Have you read a novel that is so captivating that you're able to forget about everything else while your reading?  (and can't put it down!)

I just finished reading NINETEEN MINUTES : A NOVEL by Jodi Picoult and found it hard to put down!  And when I did have to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it!

My friend recommanded RED HOT REUNION by Bella Andre and BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET by Debbie Macomber.  Any other recommandations?

Gone With the Wind was difficult to put down, it sucked me in, big time.

Do you mean old ones or newer ones.  There are so many old ones I couldn't put  down I couldn't count them all. All of James Mitchner books....I have all of them....Loved them.  All of Leon Uris books,  also keepers....great books!   All Vince Flynn books, if you like CIA thrillers.  Really thrilling!   There are sooooo many more.

I loved the movie GONE WITH THE WIND, but just realized that I have never read the book,  -- definitely going on my TBR list.

The Vince Flynn books look intriguing.  Which novel was your favorite, hard to put down?

Two that I could not put down and have read at least twice are:  Kristen Hannah's Magic Hour, and  Jodi COmpton's  The 37th Hour,

Hopeyou enjoy them as much as I did

The Vince Flynn books.....every single one of them is so hard to put down, I would walk around my house holding the book and glancing at it.!!!........They are all super exciting, and the hero is the same in all the books....Mitch Rapp...you just fall in love with him!!!........lol....    Definately, check them out! 

The names of them are: Consent to Kill, Memorial Day, Executive Power, Separation of Powr, The Third Option, Transfer of Power, Term Limits, and Act of Treason, the newest one, which I am posting today. It is a WL book. If you want, I can post it to your WL books directly. Let me know before I post it later. I'd have to give you the ISBN#.   By the way, you do not have to read them in any order.   I have 4 of the above in my TBR pile! I read all the others.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is very good!

Lee Child, Vince Flynn, John Sandford, and James Lee Burke, who all had new books this summer.

Those I have to buy ASAP and pre-ordered. DH just sighs and shakes his head when he sees them; he knows I'm useless until they're finished!

(I said this on another post, so forgive me if it's old , but some may not have seen: I have friends who worked for the CIA, and they say Vince Flynn is the best novelist of any who write about that agency).

I'm currently reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield; it's very hard to put down; I'm totally loving it!!!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is another recent read for me that was incredibly awesome!

And of course Diane Gabaldon's Outlander series is the tops for not being able to put it down. That kinda goes without saying....lol

Betty;   right on.........Vince Flynn books are awesome!!!    As for John Sanford, haven't read his....are they like VF books?

I remember my mother neglecting me for a few days when she was reading Dr. Zhivago....  but I haven't read it... I've heard it's a complicated book but well worth it.  It's the only book I remember my mother reading that she wouldn't put down to tend to us kids.

Three by Ted Dekker....just packed with suspense and action.

Gentlemen and Players  by Joanne Harris. Part mystery, part social commentary on British boy's schools and the teachers.

The Time-Travelers Wife, not only is it my favorite book but I was so wrapped up in the characters and their misadventures I couldn't put it down- even though I didn't want it to end :\

Nora Robert's 'Key trilogy' is my favorite of hers, and the second each of the books were released my eyes were sailing over the words and loving all of them!

I agree with June about Michener and Uris -- it's books that take me away -- different time or different place or both -- that totally engross me.

Ditto on Gabaldon's Outlander series -- who could ever put Jamie down? :-)

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is awesome.  Categorized as romance, but really so much more.

I also loved The Thirteenth Tale.   It was a great literary twist on a gothic mystery.

Others I would recommend:

The Stand by Stephen King.  Not a classic horror story, more of an ending of the world, good vs. evil, rebuilding civilization story (NOT sci-fi).   Stephen King considers this book his masterpiece.  Many of my bookie friends rate this as their favorite book ever - including me.  It's over a thousand pages, but I practically read it in one sitting. 

P.J. Tracy's mysteries (the Monkeewrench series).  They are all good, but the first one (Monkeewrench) and the third one (Dead Run) are really great!

The Vanishing Point by Mary Sharratt - Historic fiction, but I think even if you aren't normally a reader of historical fiction you'll really enjoy this book.  I recommended this book to a fellow PBS'er.  She was reading it on the train, and said she almost missed her stop because she was so absorbed in the story!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.   A VERY good book. Well researched with fascinating insight into the life of a 3rd rate travelling circus in during the Depression. The story and the action never slows down until the dramatic and surprising conclusion.

Try Brenda Novak's "Dead Silence" and "Dead Giveaway."  The 3rd book in the series "Dead Right" is due out in August and I'll buy it rather than wait for it to be posted.  The first 2 are posted on my bookshelf.

 John Sandford 's "Prey" series. He writes cop mystery thrllers, generally set in MInneapolis/St. Paul, although a couple have taken the main character elsewhere in that general  area--but always the far north.

All the titles have the word "Prey", like Sudden Prey, Silent Prey, Winter Prey, and there are at least 15. LIke most such books, it's better in some ways to read in chronological order--you understand more about all the other characters, who are also repeated-- but certainly not necessary. I really could not pick out a favorite; some stick in my mind more than others, but I still get mixed up as to exactly what happened in which book.

   His main character is Lucas Davenport, a cop in some books and ex-cop in others but still maintaining a close relationship with law enforcement as a special investigator.  But Sandford writes the best dialogue of anybody, and I mean anybody. He may not be my overall favorite writer, but nobody can match him for realistic dialogue. His plots are complex enough to be interesting, without being over-the-top or stupid/simple.

  Not too hard, not too easy--just right!!! (and IMPOSSIBLE to put down!)

If you like Vince Flynn, I bet you'd like these. The location did not interest me so much, so I delayed getting in to these--then I had to read a lot, fast, to catch up!

I would have to say "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini.  I read 300 of roughly 360 pages in one gulp!!  It's wonderful.

Janet Evanovich, Lee Child, Susan Elizabeth Phillips....to name a few.

I agree with "A Thousand Splendid Suns."  I zipped right through it.  I read "The Kite Runner" pretty quickly too.

I'm reading "Marley & Me" by John Grogan right now and am loving it!  I started last night and only have about 70 pages to go... highly recommended.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon......I love the entire series, but the first holds a special place in my heart.  The Thirteenth Tale was very hard to put down as well.