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Win £700 worth of the best books of 2015!

(706 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.

joolsb Thu 19-Nov-15 20:51:01

Wuthering heights. First read it in high school and it never dates.

fourormore Thu 19-Nov-15 21:11:45

As a soppy Danielle Steel reader any of her books could be classed as my favourite - however, the one that really got to me was her NON-FICTION book 'His Bright Light'
It is the devastating story of the mental health problems suffered by her son Nick. I won't say more because it would reveal the outcome.
Read this and understand some of the thoughts/ideas that occur in her fiction writing.

MamaCaz Thu 19-Nov-15 22:12:15

Neville Shute's A Town Like Alice. It was the first adult book I read and I couldn't put it down!

Dearknees Thu 19-Nov-15 22:29:28

My favourite book is 'The Bronze Horseman' by Paulina Simmons. I'm not sure about the sequel though. The ending of 'The Bronze Horseman' is a cliffhanger and that's where some stories should be left.

mariemiles Thu 19-Nov-15 22:41:34

my favourite book has to be " Tara Road" by the fabulous Maeve Binchy, i was in hospital having major surgery (the first of 12 such surgeries) for a condition of the brain and the lady in the bed next to me lent me her book to help my recovery, I had never read a Maeve Binchy book before even though i am a lover of reading and i was captured from the very first page and have since gone on to read subsequent Maeve Binchy books and have enjoyed every single one, shes such a talented writer. however " tara Road" remains my favourite book because of the kindness of the woman in the bed next to mine and i feel it aided my recovery.

Jogo71 Thu 19-Nov-15 22:55:11

My favourite books are anything by Sidney Sheldon

mogsey5 Fri 20-Nov-15 05:08:00

My favourite book is 'Grow all you can eat in three square feet' a great source of advice for utilising every inch of space in your garden to grow your own vegetables!

Gagagran Fri 20-Nov-15 08:55:46

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell has always been a favourite of mine and I treasure it. It's full of Victorian schmaltz but can still bring a tear to my eye reading about the cruelties practised on our faithful friends. I had to spend a lot of time in bed with illness as a child and always wanted Black Beauty with me to read again and again. It's a lifetime favourite.

Gagagran Fri 20-Nov-15 08:59:33

I have always loved Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Idyllic childhood in times long past.

Falconbird Fri 20-Nov-15 09:57:10

One of my favourite books as a child was The Princess and The Goblin by George MacDonald. I remember being captivated by it.

One of my favourite books as as adult is Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. I like all Kate Atkinson's books but this is one of her best.

paperbackbutterfly Fri 20-Nov-15 10:02:36

Cecile Aherne’s ‘P.S. I love you’, it’s interestingly written in the form of letters, texts and emails. As the characters grow up so the language changes. Great read.

bmteal Fri 20-Nov-15 10:05:45

I have just read a collection of books by Conn Iggulden.
All about Genghis Khan and his Sons. These were fiction, but a lot of information from history and very well written.
Gripping stuff.

Jacks10 Fri 20-Nov-15 10:14:54

Still have not changed my choice from Requiem for a Wren by Neville Shute. It has stood the test of time and still brings tears to my eyes. However on an entirely different tack I have to say the Stieg Larsson series starting with the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were almost unputdownable!!!! (if there is such a word!!!)

tunde Fri 20-Nov-15 10:17:54

My favourite book is Us by David Nicholls. It`s a recent bestseller but can`t recommend enough. I found my own emotions and thoughts echoing in it. Really funny and sad in the same time. The novel is about a married couple with teenage son going on the grand tour of Europe hoping to get closer to each other as a family and save their marriage.

Juniperarum Fri 20-Nov-15 12:02:12

The Children's Book by AS Byatt, such an amazing sense of Edwardian time and place with an astonishingly wide-ranging cast of unforgettable characters.

jillp Fri 20-Nov-15 16:01:34

Jane Austen's Persuasion - faded bloom, stoicism, re-kindled hope, love triumphant. More nuances revealed on each reading. A delight always.

megamitts Fri 20-Nov-15 20:16:59

My favourite book has to be The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.

There's a wonderful bit in it where the 100 year old fellow is being chased by a mob boss because he has his money:

"I'm going to f**** kill you!" screams the mob boss down the mobile.
"You'd better hurry up, I'm a hundred years old!" replies the old man.

Brilliantly funny and I hope I'm this mischievous if I get to that age.

Grannyfran Fri 20-Nov-15 20:26:51

Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey: two odd and awkward people drawn together. Each idea and every word is fresh. Nothing predictable.Brilliant!

leilajay21 Fri 20-Nov-15 22:59:23

My favourite is And Then There were None by Agatha Christie. A lot o mystery, an unusual location a little island. This is one of the best book I read from Agatha Christie. Very smart ending and unexpected.

stoodles Sat 21-Nov-15 09:35:49

It's an oldie, but I still love I Capture the Castle. A romance in the best meaning of the word, it isn't a believable story, yet the characterising makes it wholly credible

Floris Sat 21-Nov-15 10:02:22

Oh dear - there are just so many to choose from: If I absolutely have to pick it would be "Imposter" by FMM Macleod. It's a historical novel that is both passionate, intriguing, moving and gripping and once you start reading, you can't put it down. It's a book I love to read over and over again, as it also is based in the area I live and grew up in , so I can vividly picture some of the places she is describing.

elisatrueman Sat 21-Nov-15 11:04:03

I loved Black Beauty when I was little, To kill a Mockingbird as a teen and most recently loved The Harry quebert affair - really well written

vivhammerton Sat 21-Nov-15 15:55:08

I started reading Jeffrey Archer's Chronicle series and as fast as I finished one book I had to start on the next. I was gutted when I had finished reading the last one and I am now impatiently awaiting the next book in the series out in February.

summer63 Sat 21-Nov-15 16:02:03

Penny Vincenzi's Something Dangerous featuring the Lytton twins. Great story leaving you wanting more...onward to No Angel & Temptation

heavenknows Sat 21-Nov-15 20:53:43

When I was a child, my favourite book was "The Little Princess." I must have checked that book out of the library so often that nobody else could get their hands on it. The idea that life can change so dramatically so quickly as it did for the main character has always stuck with me.