the book recommendation thread

I have several books which are "must-reads" from my point of view, but here's the two which come to mind first:

Good Omens
Terry Pratchett and Niel Gaiman
Reprinted like, a bazillion times

This is one of the wittiest novels you will probably read. Look at the authors' names and you'll understand why. It is more 'British' humor (for obvious reasons), but it never failed to make me laugh. Basically, the book broadly parodies "The Omen" and the Book of Revelations, setting a demon and an angel in present-day England, trying to avert the Apocalypse. It's hilarious and wonderfully written.

The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov
Four major translations/Reprinted many times

Any Russians on the board don't really need to be told about this one, because MaM is one of the landmark classics of Russian literature. There are many levels one can read it on, especially taking into account that much of it is written as a criticism of Soviet policies. However, you can just as easily enjoy it as an amazing blend of three separate -- yet connected -- stories: one in 1930s Moscow, with Satan&co. wreaking havoc on the subbornly unbelieving populace; another at the time of Pontius Pilate, Jesus' condemnation and crucifixion; the last story being a romance/love between the Master and Margarita and how the title characters are brought into the previous two stories. It's a fantastic novel, full of supernatural elements as well as down-to-earth ones. Draws heavily on the Goethe's Faust.
If you don't want to buy it, read a free translation of the novel here.

Also, two classics of the literature that everyone should read once are The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Wonderful Romantic-period stories that are enduring for a reason.

Jam it back in, in the dark.