John Grisham
Bernard Cornwell, though every book is the same, rugged hero, incompetent superiors, gets the girl, wins the battle, defeats evil nemesis. Maybe a genre for the lads
Ever watch Downton Abbey?
I adored this book, one of the richest billionaire families in England and within three generations lost everything http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Diamonds-Great-English-Dynasty/dp/0141019239
But covers a lot like life for working people, issues about inheritance, the Kennedy family, trade unions, bit of everything realy.
And it's all true
"The Quants:How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It" by Scott Patterson.
Excellent read - although it is about the current market decline, so some may consider it as more domesday reading! It looks at money was moved and what caused the markets to go in to a tailspin in 2007. How credit default swaps etc. came about and the affect they had.
I'm currently reading The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge. Excellent so far (I've got to the end of the first Crusade, which I read about before, and an jsut starting to get into the next phase of the story).
Have just finished 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' - Stieg Larson. Great work. Started reading it, couldn't stop. I woke at 5am yesterday, read it for 2.5 hours, then picked it up again at 10.30 and read till 1.
Also just recently finished 'One Day' - David Nicholls. Documents two people's lives on a certain day of the year and what they were doing on that day. Very very good, laughed out loud at times, and also bawled my eyes out.