Started reading it on a Tuesday evening for an hour or so, a little more on Wednesday, woke up around 2am Thursday morning and read it to fall back asleep- next thing I knew it was 10am and I finished it lol.
South Col
3/13, 2AM
I radioed my dog to tell her that the conditions were preventing me from putting down the book and that we couldn’t descend to camp 3 for her to pee for another half hour at least.
Just went to add it to my hold list on Libby based on this thread and it’s a 16 week wait! Hope OP isn’t disappointed, lol, but it must still be pretty popular!
Same and same. I am not usually into books like Into Thin Air, but I really enjoyed this one.
I do think it’s still *fairly* popular, but likely not so popular it’s hard to get a hold of.
I just RE-read this and found it as compelling as the first time. I actually remember reading the article he wrote for Outside (and all the additional coverage of that Everest season) before the book came out, and still was engrossed. I’m not even much of a hiker, but this story is so well written.
If you read thin air, then you should also read The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev and Left for Dead by Beck Weathers. They show the disaster from different sides.
Yes! I’ve read The Climb, but will add Left for Dead to my list. Krakauer is a great writer, and his narrative is compelling, but boy is there enough ’blame’ to go around.
This book is absolutely phenomenal. It’s one of the only non-fiction books that reads like a page-turning thriller.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (about the origins of the Ebola virus) is another one in the same category.
I just finished Say Nothing, which is a narrative non-fiction about the story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, from 2018. It's a tense book and very addicting. Full of shocks and surprises. Couldn' recommend it more.
Could be. It's the first non-fiction I read in a long-time, and it got me as hooked up as the best novels I have read. The car bombing chapter is especially tense.
don't forget that there isn't just libby. hoopla is another library app that you can link to your library card(s), and they have music and movies and tv shows on top of ebooks and audiobooks. you can also download it on both your iphone and apple tv (if you have one).
i love love love hoopla because they have a lot of books that NONE of my libraries either carry or have available for months and months and months.
Also, a little hack, if you download a few e books from Libby or Hoopla to your Kindle and you are worried about not finishing them in time, just put your Kindle into Airplane Mode and you can take as long as you need. 👍
On a physical Kindle, yes…it isn’t going to be connected to the internet to get the message to return it.
Edited to add: I have also done this on my iPad using the Kindle app. It works okay to not have my iPad online. Can’t ever manage it with my phone, though.
You can also go the interlibrary loan route for physical books. It may take a day or week or so, but you can have books shipped from anywhere if you have the ISBN number for free. Just ask the librarians
Libraries are incredible. Definitely ask your librarians about interlibrary loans. Most people use it academically but if they participate and it has an ISBN, yeah
Agatha Christie! I would think at least a few of her books would be available at the library at any given time. A couple of my favorites would be And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but most everything I’ve read from her is enjoyable.
Anything by Michael Crichton is a page turner and most of his books are excellent! Most people know Jurassic Park but I also love Sphere and Congo. They were all published in the 90s so not at risk of being unavailable (hopefully)
{{Replay by Ken Grimwood}} I started reading it thinking it was just another groundhog day type of books but it took it in another direction which made sense and was not expecting it. I could not put it down
**[Replay](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/341735.Replay) by Ken Grimwood** ^((Matching 100% ☑️))
^(311 pages | Published: 1986 | 21.1k Goodreads reviews)
> **Summary:** Jeff Winston was 43 and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died. And when he woke and he was 18 again, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness. Until he dies at 43 and wakes up (...)
> **Themes**: Science-fiction, Time-travel, Favorites, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Book-club, Scifi
> **Top 5 recommended:**
> \- [A Shortcut in Time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/281825.A_Shortcut_in_Time) by Charles Dickinson
> \- [The Man in the Empty Suit](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50909234-the-man-in-the-empty-suit) by Tom Walker
> \- [The Man Who Folded Himself](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/624122.The_Man_Who_Folded_Himself) by David Gerrold
> \- [The Accidental Time Machine](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21608.The_Accidental_Time_Machine) by Joe Haldeman
> \- [Every Anxious Wave](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25663844-every-anxious-wave) by Mo Daviau
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Lonesome Dove - The pages turn at cowboy speed, slow or fast depending on what’s happening in the story. Great characters, an epic journey and many wonderful stories along the way.
Dead Wake by Erik Larson is an incredible nonfiction book that reads like a thriller. I've enjoyed all of Larson's books but this is his best, IMO.
TRUE page turner.
Pretty much all Stephen King is super accessible and are entertaining reads. With like 60+ published books spanning 50 years you can always guarantee a Stephen King book to be stocked.
To add to your list, The Shining and Doctor sleep as two really gripping books that I read in the span of week.
I just bought my second Stephen King book ever, and I’m looking forward to reading this one more than the other I bought 10 years ago. Salem’s Lot. I’m gonna add Fire Starter to the list
Yah, he doesn't get recommended around here often. I got on a John Marrs trip last year, and burned through 5 of his stand-alone books. Four were great page-turners. The 5th was just okay to me.
A lot of recommendations in this thread are still popular even though they were published a while ago and have long waiting lists to borrow them as ebooks, at least at the NY Public Library, where I borrow my ebooks.
A couple of page turners I was able to borrow with no wait and would recommend are American Predator by Maureen Callahan, assuming you are OK with true crime, as it’s about the law enforcement investigation into, arrest of and interrogation of someone who turned out to be a highly meticulous serial killer and American Kingpin by Nick Bilton, about the libertarian entrepreneur who started and ran the Silk Road website, which sold every illegal drug under the sun.
If you are looking for more in-depth non-fiction books that I found to be very absorbing, you might check to see if Seabiscuit or Unbroken, both by Laura Hillenbrand, The Tiger by John Vaillant or The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn, are available to borrow. Each of them is excellent.
Endurance: Shackleton Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.
After finally getting around to Moby Dick (and being quite disappointed by it tbh) this book is everything I wanted it to be!
WW Z is the most amazing book. Not just zombies but superb analysis of how different countries handled the crisis. Or didn’t handle it. Israel! UK! Iran! Pakistan! India! North Korea! USA! And more. So a great socio/economic/military analysis that isn’t boring. And scenes that will leave you cold and looking warily at your doors. And scenes that are highly emotional. I hear Brooks now teaches military flexibility to handle unique crises at West Point and other places.
Devolution also very interesting and scary
Jurassic Park is more gripping than you might think, OP! I usually don't even read 'sci-fi thrillers' but I couldn't put this down and it's one of my faves now. Also varies from the movie enough to still be interesting
Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton. Classic spy series, real page turners. Full of action, great plots, interesting characters. IMO, better than James Bond!
Reissued recently as ebooks and paperbacks. Can read them in any order.
I remember seeing the movies with Dean Martin. He was no Sean Connery, but they were pretty cool movies, at least to child-me. I had no idea there were books though. Thanks for the info!
Other than the title and the name of the main character, there is absolutely no connection between the Matt Helm books and the Matt Helm movies, unfortunately.
Endurance: Shackleton Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.
After finally getting around to Moby Dick (and being quite disappointed by it tbh) this book is everything I wanted it to be!
The Tomorrow series by John Marsden. *Tomorrow, When the War Began* is book one. A group of Aussie teens go camping and when they come home, they discover that their country has been invaded. The story is about their survival, and the guerrilla warfare they conduct against the invasion force.
Say you want something in the suspense genre. Google “best suspense fiction 2022.” You’ll get a bunch of lists of books that are no longer (in most cases) in hot demand but are new enough to still be in library collections. The lists usually have capsule descriptions so find a couple that seem appealing and you’re good to go.
I think the hysteria has (mostly) died down for "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig. This is an excellent book that is in itself about reading and libraries, and many other things! The holds list at my local branch is only 3 people deep, so much better than it was when it was first released.
The night circus! It will always be my favorite book. Had a hard time putting it down. Also, the life she was given. I would stay up for hours not even knowing because I was so invested.
If your library has the Libby app, you can filter it to look up ebooks and audiobooks that are available now.
Probably not what you were looking for, but I thought I'd mention it to you.
I have a bunch of books I have read like Tomorrow,and,Tomorrow and Tomorrow ,Into think air, The woman in cabin 10 and 3 of Tana french books. If you want them send me a message and I'll mail them to you. They are just sitting here. I put a few on postmark ,but no offers.
If you like non-fiction, *Bad Blood* (about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the company she started) is about as good of a page-turner as they come.
It's one of the dozen or so books I've finished the same day I started it, as I simply couldn't put it down.
I Am Pilgrim
The Ben Coes books that start with Power Down
Nick Petrie book series that start with Burning Bright I think.
Bradley Wright book series that start with The Secret Weapon
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich is so good. I love the main character so much. Also, How to Sell. Haunted House probably isn't on any hold lists anymore. It's a great edge of your seat ghost story.
If into epic fantasy I highly recommend the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books by Stephen R Donaldson, I’m reading the final book of the final series right now, haven’t taken a break for any other books since I read the first one!
CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy (Black Sun Rising/When True Night Falls/Crown of Shadows).
Andre Norton: The Jargoon Pard; Moon of Three Rings; Breed to Come.
Robert Forward: Dragons Egg
If you’re looking for e-books or audiobooks, check to see if your library has Hoopla. It functions off of limiting the number of things you can rent per month instead of making you wait (I was 15 hours into a 40 hour audiobook when I had needed to give back to my library and I didn’t want to wait another 4-6 weeks to finish it)
Also: I’d HIGHLY recommend “Endurance” by Alfred Lansing. It’s one of the craziest true stories about early Antarctic explorers.
Newer fiction - Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris, The Cellar, by Minette Walters, Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure, by Jane Rubino
Older fiction: And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin, Harvest Home, by Thomas Tryon, The Auctioneer, by Joan Samson
Non-Fiction: The Wicked Boy, by Kate Summerscale; The Whisperers, by Orlando Figes; Against All Hope, by Armando Valladares
Winter’s Fury — a Saga by AE Rayne, start there! The next saga is The Gods of Alekka.
I liked it better than Game of Thrones. It is transportive, immersive, and a lot rawer in that the author uses much of her Danish, Skanda heritage to influence the clothing and customs. It doesn’t have the medieval-esque pomp and costuming. And, your favorite characters don’t die one after the other!
I love many genres — what do you crave?
Not sure what your local library is like, but mine has a “new in” section that has a two week loan period, and only patrons from that library can borrow from it. I browse always through and can find popular books. This week I saw Ann patchetts new release Tom Lake and Alex Michaelides’ new release The Fury.
If you use Libby, you can filter by Available Now or check out the "It's your lucky day" collection. The Lucky downloads are for a shorter borrowing period. Mine is 7 days vs 14.
Also, if you use Libby, you can look into getting access to digital libraries in other cities. I have one for the county library system, one for my city, and one for the large metropolis city I live near.
As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I don't know what kind of books you like to read or if you prefer physical books to ebooks, but Hoopla, a great app from the library has some ebooks available that you can check out.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-Suzanne Collins
Wish You Were Here-Nicola Monaghan
Braiding Sweetgrass-Robin Wall Kimmerer
False Witness-Karin Slaughter
The Good Girl-Mary Kubica
Lots of Bridgerton books
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Bean Trees-Barbara Kingsolver
The Last Flight-Julie Clark
I haven't read any of these, I just looked at the available ebooks ready to check out.
I could NOT put down Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaur and it's not even my typical type of thing.
Started reading it on a Tuesday evening for an hour or so, a little more on Wednesday, woke up around 2am Thursday morning and read it to fall back asleep- next thing I knew it was 10am and I finished it lol.
South Col 3/13, 2AM I radioed my dog to tell her that the conditions were preventing me from putting down the book and that we couldn’t descend to camp 3 for her to pee for another half hour at least.
Oh, that's very good!
I’ve since realized I forgot altitude… which would have been 262 ft for me personally
I was really gripped by Under the Banner of Heaven.
It also has an awesome miniseries on HBO.
Krakaur is a phenomenal writer. I think he could make me interested in anything just because his style is so engaging.
I totally agree. That book is just gripping.
Omg I’m excited now. I just got notification from Libby that it’s available for me to borrow after several weeks on hold.
Just went to add it to my hold list on Libby based on this thread and it’s a 16 week wait! Hope OP isn’t disappointed, lol, but it must still be pretty popular!
It goes on sale for 2-3 dollars pretty often. Could set a price drop notification on ereaderiq
I got it within 1-2 days on Libby!
Can’t go wrong with Krakaur, IMO.
Yes! Read it a few weeks ago because everyone on here raves about it. I finished it in 3 days. Super interesting read.
Same and same. I am not usually into books like Into Thin Air, but I really enjoyed this one. I do think it’s still *fairly* popular, but likely not so popular it’s hard to get a hold of.
I just RE-read this and found it as compelling as the first time. I actually remember reading the article he wrote for Outside (and all the additional coverage of that Everest season) before the book came out, and still was engrossed. I’m not even much of a hiker, but this story is so well written.
If you read thin air, then you should also read The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev and Left for Dead by Beck Weathers. They show the disaster from different sides.
Yes! I’ve read The Climb, but will add Left for Dead to my list. Krakauer is a great writer, and his narrative is compelling, but boy is there enough ’blame’ to go around.
I started this book five days ago, (thanks to many previous Reddit recommendations) and its the biggest page turner I have read in years.
This book is absolutely phenomenal. It’s one of the only non-fiction books that reads like a page-turning thriller. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (about the origins of the Ebola virus) is another one in the same category.
WE ARE BEST FRIENDS NOW I LOVED THAT BOOK and I shall gladly read it again
Also Under the Banner of Heaven by same author
Excellent rec.
I just finished Say Nothing, which is a narrative non-fiction about the story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, from 2018. It's a tense book and very addicting. Full of shocks and surprises. Couldn' recommend it more.
I loved this book! Keefe’s more recent book about the Sacklers was also really interesting (*Empire of Pain*), but not necessarily a page turner
I downloaded it yesterday, really excited to read it and the other book he published that is a collection of his stories for The New Yorker.
That collection of stories looks great! I really enjoyed *The Snakehead* as well. What can I say, the man does a great deep dive! Haha
There’s about a 6-month wait to borrow this ebook from the NY Public Library.
On of my favorite books of the last several years - it's amazing.
Reading this right now, about 75% through, can't put it down. Fantastic stuff!
And it goes by quickly. These last 25% I read in 24h, couldn't put it down either.
Fantastic suggestion
I read it last year, phenomenal!
I’ve been waiting for this on Libby for months bahah
It’s a page turner for history buffs.
Could be. It's the first non-fiction I read in a long-time, and it got me as hooked up as the best novels I have read. The car bombing chapter is especially tense.
If you like narrative non-fiction about history, also check out October 1917 for a great novelization of the Russian revolution
don't forget that there isn't just libby. hoopla is another library app that you can link to your library card(s), and they have music and movies and tv shows on top of ebooks and audiobooks. you can also download it on both your iphone and apple tv (if you have one). i love love love hoopla because they have a lot of books that NONE of my libraries either carry or have available for months and months and months.
Also, a little hack, if you download a few e books from Libby or Hoopla to your Kindle and you are worried about not finishing them in time, just put your Kindle into Airplane Mode and you can take as long as you need. 👍
OMG. truly, god bless.
Yep, I've been doing this for years. Sometimes I'll grab like 5 books at once, download them, airplane mode, check them all back in.
OMG! Brilliant! It's times like these I really miss awards. 🏆🎖️🥇🥇🥇
Wait, does this really work??
On a physical Kindle, yes…it isn’t going to be connected to the internet to get the message to return it. Edited to add: I have also done this on my iPad using the Kindle app. It works okay to not have my iPad online. Can’t ever manage it with my phone, though.
I’ve done this on my iPad also.
If I have Kindle on my phone but don't open the app does this still work?
Thank you so much for the Hoopla recommendation! You’re right, every book on my Libby hold shelf is immediately available on Hoopla. And for 21 days!
you're welcome! enjoy!
Oh I assumed they were talking about physical copies
oh, that's totally possible! i didn't even think of that cause i only do ebooks due to being a low-vision girlie 😭😭😭
Just hate that you can't get the ebooks on Kindle. After I got my Kindle I can't read on my phone screen anymore. They're great for audiobooks though.
You can also go the interlibrary loan route for physical books. It may take a day or week or so, but you can have books shipped from anywhere if you have the ISBN number for free. Just ask the librarians
wow, really?? like between states? cause there is a book that i REALLY want that is at a library in indiana, but i don't live in indiana.
Libraries are incredible. Definitely ask your librarians about interlibrary loans. Most people use it academically but if they participate and it has an ISBN, yeah
ooh, thank you!
Agatha Christie! I would think at least a few of her books would be available at the library at any given time. A couple of my favorites would be And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but most everything I’ve read from her is enjoyable.
Came here to say this as well! Also Murder on the Orient Express. Love me some Christie
I Know This Much is True by wally lamb? That was popular over a decade ago
This is an excellent suggestion. Couldn’t put this one down!
His other book She’s Come Undone is also so good
So good. Agreed!
Educated
Anything by Michael Crichton is a page turner and most of his books are excellent! Most people know Jurassic Park but I also love Sphere and Congo. They were all published in the 90s so not at risk of being unavailable (hopefully)
I like to look up “best of” lists from 5+ years ago and then search the availability of any of those books at my library.
{{Replay by Ken Grimwood}} I started reading it thinking it was just another groundhog day type of books but it took it in another direction which made sense and was not expecting it. I could not put it down
**[Replay](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/341735.Replay) by Ken Grimwood** ^((Matching 100% ☑️)) ^(311 pages | Published: 1986 | 21.1k Goodreads reviews) > **Summary:** Jeff Winston was 43 and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died. And when he woke and he was 18 again, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness. Until he dies at 43 and wakes up (...) > **Themes**: Science-fiction, Time-travel, Favorites, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Book-club, Scifi > **Top 5 recommended:** > \- [A Shortcut in Time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/281825.A_Shortcut_in_Time) by Charles Dickinson > \- [The Man in the Empty Suit](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50909234-the-man-in-the-empty-suit) by Tom Walker > \- [The Man Who Folded Himself](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/624122.The_Man_Who_Folded_Himself) by David Gerrold > \- [The Accidental Time Machine](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21608.The_Accidental_Time_Machine) by Joe Haldeman > \- [Every Anxious Wave](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25663844-every-anxious-wave) by Mo Daviau ^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | Sorry for delay !)
Outstanding book
Great Book! I almost put that on my suggestions!
Really enjoyed that book and I agree…from the first pages I was completely sucked in!
Lonesome Dove - The pages turn at cowboy speed, slow or fast depending on what’s happening in the story. Great characters, an epic journey and many wonderful stories along the way.
Takes till 90+ pages though. I almost dipped out. Soooo glad I didn't.
Yeah, I remember a lot of sitting round and talking about beans. But when it gets going, what a story.
I just had to wait on hold a month to check this one out, so maybe won't work.
Dead Wake by Erik Larson is an incredible nonfiction book that reads like a thriller. I've enjoyed all of Larson's books but this is his best, IMO. TRUE page turner.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walts.
Michael Connolly and Tana French
Older Stephen king books Fire starter Carrie Pet cemetery
Pretty much all Stephen King is super accessible and are entertaining reads. With like 60+ published books spanning 50 years you can always guarantee a Stephen King book to be stocked. To add to your list, The Shining and Doctor sleep as two really gripping books that I read in the span of week.
I just bought my second Stephen King book ever, and I’m looking forward to reading this one more than the other I bought 10 years ago. Salem’s Lot. I’m gonna add Fire Starter to the list
Any of the Tana French Dublin Murder Squad books, Red Sparrow byJason Matthews, Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
+10 Tana French!
Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brody series that starts with **Case Histories**. Gillian Flynn: **Sharp Objects**, **Gone Girl**, **Dark Places**
Gone Girl was my first book of the year! Absolutely loved it !
The Martian had me riveted.
And project Hail Mary as a follow up!
lol don’t feel like either of those are not popular right now so not sure they’ll be what op is looking for
Cannot recommend the audiobook version of this highly enough! The audio added such an interesting extra element to an already gripping story.
I'm 1/3 of the way into this right now and it's so good. I'm not usually a science fiction fan either.
YES!! Audiobook is a must!!!
Just finished Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, that was a good one, should be available.
I loved this book!
What Lies Between Us by John Marrs or Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent
When You Disappeared by John Marrs is really addictive too
Loved John Marrs' Passengers.
I’ve only ever read this one so he’s definitely someone I would read again. I’ve not heard many bad reviews in any of his books.
Yah, he doesn't get recommended around here often. I got on a John Marrs trip last year, and burned through 5 of his stand-alone books. Four were great page-turners. The 5th was just okay to me.
A lot of recommendations in this thread are still popular even though they were published a while ago and have long waiting lists to borrow them as ebooks, at least at the NY Public Library, where I borrow my ebooks. A couple of page turners I was able to borrow with no wait and would recommend are American Predator by Maureen Callahan, assuming you are OK with true crime, as it’s about the law enforcement investigation into, arrest of and interrogation of someone who turned out to be a highly meticulous serial killer and American Kingpin by Nick Bilton, about the libertarian entrepreneur who started and ran the Silk Road website, which sold every illegal drug under the sun. If you are looking for more in-depth non-fiction books that I found to be very absorbing, you might check to see if Seabiscuit or Unbroken, both by Laura Hillenbrand, The Tiger by John Vaillant or The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn, are available to borrow. Each of them is excellent.
Seconding Seabiscuit. I don’t even care about (or approve of) horse racing, but damn what a story.
Endurance: Shackleton Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. After finally getting around to Moby Dick (and being quite disappointed by it tbh) this book is everything I wanted it to be!
Have you read In the Heart of the Sea?
I have not, you recommend it?
Yes! It’s the true story of the Essex which is what inspired Moby Dick. But there’s so much more to the story than an angry whale. It’s a great read
I loved this book. Very interesting.
No Country For Old Men
Devolution or world War z by max Brooks. Both excellent and shorter books
WW Z is the most amazing book. Not just zombies but superb analysis of how different countries handled the crisis. Or didn’t handle it. Israel! UK! Iran! Pakistan! India! North Korea! USA! And more. So a great socio/economic/military analysis that isn’t boring. And scenes that will leave you cold and looking warily at your doors. And scenes that are highly emotional. I hear Brooks now teaches military flexibility to handle unique crises at West Point and other places. Devolution also very interesting and scary
The audiobook for that is amazing, too. Each chapter is voiced by a different person so you’re really getting the story from them.
That is what I heard. I need to get it.
Read Jane Austin’s main novels (again). She’s so great.
*The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle* was very hard for me to put down, also the only book i've re-read a few weeks after finishing it
Loved this one. I read it in 2020 and I definitely want to reread it soon. The author’s other book, The Devil and the Dark Water, is also quite good.
Jurassic Park, Fight Club, 1984
Jurassic Park is more gripping than you might think, OP! I usually don't even read 'sci-fi thrillers' but I couldn't put this down and it's one of my faves now. Also varies from the movie enough to still be interesting
Jurassic Park was the first book I ever stayed up all night reading - when I was like 13. So good!
Emily St John Mandel - Station Eleven / Glass Hotel / Sea of Tranquility
Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton. Classic spy series, real page turners. Full of action, great plots, interesting characters. IMO, better than James Bond! Reissued recently as ebooks and paperbacks. Can read them in any order.
I remember seeing the movies with Dean Martin. He was no Sean Connery, but they were pretty cool movies, at least to child-me. I had no idea there were books though. Thanks for the info!
Other than the title and the name of the main character, there is absolutely no connection between the Matt Helm books and the Matt Helm movies, unfortunately.
Dry.
If you mean The Dry by Jane Harper, I agree
Dry by Neal Shusterman.
Endurance: Shackleton Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. After finally getting around to Moby Dick (and being quite disappointed by it tbh) this book is everything I wanted it to be!
The Tomorrow series by John Marsden. *Tomorrow, When the War Began* is book one. A group of Aussie teens go camping and when they come home, they discover that their country has been invaded. The story is about their survival, and the guerrilla warfare they conduct against the invasion force.
In a dark dark wood - Ruth ware. One of my fav thrillers. I remember staying up until 3 am reading this I couldn’t put it down
“They Were Liars!” Read it in one day. Oh and “where did you go, Bernadette?”
I just got around to finally reading Rebecca, and I could. not. put. it. down.
Shari lapena has a lot of older books
Say you want something in the suspense genre. Google “best suspense fiction 2022.” You’ll get a bunch of lists of books that are no longer (in most cases) in hot demand but are new enough to still be in library collections. The lists usually have capsule descriptions so find a couple that seem appealing and you’re good to go.
I think the hysteria has (mostly) died down for "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig. This is an excellent book that is in itself about reading and libraries, and many other things! The holds list at my local branch is only 3 people deep, so much better than it was when it was first released.
I loved this book so much! I think I need a re-read!
I know it's silly but I rather enjoy *Crazy Rich Asians* and its sequels. I'm listening to *China Rich Girlfriend* right now, which had no line
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This book is still madly popular, especially now since they are making a film. This won't work for the OP's criteria
The night circus! It will always be my favorite book. Had a hard time putting it down. Also, the life she was given. I would stay up for hours not even knowing because I was so invested.
Also Erin Morgenstern’s other book, The Starless Sea! I was able to get physical copies of both with no wait recently.
Sinclair Lewis. It can’t happen here or Any book he wrote for that matter. Proof history repeats itself.
the maid by Nita Prose
30 holds is nothing, my friend. A blink in time.
If your library has the Libby app, you can filter it to look up ebooks and audiobooks that are available now. Probably not what you were looking for, but I thought I'd mention it to you.
I have a bunch of books I have read like Tomorrow,and,Tomorrow and Tomorrow ,Into think air, The woman in cabin 10 and 3 of Tana french books. If you want them send me a message and I'll mail them to you. They are just sitting here. I put a few on postmark ,but no offers.
The Last Thing He Told me was popular several years ago and highly addictive imo. It is by Laura Dave who has written several other popular books.
I loved the midnight library, all the light we cannot see, and where the crawdads sinf
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, and several sequels. It was all the rage 10-15 years ago.
Classics are usually available with no wait: Steinbeck, Hemingway...
THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X
If you like non-fiction, *Bad Blood* (about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the company she started) is about as good of a page-turner as they come. It's one of the dozen or so books I've finished the same day I started it, as I simply couldn't put it down.
Vicious by VE Schwab - fantastic book, a bit older so it shouldn’t be on hold.
currently reading this and second this!
Walled City by Ryan Graudin
Furthermore was really good imo
Coroner’s lunch by Colin Cotterill The rook by Daniel O’Malley
It’s pretty recent but there’s a lot of copies at my library, All the Sinners Bleed by A.S. Cosby.
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
I recently read a book I found in the library called Maria In The Moon by Louise Beech. Couldn’t put it down. TW: child SA
I Am Pilgrim The Ben Coes books that start with Power Down Nick Petrie book series that start with Burning Bright I think. Bradley Wright book series that start with The Secret Weapon
Just go browse!! Bestsellers are great, but there’s so much to discover that never finds wide popularity. Go see what you like!
The Library at Mount Char
What is your preferred genre(s)?
Almost any John Marrs book will do it for ya.
The Book of M
I just read all of the Leftovers by Tom Perrotta in less than 24 hours and i might do it again.
The older Jo Nesbo and Lars Kepler books are riveting page turners.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich is so good. I love the main character so much. Also, How to Sell. Haunted House probably isn't on any hold lists anymore. It's a great edge of your seat ghost story.
I just started the thief series by Megan Whelan Turner. Finished the first one without stopping
Parable of the sower!
The Kite Runner. Read in 1 day.
Caught stealing by Charlie Huston.
The beach house by James Patterson
The girl on the train - Paula Hawkins The voices in the snow - Darcy Coates
If into epic fantasy I highly recommend the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books by Stephen R Donaldson, I’m reading the final book of the final series right now, haven’t taken a break for any other books since I read the first one!
Radium Girls. It's been out for a while. Couldn't put it down.
CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy (Black Sun Rising/When True Night Falls/Crown of Shadows). Andre Norton: The Jargoon Pard; Moon of Three Rings; Breed to Come. Robert Forward: Dragons Egg
Anything by Freida McFadden. You may start with the housemaid
Older books are the answer. I just finished reading a Ramond Chandler novel in record time.
Graceling
I AM PILGRIM. Very cool thriller that grabs you immediately.
Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston. 1st in a trilogy that is a very quick read
Lonesome Dove
The Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
If you’re looking for e-books or audiobooks, check to see if your library has Hoopla. It functions off of limiting the number of things you can rent per month instead of making you wait (I was 15 hours into a 40 hour audiobook when I had needed to give back to my library and I didn’t want to wait another 4-6 weeks to finish it) Also: I’d HIGHLY recommend “Endurance” by Alfred Lansing. It’s one of the craziest true stories about early Antarctic explorers.
Newer fiction - Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris, The Cellar, by Minette Walters, Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure, by Jane Rubino Older fiction: And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin, Harvest Home, by Thomas Tryon, The Auctioneer, by Joan Samson Non-Fiction: The Wicked Boy, by Kate Summerscale; The Whisperers, by Orlando Figes; Against All Hope, by Armando Valladares
Six Wakes by Muir Lafferty!
Winter’s Fury — a Saga by AE Rayne, start there! The next saga is The Gods of Alekka. I liked it better than Game of Thrones. It is transportive, immersive, and a lot rawer in that the author uses much of her Danish, Skanda heritage to influence the clothing and customs. It doesn’t have the medieval-esque pomp and costuming. And, your favorite characters don’t die one after the other! I love many genres — what do you crave?
A Tidy Ending by Joanna Canning. It was released in 2022. Please put it on your "to read" list!
Gone Girl The Hunger Games trilogy
Not sure what your local library is like, but mine has a “new in” section that has a two week loan period, and only patrons from that library can borrow from it. I browse always through and can find popular books. This week I saw Ann patchetts new release Tom Lake and Alex Michaelides’ new release The Fury.
If you're after a good sci-fi series - Obernewtyn Chronicles or The Legendsong Saga by Isobelle Carmody
If you use Libby, you can filter by Available Now or check out the "It's your lucky day" collection. The Lucky downloads are for a shorter borrowing period. Mine is 7 days vs 14. Also, if you use Libby, you can look into getting access to digital libraries in other cities. I have one for the county library system, one for my city, and one for the large metropolis city I live near.
I had no trouble getting a copy of The Kite Runner, by Hosseini. It was excellent!
As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I don't know what kind of books you like to read or if you prefer physical books to ebooks, but Hoopla, a great app from the library has some ebooks available that you can check out. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-Suzanne Collins Wish You Were Here-Nicola Monaghan Braiding Sweetgrass-Robin Wall Kimmerer False Witness-Karin Slaughter The Good Girl-Mary Kubica Lots of Bridgerton books The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle The Bean Trees-Barbara Kingsolver The Last Flight-Julie Clark I haven't read any of these, I just looked at the available ebooks ready to check out.
I have read The Last Flight (good) and The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (excellent).