My favorite was "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon.  My second favorite was "The Stand".  I didn't enjoy "The Road" (too depressing)

Pamela - I'm reading Seed to Harvest by Octavia Butler...it is a collection of four novels.  The character you're talking about (Doro) appears in both Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind.  They are excellent stories.

S M Stirling's The Peshawar Lancers. A meteor strikes the Earth way way before the story begins, causing norrific damage. The British Empire moves to India.

Alas Babylon was one of my first that really grabbed my attention.  I was substitute teaching in a high school English Lit class and that was the assignment.  The teacher just had them reading, so I picked it up and started it to pass the time.  I got so hooked, I had to go out and buy it.  It is an oldy, I think I may look it up again and see how I feel about it after 25 years.  Don't you love doing that, it is always interesting how your perspective changes and so your perception of the characters and events.  I also loved The Stand, vintage King!

New books to look for :) 

I'd have to say that of all mentioned here I've only read Swan's Song and The Stand.  That's also the order I like them in:lol:

Is there a 4 book series, I think sci-fi/fantasy based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?  I wasn't sure if it was really about that and using the Four Horsemen thing for a cool title tie in:)

One almost apocalyptic book is terry pratchett's the Theif of Time, where all 5 (yes 5) horsemen ride out/

Discworld has a number of almost apocalyptic books

On the Beach.  I read it in the 9th grade (many, many, many years ago) and I can still remember scenes from it like it was yesterday.

I really liked Z for Zackariah which is considered YA but it was very good. It's one of my favorite books on my shelf that I won't let go.

I just started ORYX AND CRAKE by Margaret Atwood. It has the potential of going to the top of my list. I'll let you know.

Oh, nobody mentioned Good Omens?  (Which is about preventing the apocalypse, admittedly, but it's also one of the funniest things I've ever read.)

I definitely agree with many of the choices already mentioned, The Stand (extended version, however I do believe the extra stuff could have remained cut), World War Z,  Handmaiden's Tale... On the Beach was both an excellent book & movie.  One I read a long time ago that I always thought was very good was Xeogensis by Octavia E. Butler.  I think, that was just the book club title as it was 3 novels combined, I believe they were; Dawn, Imago and Adulthood Rites (not sure of the order) They may be out of print, or at the very least hard to find.  Definitely worth the read if you can get your hand on them.

Though I read it a while back, The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier was a really good and interesting one. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson was a good one, too.

Read Earth Abides last week.  Excellent  book, I loved it!  Tammy, I agree.  I didn't like the extended version of The Stand.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Keep 'em coming. 

YEAR ZERO is still my favorite. However, ORYX AND CRAKE came very close to replacing it.

The Postman by David Brin

Brother to Dragons by Charles Sheffield

The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper

Just read through the rest of the posts...Yes, I also remember reading Z for Zachariah in junior high school.

Hmm, there's also "Tomorrow, when the war began" - it might be a bit out there, i noticed it hasn't been mentioned: it's by an Australian author (I think it's James Marsden) that might be a good read. The protagonists are teenagers, and the storyline is one where all the grownups are gone....

Oh, it's the first in a series by the aforementioned author

Lucifer's Hammer is great.

Erinn, I've been thinking of Good Omens, too. Wanted to suggest it, but didn't know if it would really qualify. I think people who are into post-apocalyptic lit would probably really enjoy it. It's kind of what the movie Dogma tried to be but did not succeed.

The Stand is one of my all-time favorite books!

I re-read The Stand and Star Ship Troopers every year during the winter months.  Didn't really like the movies but love the books.

Denise :}

The Handmaid's Tale is fabulous.  If you liked that one, you may want to try Oryx and Crake, also by Atwood.

I just scored a copy of Earth Abides from PBS a week ago and it had been on my wishlist FORVER.  Can't wait for that one.