finish.

Here is my Top 5 all time:

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
In the Country of Last Things - Paul Auster
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Passion - Jeanette Winterson
The Rain Before It Falls - Jonathan Coe

I would have to say:
1. Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins
2. Neverwhere, Neil Giaman
3. Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
4. Graceling, (Can't remember the authors name)
5. A Song of Fire and Ice (books 1-4), George RR Martin

Jitterbug Perfume was just a fun off beat book that had such a great philosophical view on things. I think the story part of the book was not as great as the views but it truly made me think, which is what a great book really does, makes you think.

Neverwhere was just an awesome book. I liked American Gods too but not half as much as I loved this book. The concept and idea behind are just so intriguing. Giaman is great!

Hunger Games and Graceling are both young adult fiction but they are so wonderful. The female characters are so strong and I just found them very empowering, which rarely seems to happen to me when I read a book with a female character.

The series a Song of Ice and Fire is just amazing. It is brutal and honest and then brutal again. George RR Martin is amazing because no matter how much time he's spent on a character he is still willing to kill them off. That's what makes the books so great you never know and you can never count on who will be making it through to the next book. Of course the downfall of the series is that he seems to take like 5-10 years to write the next book in the series. :)

Kellie wrote: "Haven't been on this site in a while. Was looking around today and stumbled on this thread. I thought I would share mine. I have to make 2 lists though...Fiction and Non-fiction.
Here goes....

..."

Kellie, Shutter Island is one of my favorites as well. They are making a movie from it, hopefully it will do the book justice. Although they did a great job with Mystic River, and also Gone Baby Gone..

What a neat idea!

In the order I thought of them:
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Pasadena by David Ebershoff
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Okay without including the classics, at this point in time i would say my top five are:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Stand by Stephan King
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Hey Laura!
Thanks
I have to admit, I've become addicted to facebook.
I see Emily and Ken out there.
And there is this game, Bejeweled Blitz, I can seem to stop playing it.
Needless to say, it takes away from my reading time.

Yeah, nice numbering there Kellie - I recently checked out that Francine Rivers title, glad you liked it.

And nice to see you around here again!

Kandice wrote: "I think she was just trying to sneak in a few more picks;) It worked..."

Ha Ha Kandice and Lori
I had a VERY hard time with the 5 so I had to be creative....:)

I love this topic! It's been great reading through everyone's top 5. Some of it's been a wonderful walk through memory land. Some of it's been surprising and I picked up a few TBRs myself. so here's mine
1. definately Memoirs of a Geisha
2. Cradle and All
3. Nicholas and Alexandra
4. Where the Red Fern Grows
5. The Dead Zone

memoirs of a geisha and cradle and all because I stayed up when I had to work the next morning to read them- couldn't put them down. Nicholas and Alexandra because it just sucked me into the royal court life of Russia. Where the Red Fern Grows because it was the first book that ever made me cry. The Dead Zone because it was just damn good.

I think she was just trying to sneak in a few more picks;) It worked...

Kelly, interesting numbering structure you have there :)

Haven't been on this site in a while. Was looking around today and stumbled on this thread. I thought I would share mine. I have to make 2 lists though...Fiction and Non-fiction.
Here goes....

Fiction (Not in any order)
1. Shutter Island -Dennis Lehane
2. The Wedding-Nicholas Sparks
3. The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns-Khaled Hosseini
4. A Prayer For Owen Meany-John Irving
5. Redeeming Love-Francine Rivers
5. Those Who Save Us-Jenna Blum

Non-Fiction-(Not in Any Order)
1. Couldn't Keep It To Myself-Wally Lamb
1. The Tender Bar- J.R. Moehringer
2. Seabiscuit-Laura Hillenbrand
2. Riding on the Bus With My Sister-Rachel Simon
3. A Walk in the Woods-Bill Bryson
3. The Glass Castle-Jeannette Walls
4. Infidel-Ayaan Hirsi Ali
5. Audition-Barbara Walters

Hey, no problem, Jessica. When I was young(er), those were not yet called classics, I think. Sort of like an antique is supposed to be 100 years old, but sometimes they're not, I don't really know when a book becomes a classic.