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Win £700 worth of the best books of 2015!

(705 Posts)
CariGransnet (GNHQ) Tue 10-Nov-15 10:26:09

Yes, it's that time of year again - and may we now present this year's round up of the best reads for the festive season.

Something for everyone - and a chance for one person to win every single book featured on the page...a prize haul worth OVER £700!!

So how to enter? Simple! Tell us about your favourite book...in 140 characters or less.

All qualifying entries will be popped into our giant Santa hat and a winner will be pulled out at midday on Tuesday 8 December...to give us plenty of time to get the HUGE box of goodies over to you before the festive season begins.

mummyinbeccles Tue 10-Nov-15 11:17:15

I love On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwen. To me it is a beautifully and detailed snap shot into a few moments. I'm not usually a great McEwen fan but I love it.

AliBeeee Tue 10-Nov-15 11:21:54

My favourite book...too many great books to chose from!
If I have to pick only one, I am going to go with the one book I can re-read and enjoy every time - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. A 200 year old story that's still fresh and witty, what's not to love about that?

juliedee Tue 10-Nov-15 11:23:27

My favourite book is Great Expectations by Dickens, it is really a great story and one I can read over and over again. Like most books made into films, the film is ok, but not a patch on the book, brilliant.

Philp17 Tue 10-Nov-15 11:25:05

My favourite book is STILL Captain Correlli's Mandolin. Despite the odd beginning, despite the unsatisfactory ending, despite the dreadful film. Beautiful love story which is funny and sad with complex characters and an amazing setting. More than anything it is about the dreadful effects of war.

caocao Tue 10-Nov-15 11:25:57

Masters Of Rome Series, Colleen McCullough which immersed me in the sights, sounds, culture & characters of Ancient Rome.

marycarol Tue 10-Nov-15 11:26:01

Any Maeve Binchy book is sure to be one of my favourites as I love the way she intertwines characters making you laugh one minute and cry the next. Minding Frankie has to be my favourite, a story of joy, heartbreak and hope. Noel learns that a one-night stand with Stella has resulted in a pregnancy but the mother has a terminal illness and wants Noel to raise the child. Noel agrees and with the help of friends, family and neighbours he becomes Frankie's father along the way struggling with alcoholism and a bit of a bombshell at the end. The story intertwines with characters from other Maeve Binchy books as the limelight switches from one character to another. A great read!

chillton Tue 10-Nov-15 11:26:39

I recently read 'The Life I Left Behind'.
It was one of the most gripping books Ive read for years and I didn't put it down from start to finish, I was left in anticipation until the very end. Brillaint read ????

SwimHome Tue 10-Nov-15 11:27:51

My favourite book is The Magus by John Fowles. I come back to it time and again and each time I find I'm reading a different book. It somehow provides a key that locks into my state of mind however I am feeling, and at the same time it spirits me away from this world into another. All one could ask for in a book!

Gypsyqueen13 Tue 10-Nov-15 11:29:27

I have so many favourite books, depending on my mood. If I had to choose one it would be John Grisham's The Firm - a really gripping plot that I didn't want to end. Highly recommended.

toppers Tue 10-Nov-15 11:29:42

HEIDI by Johanna Spry
"The story tells of such kindness, courage, sadness and overcoming huge problems. Whilst reading it I challenge anyone not to feel emotional."

lizm Tue 10-Nov-15 11:29:54

I love The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It is a beautiful story of loneliness, friendship, love and loss and is simple yet sublime.

Charleygirl Tue 10-Nov-15 11:33:00

I love murder/mysteries and for me, any book by Ian Rankin covering the Rebus series. The police station is in Edinburgh and I can so identify with that city and his description of places and events. Also Ian Rankin was born and brought up in Fife, as was I but in a different part.

carolboz Tue 10-Nov-15 11:33:41

Hi, it has to be Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, besides being a continuation of Gone with the wind, this is a read with everything. Danger, romance and unsuspecting end. It is the only book I can come back to again and again and still find something new.

philatel Tue 10-Nov-15 11:34:36

My favourite book is The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern. The story is about the main character finding an old photograph of her Mother and 2 males at a tennis tournament and she sets out to try and find who these 2 men were. The book is written in the form of letters and emails and it is just a lovely heart warming read.

BarnetBiddy Tue 10-Nov-15 11:35:03

My favourite? Probably Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson - fantastic characters, absorbing plot and simply packed full of ideas

juliea333 Tue 10-Nov-15 11:35:08

Believe it or not my son gave me the book Band of Brothers for my birthday because he used to watch the tv series over and over and I couldnt understand why. It took me a while to get into the book but once I started I just couldnt put it down. A very deep and poignant reminder of the horrific times and the good times out servicemen endurred

anngwill Tue 10-Nov-15 11:37:10

My favourite book has to be Tom Sharpe's "Blot on the landscape" Laughed all the way through it.

BRedhead59 Tue 10-Nov-15 11:37:17

I love reading and in the four years I've been retired I've read 168 books so far. I like novels, biography and history. I love Andrew Marr, I was moved by Greg Dyke Inside story. My most recent favourite novel is Ben Elton Time and Time again.

sallyb75 Tue 10-Nov-15 11:37:27

The Prince of Mist, A gripping chilling tale in parts its a fabulous read and one you cant put down til you finish

Cosafina Tue 10-Nov-15 11:38:58

The Cider House Rules by John Irving: great story, poignantly drawn characters and so funny. The film didn't do it justice sad

soup Tue 10-Nov-15 11:40:03

My favourite book has to be by Barbara Kingsolver, hard to choose between The Lacuna and The Poisonwood Bible. I loved The Lacuna because it is so interesting and told so much about Mexico and some of the people like Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo.

shysal Tue 10-Nov-15 11:40:11

My favourite is 'The French Gardener', by Santa Montefiore. A real tear-jerker.

viney Tue 10-Nov-15 11:40:55

The Magic Faraway Tree saved me as a child: providing my friends, safety and escape. It taught me that you can find freedom in a good book.

Kirven Tue 10-Nov-15 11:42:32

The Lord of the Rings - I first read this in the school library 58 years ago and I still come back to it time and again. Each time I read it I find something that strikes me as new (or possibly I had forgotten?). So much better than the film.