To be surprised and even shocked try [iThe Wind up Bird Chronicle[/i or [iKafka by the Shore[/i by Haruki Murakami or [iIn the Miso Soup [/iby Ryu Murakami ( no relation ) or for insights into how evil girls can be try [iGrotesque [/iby Natsuo Kirino.

Crikey getting highbrow on here. Anyway stuff I have enjoyed recently;



'The Damned United' by David Peace



'Led Zeppelin; When Giants Walked The Earth' by Mick Wall



'Stupid White Men' by Michael Moore



'Don't Die With The Music In You' Wayne Bennett (finally got it by having it shipped from Oz)

I've been looking to get the Wayne Bennett book, do you have a link ?



Ta.

Bill Bryson - A Short History of Almost Everything.

Brilliant.

Some quality books have been named already, and here's two more of my recommendation:



Gabriel García Márquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude



John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath

A really great, funny book.....However, the last chapter is probably the saddest thing I ever read, and to anybody who gives the book a go, I challenge them not to have a tear in the eye after reading it.

Some good stuff on here, cheers.



I read Longy on the plane out and left it with the sickbags and information card. Absolute rubbish.

What you spent £18 on a book and then discarded it like an empty crisp packet just because you didn't like it?



Shame on you.

Got to agree with that.



Also Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (like 1984 and just as accurate in prophecy); Birdsong by Sebastien Faulkes (best WW1 novel ever); and to be disturbed & challenged Deadkidsongs by Toby Litt (just superb, but tough reading).

for a light hearted read you can't beat bill bryson,a really amusing book i read recently was Yes Man by Danny Wallace.

It was off of ebay.

Well no, it was a present. I did read it though but didnt want to keep it. I am quite selective about what makes my book case and this didn't quite cut it.