My favorite is - of course - the Harry Potter series. After that I LOVE John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. Both very good and attention grabbing authors.
Janeil
I also agree with Balshevita about Cecilia Ahern's books. Out of the three I've read, my favorite is also PS I Love You.
Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Robin Cook, John Twelve Hawks and many of other authors mentioned by most of you are in my personal library, too.
And don't forget the classics! Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are unforgettable!
Another favorite author of mine is Jean M. Auel with her "Children of the Earth" series. Right now, I hope she's done with her research because I've been waiting two years already for her last book!
Marie
There are so many-- I, too, love the mysteries without too much violence (cozies):
Some were listed above.
Berenson, Laurien (dog show stuff)
Burke, Jan
Carl, Joanna (chocolate candy maker mysteries)
Cohen, Nancy
Collins, Kate
Dunning, John (antique book guy)
Fluke, Joanne (baking)
George, Anne
Harris, Charlaine (Lily Bard-- but they are rather dark in places)
Hart, Carolyn (Annie and Max series)
Hess, Joan (Claire Malloy bookseller series)
Kelner, Toni L.P.
Meier, Leslie
O'Kane, Leslie (a fax cartoonist solves mysteries)
Page, Katherine Hall (caterer series)
Roberts, Gillian (Amanda Pepper is a teacher.)
Wait, Lea
Others:
The Harry Potter series
Baldacci, David
Bernhardt, William
Chiaverini, Jennifer (about quilting-- one of you should do something similar with cakes and baking!)
Coben, Harlan
Deaver, Jeffery
Iles, Greg
Johansen, Iris
Lescroart, John
Patterson, James
WOods, Stuart (Starting way back with Chiefs)
Funny:
Ann Ross-- Miss Julia series
And if you haven't heard of it yet:
Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray is hilarious. Could be offensive to someone very conservative, but overall, I've known lots of people who have loved it. Her other books are good too.
To Kill A Mockingbird is always a great one- as someone above said.
I used to read more than I do now, but I still love it.
Our libraries here in Puerto Rico aren't like those in the states. Most of the books are in Spanish and they're academic. So if I want to read all those great books out there, I have to buy them! My husband goes nuts! He doesn't like reading so it's hard for him to imagine I can be so passionate about books.
Reading all these posts, I now have quite a few additions to the list I take to Border's! 
Marie
. I'm always hesitant to buy online from places I'm not familiar with, but Amazon.com is great. I've been buying from them for years and they have just about everything you'd need to buy and great customer service. If you are buying used books from other sellers on Amazon, you can see a rating from other customers. I've never had a bad experience yet.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%