I'm a fiction addict also, my sister is a librarian and my cousin is the editor of the Barnes & Noble Review so I get some good recommendations, historical fiction being my favorite.
The White Company Arthur Conan Doyle is a place to go when you have exhausted all the Sherlock Holmes tales.
JT, I'm waiting a few years to start a second reading of Patrick O'Brian's books again. I was saddened when he passed, I had just finished the last novel and was waiting for his next.
Read all three Stieg Larsonns, enjoyed them but I really like when food is a part of a characters makeup. There is a series of murder mysteries by ANDREA CAMILLERI about a detective Montalbano in Sicily who is always dropping into a small ristorante or trattoria for some great food and drink. Seems like all Larsson's characters ever ate was cheese and sardine sandwiches and frozen pizza. I also heard the rumor that a 4th book was on his computer and may be released. The Swedish movies were entertaining we'll see how the American versions turn out.
A great historical trilogy my sister turned me on to is Neal Stephenson's three-volume historical epic The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World). Wonderful fiction mixed with history and prominent historical figures. Truly a magnificent canvas he paints.
While some may wince at the Game of Thrones recently shown on HBO, there's a reason it sold so many books. The fantasy is kept to minimum, the politics, power struggles, violence & sex keep you reading and he has fine character development.
Jack Whyte's telling of the Arthurian legend from the Roman point of view, the Camulod Chronicles, is one of the better tellings of this tale, no mysticism here.
Finally, everyone should try TC Boyle's masterwork WORLD"S END. I'm partial because it takes place here in the Hudson Valley but anyone would enjoy this read.
I figure any book worth owning is worth owning in hardcover so the fiction library here is small. Unlike reference books which seem to be reproducing at an alarming rate.
