| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? 00:36 - Oct 27 with 4322 views | Ryorry |
Literary quality not essential (might be a bonus tho). |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:26 - Oct 27 | IndependentlyBlue |
Reuben’s Corner by Spike Mays
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Noah Quince by Caroline Wood
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
plus anything by Ian McEwan
Edit:
253 by Geoff Ryman [Post edited 27 Oct 13:22]
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| Better to stay silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:28 - Oct 27 | ZapatasMoustache |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:24 - Oct 27 by ZapatasMoustache |
Too many to mention but for the literal un-put-downable quality, I once more-or-less ruined a lovely day out on a paddle steamer in spectacular rural Oregon by not looking up from John Krakauer's Into Thin Air (the events in the book were the basis of the film Everest though Krakauer distanced himself from the movie). Truly extraordinary and horrifying story. |
Incidentally if you like/are inexplicably compelled by mountaineering disaster stories, the recent K2 documentary was excellent (The Last First on Apple TV). Total shambles, really interesting on the dangerous interaction between commercialism, ego, nationalism etc. |  | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:31 - Oct 27 | DJR |
Not usually the type of book I would read, and I never saw the film, but I found Erich Segal's Love Story un-put-downable and read it in a day.
From recollection, I'd run out of books to read on holiday, and it was only English language book I could get a hold of. [Post edited 27 Oct 11:02]
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:51 - Oct 27 | RobTheMonk |
I can stop reading CJ Box's Joe Pickett series. It's about a game warden in Wyoming. Currently on book 13! |  | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 10:52 - Oct 27 | nodge_blue |
The road - cormac McCarthy
Birdsong - Sebastian faulks
The spy who came in from the cold - le carre |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:05 - Oct 27 | StokieBlue |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 07:26 - Oct 27 by NthQldITFC |
Wolf Hall trilogy
A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bryson)
Boudicca tetralogy (Manda Scott)
Warlord trilogy (Bernard Cornwell)
Watership Down |
A Short History of Nearly Everything was updated by Bryson about a year ago to version 2.0. A lot has changed in the last 22 years.
As for the question, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy never disappoints.
SB |  |
| Avatar - M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:06 - Oct 27 | Guthrum |
Pretty much anything by Antonia Fraser.
I'm currently reading The Normans in the South and The Kingdom in the Sun by Jonn Julius Norwich - old but very well written history of the other (lesser-known) Norman invasion. |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:06 - Oct 27 | mellowblue |
Into the Void, the mountaineering accident book by Joe Simpson. Unputdownable. If there is such a word.
Anything by Stephen King
Anything by Corman McCarthy as mentioned previously
Anything by Graham Greene
When I was a child, any Famous Five or Secret Seven by good old Enid Blyton
Guess I will have to read The Magus as has been mentioned on here at least twice. |  | | |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:18 - Oct 27 | hoppy |
I couldn't put it down. |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:30 - Oct 27 | WeWereZombies |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:18 - Oct 27 by hoppy |
I couldn't put it down. |
Phil - can you sticky this ? |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:51 - Oct 27 | SE1blue |
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is a great read, and draws you right in. The movie is awful though.
The 39 Steps is a classic suspense novel too. |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 13:12 - Oct 27 | Basuco |
Ghost in the wires by Kevin Mitnick, a true story about a computer hacker / social engineer who became FBI's most wanted man, spent 4 1/2 years in jail despite not being found guilty of any crime because they could not find any law he had broken. It is a fascinating read especially when he is on the run, but also what he does and how he does it. |  | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:11 - Oct 27 | WeWereZombies |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:51 - Oct 27 by SE1blue |
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is a great read, and draws you right in. The movie is awful though.
The 39 Steps is a classic suspense novel too. |
Mention of John Buchan's 'The Thirty Nine Steps' leads me to recommend 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson, which if you think it is only a book for children having read abridged versions or relied on film and television adaptations will impress you with the depth of the real story and with Stevenson's genius for pacing a story and leaving you gasping for the next plot twist. | |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:59 - Oct 27 | thisispaulmac |
Green River Rising by Tim Willocks
About man and woman trapped during a prison riot. Reads like the best action movie you'll ever see. Literally couldn't put it down. | | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 16:17 - Oct 27 | mellowblue |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:11 - Oct 27 by WeWereZombies |
Mention of John Buchan's 'The Thirty Nine Steps' leads me to recommend 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson, which if you think it is only a book for children having read abridged versions or relied on film and television adaptations will impress you with the depth of the real story and with Stevenson's genius for pacing a story and leaving you gasping for the next plot twist. |
Robert Louis Stevenson's works are all good stuff. As well as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and it's seequel Catriona are excellent as is the Master of Ballantrae and of course the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. [Post edited 27 Oct 16:18]
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 18:47 - Oct 27 | ZapatasMoustache |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 16:17 - Oct 27 by mellowblue |
Robert Louis Stevenson's works are all good stuff. As well as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and it's seequel Catriona are excellent as is the Master of Ballantrae and of course the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. [Post edited 27 Oct 16:18]
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Oh here's a few more which are all inter-war/WWII era thrillers:
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
The Fox in the Attic by Richard Hughes
The Wooden Shepherdess by Richard Hughes
and the five 'classic' Eric Ambler novels:
Uncommon Danger
Epitaph for a Spy
Cause for Alarm
The Mask of Dimitrios
Journey into Fear
I would also add almost anything by John Wyndham | | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 19:29 - Oct 27 | buoyant |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 18:47 - Oct 27 by ZapatasMoustache |
Oh here's a few more which are all inter-war/WWII era thrillers:
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
The Fox in the Attic by Richard Hughes
The Wooden Shepherdess by Richard Hughes
and the five 'classic' Eric Ambler novels:
Uncommon Danger
Epitaph for a Spy
Cause for Alarm
The Mask of Dimitrios
Journey into Fear
I would also add almost anything by John Wyndham |
I see your Rogue Male (superb)
and raise you a Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 20:13 - Oct 27 | ronnyd |
The one i'm reading now is great for curing my insomnia.  | | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 20:16 - Oct 27 | Ryorry |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 11:51 - Oct 27 by SE1blue |
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is a great read, and draws you right in. The movie is awful though.
The 39 Steps is a classic suspense novel too. |
Absolutely loved 39 Steps, Greenmantle too, wish I hadn't already read + heard them on audio several times! John Buchan = master storyteller.
Have also read/heard Rogue Male many times, terrific. The sequel Rogue Justice was also excellent I thought, just not quite as much.
Many thanks everyone for all the suggestions - can't possibly get round to all, but top of the short list are Ghost in the wires, A Swim In A Pond In The Rain (I often find non-fiction more un-put-downable than fiction), Underworld, Yes Man, Bryson, Thursday Murder Clubs, Into Thin Air, Joe Pickett series, Antonia Fraser, and Child 44 đź‘Ť | |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 22:48 - Oct 27 | DeliasMashedPotato |
Blood Meridian - Cormac Mccarthy
Probably the best book ive ever read. Certainly thrilling but very gruesome with some tough themes so tread with caution. It is a harrowing depiction of the wild west and i could not put it down.
Cormac mccarthy doesnt like using punctuation but hes so bloody good at writing you wont even notice.
Also seen a lot of cormac recommended here that i havent read. | | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 23:06 - Oct 27 | Coastalblue |
Kind of hard to characterise this, but it's compelling at times, very funny at others and overall? I don't know? Grim maybe?
It's also a bit close to the mark probably in the current climate.
NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY: The First Apocalypse Novel
Mark Davies.
Well worth a look. |  |
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 00:27 - Oct 28 | DropCliffsNotBombs |
​A gripping psychological thriller of unquenchable desire, tragic metamorphosis, and one creature's descent into absolute gluttony.
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:06 - Oct 29 | gringoblue |
American Tabloid by James Ellroy
An alternative mid-century US history culminating in JFK's assassination. Ellroy's LA Quartet (LA Confidential, White Jazz, The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere) are all fantastic, but American Tabloid is his zenith. His style by this point is the opposite of Cormac McCarthy, Ellroy strips sentences down to their bare bones, but once you get the staccato style you will be hooked. |  | | |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:45 - Oct 29 | Churchman |
My desert island book would be Clavell’s Shogun. A masterpiece.
Other favourites because I’m greedy:
Just about any Le Carre book
Winston Graham’s Poldark series
Lee Child’s Reacher series for a bit of escapism.
Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe, Vagabond and Lost Kingdom series
Non-fiction:
Geoff Welham’s First Light (if you want to know what it’s like to learn to fly an aeroplane, this book will describe it perfectly for you)
James Holland’s Normandy 44
Alfred Lansing’s Endurance (the astonishing story of Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic expedition 2014-2016)
Classics:
The complete works of Dickens but just one? A Christmas Carol. One of the most important books ever written
Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo
Not quite what the OP asked for - apols
Edit: honourable mention to the Harry Potter books. Cleverly written and a good read. [Post edited 29 Oct 15:47]
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| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 17:44 - Oct 29 | Ryorry |
| Most distracting, riveting, thrilling or hilarious un-put-downable books? on 15:06 - Oct 29 by gringoblue |
American Tabloid by James Ellroy
An alternative mid-century US history culminating in JFK's assassination. Ellroy's LA Quartet (LA Confidential, White Jazz, The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere) are all fantastic, but American Tabloid is his zenith. His style by this point is the opposite of Cormac McCarthy, Ellroy strips sentences down to their bare bones, but once you get the staccato style you will be hooked. |
I'm a fan of that style.
Anything in the present tense however (*I go to the living room ... etc.) = . This isn't a film, it happened in the past, you're only relating it now, silly author! | |
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