Discuss and argue!

In the interest of keeping our lists clean and easy to read, I thought there should be a separate discussion thread. Why did you choose the books you did?

One of the greatest, if not the greatest novel I ever read, I read some 25 years ago: Elsa Morante's De Geschiedenis (Dutch translation of La Storia, tome 1 and 2, History: A Novel in the English language area).
I intend to reread this story of a mother and her little son (and the people around them) in wartime Rome, being crushed by history. It's about what life is, and what war is. More books are written about these things but not one as impressive as this one. For me.

Another of my great novels is the very big bestseller The secret history by Donna Tart. Certainly three times in different years I began reading this book, but stopped, I don't know why.
Then one year I put it in my holiday-bag, together with some ten other books, but started my vacation with reading this one, in Methoni in Greece it was, and this time it gripped me from the start. I liked the story: youth, booz and classics in America, a teribble accident in the circle of the Chosen, death, lies, another death, more lies and life goes on, as it always does. I finished it with some regret. Later that day, swimming in the lovely september sea, I was struck as by lightning by the meaning of the book.
This was one about Guilt & Penance: complete derailment of their lives for those who don't take penance for the teribble thing they're responsible for. Wow! This was Truly and Beautiful Great Moralizing!
I must confess I, with a protestant upbringing, like this a lot.
But the World, crazy about Donna Tart? Did the world know wat it applauded?
Back in Holland I gave my reading experience to some friends and colleagues. They did not recognise it. No one. No ma'am.
Great book.

Never read the first one, I'm afraid, but I agree completely with The Secret History. I think it's one of the best books I've ever read. I couldn't even say what category it would fall under, so much happens in that book.

Wow, I think I need to bump The Secret History up on my TBR list!

Also a great book for me is The A.B.C murders by Agatha Christie. I read when I was fourteen years old, and ill, and boring myself all alone. I've completely forgotten the story, not the title. The immense importance of this book is, that it was my first book in the English language. I remember myself struggling with aternately this pocket, a thick dictionary and a notebook in which I wrote the English words I didn't know and that were so many.
It was a Task I gave myself, and I completed it and after that I had taken the languagebarrier. Which has given me very much joy since then, and has saved me lots of money...

Another great one is Geert Mak's In Europe. I read it soon after it was published in 2004, because Geert Mak is one of my hero's. By education a lawyer, by profession a journalist and by vocation a historian this man with his books made a major contribution in bringing history back to its rightfull place in my country. This book is about Europe's 20th century, seen through the eyes of its contemporaries. It a very humane book, and as unputdownable as a good detective story. See: http://www.geertmak.nl/english/105.html

Have you read any other Agatha Christie books? ABC Murders is good, but it's nwhere near the best. You're missing out on some great books.

Thanks for the tip about In Europe. I love detective fiction, so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Yes Admiral, I have devoured lots of Agatha Christies, I think most of them, but this one is still the most important to me, because it pulled me over the languagebarrier when I was young and a little bit intimidated to foreign languages.
Detective writers we enjoy these years are: Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri. The South-European ambiance, but then so different: Venice and Sicily.
We also love the Skandinavian Henning Mankell, but his Wallander-series, which is beautifull, we see on DVD.
I myself read mostly history. (And a firm link between history and detectives is the ever lurking evil of which dame Agatha composed such fine plots.)

A Secret History is a great book, and even better on tape, I've listened to it a few times and it never disappoints.

I have a lov hate relationship with A Secret History. The story was interesting in the setting but was completely predictable in plot. I had to read it in a college english course and eviserated it in my essay but kept to myself that I would probably read it again if I had the time.