My first Dan Brown, I was at the hospital waiting on my mom to have tests done and suddenly I was zipped to the Rome, it was well written and I

really couldn't seem to find enough time to keep reading!

Stephen King's Duma Key was similar, you just had to keep reading!,

If those aren't your cup of tea I can honestly recomend: Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz, you have mystery, romance, small town,

         and if you can visit Pico Mundo once and never pick up part 2, 3 or 4, then you'll be the first :) It's just an all around feel good

         book!

More like a series - It was Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, followed rapidly by his other books!

The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins was another recent "can't put down."

I just finished And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and I believe it was the best book I've ever read!

I love Stephen King and have always looked at "Odd Thomas". I'll have to check the other suggestions as well!

I read Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane a few weekends ago and literally couldn't put it down. Finished it in under 2 days, you just get totally engrossed and want to find out what happens.  Can't wait to see what Scorcese and DiCaprio do with the movie!

That's easy!  It was Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.  It even "grabbed" my husband, who is a more critical reader than I am.  And it had been highly recommended to me, originally, by someone whose education, compassion, and discernment in reading material I very much respect.

I just finished, Island of Missing Girls. It was great! I read it in one day.

I've had the book sitting on my shelf for months, but every time I picked it up I thought, do I really want to read a book about a circus? So, I kept putting it off and would pick up something else. Well, I finally started it and I couldn't put it down! It was fantastic and I read it in one day. I've even picked up some other books by the author - I'm hoping they're just as good!

Also - "My Name is Asher Lev" is another great one. Chiam Potok is an amazing author.

My Sister's Keeper was impossible to put down, but then I was captivated by Robotic Arm Adjustment Vol. III: Pressure Regulation and Duct Tape: Tips and Tricks too

Love your Simpsons quote, Greg. Haha.

"The Red Tent' by Anita Diamant is one I read earlier in the year and I'm still raving about it to anyone who'll listen.

Amanda

Anything by Ted Dekker will immediately grab you and keep you in your seat! Thr3e is especially good.

If you haven't  seen the movie, try reading Freedomland.  I loved it.

Absolutely agree with Amanda's choice, "The Red Tent"; couldn't put it down, either.  And, "Water for Elephants" was excellent as well.  I just finished a book called "Jewel" which I loved and couldn't put down, and am now almost finished with "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith -- a total gem!!

The Art of Racing in the Rain -- I think about it even a month later.

Water for Elephants and Kite Runner -- total grabbers. When I have to tell my husband what is going on in the story at bedrime, I know I have a book I am totally excited about reading. He politely listens (he's not a reader).

Same is happening with the Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum series (One for the Money, Two for the Dough, etc). I laugh out loud while reading them and have to take the book everywhere I go in case I get a few minutes to see what Stephanie and her motley crew are up to -- it is like following a twitter. Totally enjoyable -- I have a hard time putting them down.

Thanks to everyone for some great ideas on this discussion thread. I love following up on new authors and books I would never know about if it weren't for this wonderful website and insight from others.

by Cynthia Voigt, it is part of a the Tillerman series.  Great stuff.  As for hidden gems try:  Raney by Clyde Edgerton, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Into thin air/ into the wild Jon Krakauer.  Any of the Travis McGee series by John D. Macdonald.

I'm looking for a good medical triller (no by Robin Cook) or a good legal thriller (not John Grisham).  IM we will ideas!!

The last book I read that really grabbed me was The Double Bind- Chris Bohjalian.

The last 2 that really grabbed me were: Wesley the Owl and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.  I loved The Art of Racing in the Rain.  It was a Christmas present from my daughter's dog!

Monkeewrench by P J Tracy.  Before I finished it (in two days) I had to order the next three in the series.  On pins and needles for the next.

the Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.  It is just great-- history/ time travel.

Water For Elephants and The Poisonwood Bible

I loved them both.  It took me a few chapters to get into Poisonwood but when I did, I didn't want to stop.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. Bought it by mistake on Amazon and decided to read it. I couldn't put it down!