Wild Swans by Jung Chang.
An account of three female generations set against the backdrop of the communist revolution in China. It's moving, cruel and violent story, but told with great intelligence, and a measured writing style that enhances rather than detracts from the account. A must read.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
One of the best opening lines in any book I've read "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." Part family story, part mysticism, for me it's the beautiful prose style that makes it great. It was more than halfway through the book that I wondered about the title - then realised that it's each Buendia family member that experiences a different kind of profound solitude.
At Home by Bill Bryson.
The companion book to "A Short History of Nearly Everything", it's an exploration of human history using his own home as the vehicle. Whilst much of the subject matter is only tenuously linked to his home, it's written with his usual wit and charm, and for the most part is genuinely interesting.
I really should try to finish these books!
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