I've always been a voracious reader...often 4 or 5 books at a time (it's a bit ridiculous, but sometimes I just can't wait to finish one before I start another)
I love them all...the profound and the profane...they do need to be well-written, though
Annie Dillard (The Living is one of my favorite books ever...about early settlers of the Bellingham, Washington, area and the hardships they endured. A very dense, difficult book with the best final paragraph EVER...worth the difficult read)
John Steinbeck (everything)
Gabriel García Márquez (Love In the Time of Cholera)
Anne Tyler (Accidental Tourist is just the beginning)
Larry McMurtry
Joyce Carol Oates (A Garden of Earthly Delights)
William Saroyan (his short story, The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse is a tiny morsel of perfection -- AND it's about a horse!)
Jetta Carleson (The Moonflower Vine --this one truly hits me where I live...and so beautifully written I've re-read it every summer for years, and I cry every time. It's out of print, but if you can find it PLEASE READ IT!!!!!)
Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird, of course, but also The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter)
Voctpr Jigp (Les Miserables -- I read this in junior high, before I could really appreciate it, but I was SOOOO in love with Marius...he set the bar for my ideal man...dark, bedroom eyes...long hair...hmm...sound familiar? hehe...)
Here's one for animal lovers, although it's not a novel:
Peter Gethers (The Cat Who Went to Paris and its sequels) I cry just thinking about his tribute to his cat. He is a major influence behind my Mingus stories. Seriously, this is one you HAVE to read! I want to re-read them, but I need to stock up on Kleenex!!)
So many books...so little room to write about them...