Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a very beautiful, true story of Albom re-connecting with his university professor as the professor (Morrie) is dying. There are no great revelations in the book, but the story of what the men mean to each other and Morrie's desire to pass on his feelings about the most important things in life are very compelling. Morrie is a great man in alot of ways, though you feel there are many men and women like him, who live good lives with and for other people. It is well-told by Albom, the story is simple with little interludes. A meaningful and somehow tranquil, though sad, book.

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

This is the best book I have read in a long time, it is a magnificent story and an absolute pleasure to read. The scope of the novel is huge, it spans over 10 years before, during and after the American Civil War.
We follow Scarlet O'Hara as she wills her way through war, poverty and society's disapproval fuelled by a powerful selfishness. She is a difficult character, she is unlikeable and incomparably selfish, but it is difficult not to admire and root for someone so driven and strong. She is eminently practical and unsentimental. She is fascinating.
Scarlett is the daughter of a plantation owner and race-relations is a huge part of the novel. It's worth saying that the way the novel handles race is very difficult, the opinions held by the protagonists are not ok and make for uncomfortable reading.