You might enjoy Tim O'Brien. Three of my favorites are "The Things They Carried", "Going After Cacciato", and "In the Lake of the Woods". The first two are Viet Nam war novels and the third is a mystery with Nam connections. I was very taken with all three.
I second this nomination! And *The Things They Carried* is a collection of stories, but the title story is by far and away the best.
Classics:
*MOBY DICK* by Herman Mehlville Anything by Charles Dickens Anything by Mark Twain *Jane Eyre* by Charlotte Bronte *As I Lay Dying* by William Faulkner *Uncle Tom's Cabin* by Harriet Beecher Stowe
I could go on and on, but that should get you started. :)