The discussion has been very centered on fantasy/Forgotten Realms novels lately, but I *know* there must be people around that read other books too.
So what are your favourite non-fantasy/SF novels and authors? And if you don't have any, i.e. if you only read fantasy, why is that? [img]smile.gif[/img]

You cant beat a good Tom Clancy novel. I read Rainbow Six after I had played the game. I loved it and started reading his other novels like Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears. Rainbow Six is still my favourite though.

Hey Spade i'm reading Rainbow Six right now and loving it. I've been a fan of the games for a looong time and am ripping it up at Raven Shield right now. The book is getting me totally pumped to play which is nice.

Some of my favorite non fantasy authors are Salmon Rushdie (Midnight's Children is one of my top books), Timothy Findley, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Gabriel Garcia Marquez (only read Hundred Years of Solitude, but it was incredible) and a few others.

Once you get past the excruciatingly slow pacing, Tolstoy's novels can be very good.

However, the vote for my favourite has to go to Bernard Cornwell (author of the Richard Sharpe series)

(I probably butchered the details on that second sentence... ah, well.)

Gene Stratton Porter - Girl of the Limberlost, etc

Richard Adams - Watership Down, etc; Shardik is AMAZING

Louis L'Amour - 100+ western & action stories

Erich von Daniken - is it sci-fi or not? ;)

Most recent non-fantasy/sf novel read: Le Divorce by Diane Johnson. Verdict: Pretty good and funny, even for a non-Francophile.

Most recent book read: Dig In and Pig Out: The Truth About Men and Food, by Roger Welsch; Verdict: Hilarious and got several good tips

Favorite nonfantasy/sf novel (Serious/Recent) Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco; Verdict: Loved it, though I had to take notes to get through it

Favorite Novel (Classic) That would be Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Favorite Novel (Classic/non-American) Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Oh, yes, Eco! Thanks for reminding me about him! How could I have forgotten such books as Baudolino and The Name of the Rose?

<span style="color: lightblue">I read alot of Agatha Christie. Lots of funny stuff, good mysteries, excellent detectives, and I've learned some small amounts of french. :D

Eco's a great choice, Attalus and Judas Maccabeus! I love his works.
Still haven't read Baudolino though, I'm saving it up because there's no telling when his next book comes out... :D

Djinn, One Hundred Years of Solitude is brilliant isn't it? One of my favourite books. [img]smile.gif[/img] I love García Márquez, have also read Love In The Time Of Cholera, Chronicle Of A Death Foretold and No One Writes To The Colonel.
Salman Rushdie is also awesome. My boyfriend just finished a paper on Shame, have you read that one? I have a fondness for his fairytale-like "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" - definitely recommended!

Always liked the various adventures of Sherlock Holmes...